Energy Deputy Lead

Workplace Circumstances

• Environment: Office
• Languages: English, Khmer
• Location: Phnom Penh

Position Summary

Reports to: Infrastructure Lead

Period of Assignment: September 2026 – May 2027

Duration: 9 months with possibility of extension

CAPRED is seeking to recruit a highly qualified and experienced individual for the position of Energy Deputy Lead. This is an important role at a time when Cambodia’s clean water supply sector is progressing rapidly, with increasing momentum in sector planning, sector financing, policy reform, enhancing quality of private sector participation, and accelerating service expansion. Thus, there is a strong need for pragmatic support that can help close the gap between sector strategic direction and execution.

The selected candidate will play a crucial role in coordinating and managing CAPRED’s infrastructure support, with a particular focus on energy. This role requires a strong all-rounder who can work across public sector engagement and private sector engagement; translate technical and policy ideas into practical actions; and support investments, reforms, partnerships, and delivery on the ground. The ideal candidate will bring strong judgement, analytical ability, and stakeholder management skills.

The role will be based in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, with potential travel to provincial locations. This is a nine-month position with possibility of extension. The Energy Deputy Lead will report to the Infrastructure Lead.

This is a full-time position with attractive monthly remuneration package being commensurate with qualifications and experience.

Duties & Responsibilities

• Leadership
• Lead and mentor task/project delivery teams between 4-5 people, encouraging them to innovate, identify practical solutions, and generate new ideas and approaches.
• Contribute to overall domain leadership, strategy, and work planning.
• Support the Infrastructure Lead to ensure project team workload is realistic and deliverables are managed in a timely manner.
• Ensure appropriate quality of deliverables from project team members, consultants, and implementing partners.
• Provide strategic and practical advice to the Infrastructure Lead on emerging risks, opportunities, stakeholder priorities, and implementation bottlenecks.
• Support adaptive management across the Infrastructure domain by using evidence, implementation learning, partner feedback, and field realities to adjust workplans, refine intervention approaches, and improve delivery.
• Support the team to strategic objectives of energy into clear actions and improved implementation.
• Encourage effective teamwork across the Infrastructure domain and with cross-cutting areas.
• Technical
• Shape, manage, and oversee energy projects
• Provide strategic and technical leadership across the energy portfolio, ensuring projects are coherent, technically feasible, commercially sound, policy-relevant, and aligned with CAPRED’s objectives.
• Manage clean energy portfolios, monitor project performance, and advise the program on financial planning, grant disbursement, implementation risks, adaptive management, and corrective actions.
• Identify, develop, and advance new intervention concepts, investment approaches, and technical solutions that respond to emerging sector priorities and opportunities.
• Lead and contribute to high-quality analytical and strategic outputs, including reports, strategy papers, intervention plans, progress reports, policy briefs, investment notes, feasibility studies, aide-mémoires, talking points, and presentations.
• Conduct due diligence on potential investment opportunities, including financial, technical, environmental, work-health and safety, gender, disability, social inclusion, and other safeguard considerations.
• Support public sector counterparts to strengthen sector planning, sector financing, regulatory reform, policy coordination, and institutional arrangements needed to improve the long-term economic viability and sustainability of the clean water supply sector.
• Use evidence from CAPRED’s projects to inform strategic decision-making, policy dialogue with public sector counterparts, and future portfolio direction.
• Work closely with MERL to strengthen impact assessment, data collection, results measurement, learning, and evidence generation across the clean water supply portfolio.
• Identify opportunities to integrate GEDSI and climate resilience into clean water supply investment works, policy engagement, sector planning, and operator support.
• Coordinate with communications colleagues to document results, lessons learned, case studies, and sector insights that demonstrate CAPRED’s contribution to sector change.
• Perform other duties as assigned by the Infrastructure Lead.
• Compliance
• Ensure stakeholders will operate within Cowater and DFAT-related codes of conduct and policies including all inclusion-related policies such as Child Protection and PSEAH; antifraud and corruption; value for money and other policies.
• Commitment to championing environmental sustainability and climate action across the Facility.
• Stakeholder relationship
• Act as a key coordination focal point with the Ministry of Mines and Energy and relevant government stakeholders on energy planning, financing, policy reform, and implementation follow-up.
• Build and maintain relationships with existing and potential partners, including government agencies, energy companies, financial institutions, technology suppliers, consultants, and development partners.
• Represent CAPRED in technical discussions, partner meetings, sector events, and government coordination platforms.
• Maintain and strengthen trusted, constructive, and responsive working relationships with DFAT and the Australian Embassy.

Benefits

• This is a full-time position with attractive monthly remuneration package being commensurate with qualifications and experience.

Languages

• English - Fluent
• Khmer - Fluent

Qualifications

• Master's Degree in Finance, economics, business administration, or a related field is required

Work History

• Investment management, financial analysis, public policy, private sector development, or related fields for 3 years as a minimum

General & Technical Skills

• Proven ability to work across policy, investment, technical, and implementation issues in a practical and coherent manner.
• Demonstrated ability to coordinate complex workstreams, support project teams, and deliver high-quality outputs.
• Strong experience in writing reports, policy briefs, project plans, progress reports, technical notes, presentations, and senior-level briefing materials.
• Proven track record in stakeholder engagement with government counterparts, private sector actors, and development partners.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, including the ability to assess investment opportunities, sector constraints, financial viability, and implementation risks.
• Sound understanding of project management principles and practices.
• Strong language proficiency in both Khmer and English in writing and speaking.
• Demonstrated commitment to GEDSI, environmental sustainability, and climate action.
• Being familiar with Australian economic development programs related to infrastructure investment and sustainability is preferred.
• Strong understanding of Cambodia’s energy sector, sector financing, regulation, service expansion, and investment challenges.
• Having real life experience in Gender Equality, Disability and Social Inclusion (GEDSI) integration in planning, implementation and monitoring and evaluation would be an advantage.

Soft Skills

• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to build effective relationships with stakeholders at various levels.
• Ability to work with minimum supervision in a diverse environment.
• Proactive, self-motivated, flexible, and able to adapt quickly across projects, sectors, and partner needs.
• Willing to take on new assignments and perform at a high standard.