Tara Climate Foundation is a philanthropic climate foundation dedicated to fostering a future where Asia’s unwavering commitment to climate action paves the way for just, thriving and resilient societies. Tara operates in East, Southeast and South Asia, excluding India and China.
Our mission is to support a diverse group of partners in accelerating Asia’s energy transformation and championing climate action. Tara plays three main roles in the region:
- Grantmaker: Tara works closely with mission-aligned foundations and philanthropists to pool resources and grant funds to organisations working to accelerate Asia’s energy transition and climate action (excluding China and India).
- Convenor: Tara cultivates networks that facilitate the exchange of ideas between business, civil society, and government throughout and beyond Asia.
- Local and regional expert: With strong networks spanning civil society, businesses and government, Tara funds thorough research and analysis to address knowledge gaps, stay abreast of emerging trends, and craft evidence-based strategies to advance our mission.
Since establishing its headquarters in Singapore in 2021, the foundation has provided grants to more than 300 organisations across 13 countries and jurisdictions. Our team of over 40 experts is spread across the Asia-Pacific region, working to combat climate change in this decisive decade.
About the role:
Over the last 2 years, Tara has experienced significant growth, expanding our funding base to include more than a dozen philanthropic foundations. Currently, we provide grants to over 300 organisations operating across 13 countries and jurisdictions in the Asia region.
Despite heightened global focus on climate issues, philanthropic giving toward climate change initiatives remains disproportionately low, constituting just 2% of worldwide philanthropic giving, with an even smaller percentage allocated to Asia.
As we navigate this critical decade, characterised by the urgent need for climate action, it is essential to strengthen our external communications to effectively achieve our mission and mobilise philanthropic resources. Additionally, we must proactively manage reputational risks and establish robust crisis communication processes to address potential challenges.
The Senior Strategist, Corporate Engagement will build a program to drive a rapid increase in corporate renewable energy demand in Asia. Leveraging sophisticated investor strategies and technical analysis coupled with staff engagement, media, public campaigning and a range of other strategies, we aim to rapidly escalate pressure on and by Asia’s largest corporations to drive the transition to clean energy.
This role will require working with Tara’s already-established corporate renewable energy alliances and civil society partners to develop a multi-faceted strategy for encouraging corporates to make stronger commitments and undertake policy advocacy to ensure renewable energy procurement options are available.
The Senior Strategist, External Communications, will initially report to the Senior Strategist, Communications, for an interim period until the Director of Strategic Partnerships and External Communications is in place.
The key responsibilities of the Senior Strategist – Corporate Engagement will be to:
Strategy
- Lead the development of Tara’s regional corporate engagement strategy in consultation with Tara Country Leads and external partners.
- Develop resources requirements and budget plans for Tara’s corporate engagement program, and develop and track key performance indicators for the program
- Proactively review developments that may impact the program and continuously adapt and revise strategies and tactics
- Develop funding proposals and report to funders on progress
Partnerships and Coordination
- Build and maintain strong relationships with influential corporations, corporate associations and networks, NGOs and corporate renewable energy alliances
- Network with various stakeholders including existing grantees, potential partners, national, regional and international organisations working in the space relevant for the program’s implementation.
- Facilitate coordination among partners to ensure Tara achieves outcomes that are larger than the sum of the individual partners’ efforts.
- Coordinate with other philanthropic funders and regranters in this space to ensure coordination of efforts within the region.
Grantmaking
- Manage a program budget and partner grants, including developing and incubating new partnerships and organizations at the regional level. Work closely with Tara country leads to manage grants in key countries.
- Guide and advise grantees, partners and prospective partners in the field to ensure activities achieve their intended objectives and results.
- Monitor deliverables and submissions from grantees/ partners and provide general oversight to their timeliness and quality.
Miscellaneous:
- Promote a culture of excellence, service orientation, high performance, and continuous improvement
- Demonstrate Tara Values in every action
- Abide by Tara’s policies, procedures and practices
As and when required other responsibilities and projects will be allocated by line management in consultation with the post holder.
Person specification:
Excited by the prospect of working for a dynamic and fast-growing international organisation with a mission to solve the climate crisis, the ideal candidate will have:
Skills & Experience:
- Demonstrable enthusiasm and commitment to work on transitioning to clean energy; with a deep understanding of the energy transition and the drivers and barriers to renewable energy adoption.
- At least 7+ years of relevant work experience in corporate engagement or advocacy with a demonstrated understanding of how advocacy can create systemic change;
- Demonstrated ability to develop a multi-faceted strategy to achieve change;
- A working knowledge of corporate decision making and the drivers of corporate climate action;
- Strong political savvy and excellent strategy development capabilities.
- Intrinsic motivation, excellent organisational and self-management skills.
- Sharp written and verbal communication skills, fluency in English a must.
- A collaborative mindset and a track record of working effectively in alliance with diverse stakeholders.
- Impeccable ethics and experience working confidentially and operating with high security.
- Flexibility over working hours to accommodate global time zones and international travel as required.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English and an Asian language would be an asset.
- Reliable computer skills with standard applications (e.g., Microsoft Outlook, Excel, PowerPoint, Word)
- Used to working flexibly at a fast pace in remote settings with multi-cultural teams across multiple time-zones and to travel as and when is required
- Embraces Tara’s mission and identifies with and is committed to living the Tara Values
Education
- Master’s degree qualification or relevant expertise in a relevant field such as renewable energy, environmental management, business administration, economics, or sustainable development.
How to apply
Please submit an A4 covering letter outlining your skills and achievements against the role responsibilities, why you would like to join us and your salary expectations, along with your up to date CV at recruitment@taraclimate.org. Please use the job title: Senior Strategist, External. Communications as the subject in your email.
Tara is committed to building leadership capacity within Asia. This position is based in any country in Asia-Pacific. Applicants must have the right to work in the country they are based in.
We appreciate everyone’s application, but only have the resources to respond to shortlisted applicants. If you have not heard from us within 3 weeks of the closing date, please assume you are unsuccessful for this role. If this is you, we appreciate your support and consideration and hope you will continue to consider roles with Tara in the future!