Director of Business Development

Who We Are Looking For We are seeking a strategic Director of Business Development to join our leadership team. The successful candidate enjoys building partnerships, is naturally outgoing, and is confident engaging with donors, governments, corporations, and regional partners. They bring strong business development experience, a solid network in Southeast Asia, and a deep understanding of the clean energy and climate finance landscape. This role carries clear performance expectations that align with ACE Partners’ growth goals. The Director of Business Development will be expected to drive revenue growth by converting new opportunities into funded work, identify strategic opportunities early through market intelligence, ensure the quality and consistency of BD processes, and represent ACE Partners externally to strengthen our visibility and partnerships. Your Responsibilities 1. Business Development and Growth (70%) Lead the design and implementation of ACE Partners’ business development strategy, ensuring alignment with long‑term growth priorities. Drive proactive market intelligence to identify industry, policy, and financing trends and translate insights into actionable opportunities. Build and strengthen relationships with donors, governments, corporations, and regional organizations, ensuring trusted and sustained collaboration beyond competitive tenders. Build and maintain a balanced pipeline of opportunities that includes tenders, long‑term collaborations, joint initiatives, and innovative financing models. Lead the preparation and submission of high‑quality proposals, ensuring strong positioning and consistency in messaging throughout the full capture‑to‑submission process. Coordinate the Go or No‑Go decision process and ensure consistent use of BD systems and tools. 2. Strategic Leadership and Professional Development (20%) Strengthen the business development function by introducing best practices, standardizing processes, and driving innovation across all BD activities. Lead capture planning and pre‑positioning efforts, including market intelligence, competitive landscape assessments, and development of strong win themes. Expand strategic partnerships by building consortiums, negotiating ACE Partners’ role with key regional partners, and establishing MOUs that support growth and visibility. Contribute to the development of new market strategies, service offerings, and differentiators that position ACE Partners competitively in the region. Represent ACE Partners in high‑level forums, contribute to thought leadership, and work closely with the Executive Team on firm‑wide strategies to increase ACE Partners’ influence in the clean energy space. Advise the Executive Team on growth strategy, portfolio diversification, and emerging opportunities. 3. Support to Project Delivery (5%) Provide guidance to project teams on positioning, client engagement, and delivery quality. Review and quality check proposals end to end, including pricing models, budget structures, margin considerations, and alignment of scope and level of effort. Support negotiation of LOEs, partner roles, and subcontractor scopes to ensure consistency, clarity, and competitiveness. Contribute to client projects and external communications when needed. 4. Corporate Communications (5%) Work with the communications team to align BD goals with outreach strategies. Translate business development priorities into communication activities that elevate ACE Partners’ visibility. Your Ideal Profile 1. Educational Background and Training Master’s degree or higher in Business, Public Policy, Energy, Environment, International Development, Economics, Finance, Sustainability, or a related field. Additional training in business development, energy systems, or project management is an advantage. 2. Professional Experience Minimum 10+ years of experience in business development, consulting, donor‑funded programs, or energy and climate‑focused organizations. Proven ability to secure partnerships and funding and navigate competitive bidding environments. Led end‑to‑end proposal development for donor‑funded programs (e.g., ADB, World