As the Technology Cost and Benefits Manager, you will be responsible for evaluating the costs associated with technology initiatives, analysing their benefits, and providing recommendations to ensure cost-effectiveness and maximum value for Technology and the organisation.

Additionally, you will lead a team to provide operational planning, dependencies management, reporting, financial management, ensuring seamless coordination with the broader Technology deliverables.

The role involves collaborating with cross-functional teams, financial stakeholders, and technology leaders to drive informed decision-making in technology investments. It also involves establishing and upholding a comprehensive Value Management Framework to assess, track and optimise the value derived from technology investments and spend.
 

Key Accountabilities:

• Establish and uphold a comprehensive Value Management Framework to assess and optimise the value derived from technology investments and spend.
• Actively manage the enterprise value management framework with focus on ensuring all work to be delivered by Technology has a clear outcome and measurable benefit and realisation plan defined, signed off by Sponsor and Business Owner, planned for with Finance and then is frequently tracked and reported on. Provision of actionable insights will be key as these will feed through to Steering Committees
• Drive business management practices within our Technology teams
• Ensure alignment with the overarching Technology strategy and contribute to the budget planning process.
• Develop input for internal and external reporting; material for tenders, contractual review summaries, scheduling and minuting agreed governance meetings.
• Assure delivery of maximum value within budget and with minimum risk while quickly responding to changing business needs and demand across the portfolio. Strategic cost management across the total Technology portfolio and insightful reporting to Leadership Team required.
• Drive business impact through creation of new Commercial Management tools/processes (or optimisation and automation of existing ones) that solve for team-wide pain points and opportunities.
• Set up best practice frameworks for governance, risk identification & management, vendor management, value management, strategic planning & reporting.
• Develop and maintain Technology Dashboard to measure operational effectiveness and impact. Co-ordinate input for Board and external reporting as required.
• Direct adoption of vendor management best practices – managing key inputs for strategic vendor meetings directly.
• Manage and optimise the current budgeting process & BAU business management – Supporting SoWs, BAU reporting, contracts, invoices
• Drive structured approach to managing cost-to-income (cost base diligence) improvements across Technology Delivery, working with Platform Leads to set, track and report benefits ( cost reduction and avoidance). Maintain refreshed TCO profiles.
• Active participation and ownership of strategic focus areas covering workforce management, operating model, vendor management, technology obsolescence & simplification and technology acceleration.
• Lead and coach team to provide consistency in process, service and stakeholder support through process.
• Drive the annual strategic budget setting process for Technology Delivery – with input from broader Technology Leadership Team, ensuring strong alignment across strategy-> budget->delivery goals with focus on what is required to deliver and impacts of change.

You will be leading the development of renewable projects including wind, solar and battery storage that will need your stewardship through the development life cycle to financial close.

The role is based in our Melbourne or Sydney office – with site visits required to our development sites, stakeholders and communities. Our current portfolio consists of a mixture of greenfield through to late-stage assets, and with your help, we’ll be growing the pipeline to feed more projects into the construction phase.

Just as important as what you achieve in this role, is how you perform the role. We’ll need you to be an engaged team member, who can cross pollenate your development expertise into an investment world. Be ready for a dynamic work environment, with a start-up mindset. You’ll be encouraged and supported to be bold in your thinking and leadership, whilst being a helpful colleague to those around you.

Flexible working arrangements are typical at Octopus with the team working from both home and office over the working week

Essential Job Functions

Project Development

• Potentially anything that falls under the banner of Project Development from landowner liaison, development approvals, grid connection, EPC procurement, PPAs etc. Treat the projects as if they are your own.
• Assist the wider Investment Team through asset growth opportunities as required, including bringing your contributions and knowledge into project evaluations, acquisition bids, transaction and negotiation processes, due diligence work and supporting Investment Directors through internal approval processes.
• Provide leadership in developing sound relationships with relevant stakeholders including landholders, community, Traditional Owners, regulators and policy makers.
• Manage project teams of multidisciplinary internal and external experts, including technical, planning, legal, grid, environmental and engineering advisors.
• Selecting advisors, consultants, OEMs, and construction contractors (including EPC contractors), running procurement process and contract negotiations through to financial close.
• Take the lead role for negotiation of high value contracts including project construction (EPC etc), equipment supply and transmission connection agreements.
• Manage the grid connection process, working closely with NSPs and grid consultants, to navigate the complexity of the technical, regulatory, and commercial connection landscape.
• Manage the delivery of development works within allocated budgets in a timely, efficient and effective manner.
• Development of project execution plans including timelines, costs, risk assessments, communication of project financials and progress reports in a consistent manner across the assigned projects.
• Development of required inputs for management papers, board papers and commercial negotiations as required.
• Prepare and manage budgets for Capex and Opex, project schedules, and technical inputs into financial models, supporting overall project business case development.
• Support our fundraising efforts, including meeting with prospective investors, promoting the Octopus profile, and supporting our fund managers with development expertise as required.
• Support ongoing profile raising activities – networking with industry participants and at times engaging with energy policymakers to influence energy policy.