• High-autonomy role with direct exposure to investment decisions
• Seeking 7+ years renewable energy project development experience in Australia
• Melbourne or Sydney - Hybrid Office Hours

Phillip Riley is delighted to have been retained by Capella Capital to help build a brand new, best-in-class renewable energy project development team in Australia. The mandate is to build a mid-to-large scale Independent Power Producer (IPP) in Australia, with a diversified portfolio of wind, solar and storage.

Capella Capital is one of Australia’s most active infrastructure and energy platforms, known for delivering complex, market-shaping projects across transport and clean energy. The team has originated over A$34bn worth of projects in Australia, including supporting ACEREZ on the Central-West Orana REZ transmission program in NSW. Now backed by Sojitz Corporation,
Capella combines start-up momentum with institutional firepower - real capital, real projects, and real scale behind the energy transition.

Full Job Description
Capella Energy was established following Sojitz’s investment in Capella Capital, creating a renewable energy development platform with strong balance sheet support and a mandate to build a scalable, diversified Independent Power Producer (IPP) in Australia spanning utility-scale wind, solar and storage.

Capella Energy intends to develop and retain a significant ownership position in a diversified portfolio of renewable generation and storage assets, supported by long-term institutional capital through Sojitz. The platform is being established with a long-term owner-operator mindset rather than a pure develop-to-sell model.

This is a rare opportunity to join a true platform formation stage. As Senior Development Manager, Energy, you will play a foundational role in building the development function, shaping Capella Energy’s strategy, operating model and project pipeline. The role blends start-up agility with institutional capital, offering both autonomy and long-term platform-building exposure.

You will lead the end-to-end development of renewable generation and storage projects - covering both greenfield origination and late-stage acquisitions - and work closely with investment, commercial and executive stakeholders to progress projects through to investment approval and construction handover.

Key Responsibilities

Project Development Leadership

• Lead projects from site identification through to investment approval and construction handover
• Build development processes, governance and consultant frameworks from first principles
• Manage budgets, schedules and development risk

Site, Technical & Grid

• Assess project feasibility across technical, commercial and regulatory criteria
• Lead grid connection strategy and engagement with NSPs and Australian Energy Market Operator
• Oversee feasibility studies, constraints mapping and yield modelling

Stakeholder & Approvals

• Lead planning, environmental and landowner processes
• Manage community, regulatory and government engagement

Commercial & Investment Support

• Lead commercial negotiations and transaction structuring in partnership with investment and executive stakeholders
• Prepare and present investment cases to internal investment committees and board-level stakeholders
• Interface with equity, debt and strategic capital partners through to financial close
• Monitor market, policy and commercial risk to inform portfolio-level decision making

About You

• Tertiary qualifications in Engineering, Environmental Science, Planning, Finance or related discipline
• 7–10+ years’ renewable energy project development experience in Australia
• Strong track record progressing projects through planning, grid and investment gates
• Comfortable operating in greenfield team / platform build environments
• Commercially minded with strong stakeholder engagement capability
• Full working rights in Australia

What’s in It for You?

• Rare chance to help build a platform and team from day one
• Genuine autonomy to shape strategy, process and pipeline
• Backed by a global balance sheet via Sojitz
• Long-term career runway as Capella Energy scales

How to Apply
For a confidential conversation, please contact Anna Spain of Phillip Riley.
Note: Any applications sent directly to Capella Energy will be rerouted to Phillip Riley. Please apply with a CV and a short cover note outlining your relevant experience.