Duration

Until 31 October 2025 (6-8 months)

Location

Hanoi, Vietnam

Reports to

P4I Energy Lead

Closing date

04 Apr 2025

About P4I

Partnerships for Infrastructure (P4I) is an Australian Government initiative partnering with Southeast Asia to drive sustainable, inclusive, and resilient growth through quality infrastructure. P4I partners with Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Vietnam and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

P4I works with partners to strengthen infrastructure decision-making and practice across the transport, energy, utilities and telecommunications sectors. P4I’s focus is on the early stages of the infrastructure lifecycle, including planning and prioritisation, financing strategy, and procurement.

The four main services offered by P4I are linkages with Australian government agencies and other institutions, technical and policy advice, infrastructure project advice and knowledge-sharing and learning.
As the foundation of quality infrastructure, P4I also integrates gender equality, disability, and social inclusion, and disaster risk reduction and climate change considerations into all activities.

Delivered through a single team, P4I is led by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) in collaboration with Ernst & Young, Adam Smith International, The Asia Foundation and Ninti One. P4I has a head office in Bangkok, with other staff located around the region.

Scope of Work

The responsibilities of the Expert will depend on specific skills and job requirements, as well as the needs of P4I and ERAV in knowledge sharing and capacity building for ERAV. The Expert will provide support to ERAV’s Power Market Department under the expert-sharing cooperation mechanism. Responsibilities will be based on the Expert’s qualifications and may include (but are not limited to) the following tasks as requested for research by P4I and ERAV.

1. Facilitate ongoing technical collaboration with ERAV through expert support, knowledge sharing, joint research, and capacity-building initiatives.
2. Sharing information on the activities on the survey and Market Analysis and Technical Support as requested
   • Collection of Quantitative Data:
      
     1. Gather historical market data, including electricity demand, generation, pricing trends, and settlement outcomes.
     2. Collect statistics on market participation, such as the number of wholesalers, independent power producers (IPPs), and renewable energy generators.
     3. Obtain data on curtailment rates for renewable energy, grid congestion issues, and system outages.
   • Qualitative Data Collection:
      
     1. Conduct interviews and surveys with key stakeholders, including ERAV, market participants, grid operators, and independent power producers.
     2. Gather insights into operational challenges, regulatory hurdles, and market design concerns directly from stakeholders.
   • Market Analysis and Technical Support:
      
     1. Conduct in-depth analysis of Vietnam’s wholesale electricity market (VWEM), including its design, implementation, and alignment with intended objectives.
     2. Identify challenges and propose practical solutions for improving the VWEM, addressing inefficiencies, transparency, and market participation.
   • Policy and Regulatory Guidance:
      
     1. Provide insights into Vietnam’s regulatory and policy landscape, particularly the New Electricity Law and related regulations (e.g., Circular No. 21/2024/TT-BCT, etc.).
     2. Advise on integrating renewable energy and implementing mechanisms like direct power purchase agreements to foster private sector investment.
   • Knowledge Transfer and Capacity Building:
      
     1. Assist in organizing workshops, training sessions, and stakeholder consultations to share Australia’s experience in competitive power markets and renewable energy integration.
     2. Support ERAV in building institutional capacity to implement and manage wholesale market reforms effectively.
   • Engagement with Stakeholders:
      
     1. Serve as the primary local liaison with ERAV and other key stakeholders (e.g., energy companies, government agencies, and market participants).
     2. Facilitate communication between P4I’s Australian experts and Vietnamese stakeholders, ensuring mutual understanding of technical concepts and recommendations.
   • Program Coordination:
      
     1. Coordinate local logistics for P4I’s program activities, including meetings, site visits, and events.
     2. Monitor program progress and ensure alignment with P4I’s objectives and timelines.

Request for Proposal – Regional Trade for Development Program

Technical Consultant, Project “Advancing Gender Equality, Disability and Social Inclusion (GEDSI) in Regional Economic Integration and Trade in ASEAN – From Learning to Policy Actions”

About RT4D

The Regional Trade for Development (RT4D) Facility supports ASEAN Member States to maximise benefits from the upgraded ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (AANZFTA) and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Agreement. Under the operation of the RT4D, the Trade and Gender Equality Incubator (TGEI), with funding support from Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), tests ideas and methods, drawing on promising practice to advance gender equality within trade-related policies, technical cooperation, and development programming.

Project Summary

GEDSI-responsive trade policy is important to ensure that all economic actors benefit from regional trade and economic integration. This regional project aims to build ASEAN Member State (AMS) capacity in gender equality, disability and social inclusion (GEDSI) and trade, such that relevant officials are better able to design and implement GEDSI-responsive trade policy and trade facilitation programs in their countries. TGEI intends a partnership with the World Trade Organization (WTO) to:

1. Adapt existing training materials on gender and trade to the ASEAN context.

2. Deliver these trainings to ASEAN officials (online and in-person).

3. Provide technical assistance to select AMS to implement GEDSI-responsive trade policy.

4. Foster a community of practice to support policymakers in these endeavours.

The role is best suited to a candidate with strong leadership, strategic thinking, facilitation, and proven experience in regional program management.

The Role

Australia has a long-standing partnership with Vietnam in the energy sector, and the two countries share a commitment to take urgent and ambitious climate action. The recently upgraded Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP) includes a pillar on climate, energy and environment. Vietnam is a priority country in the Australian Government’s international climate engagement strategy, with P4I serving as an important mechanism to support Vietnam’s clean energy transition and respond to the impacts of climate change

P4I recently undertook a high-level energy design to guide energy programming in Vietnam through P4I over the coming 18 months to December 2025. The Energy Officer - Vietnam will work closely with P4I’s Energy Lead based in the Bangkok program office and P4I staff working for different delivery partners, the Australian Embassy Hanoi and DFAT to drive P4I’s energy program through fostering stakeholder relationships with relevant government entities and officials in Vietnam. Based on these relationships, the Energy Officer will support development and implementation of P4I’s energy programming.

The role supports the Australian Government’s priority of developing sustainable, inclusive, and resilient growth in Southeast Asia through the development of quality infrastructure. This will be achieved through the creation of strong partnerships amongst Australian and Southeast Asian government agencies and institutions.

Role Summary

Reporting to the DFAT Counsellor (Development) and with a high degree of autonomy, the Communications Adviser will assist in the development and delivery of the Mekong Australia Partnership’s communications functions. The role will be responsible for helping develop and implement a communications strategy, determine MAP core messages and ensuring that these core messages reach identified stakeholders and intended audience. The role will work with Investment Managers located in Bangkok and across DFAT’s Posts in the Mekong sub-region to collect, create and disseminate information and messaging. The Adviser will work with the Adviser – Performance, Quality and Risk, to create content to support Monitoring and Evaluation.

The Adviser will be located in the Mekong Hub in Bangkok and work closely with sector specialists, Australian Government posts in the region, implementing partners, Australian Government agencies and DFAT Canberra. 

The Adviser will directly supervise one Locally-engaged Public Diplomacy Officer.

Role Summary

Reporting to the DFAT Counsellor (Development) and with a high degree of autonomy, the Operations Adviser will manage a small team to deliver Mekong Australia Partnership accountability and administration functions to ensure the efficient and effective delivery of Official Development Assistance (ODA) investments across the MAP portfolio.  The position will work closely with DFAT staff to design, establish and implement core integrity and administrative measures across the entire MAP portfolio. The position will represent DFAT with external stakeholders across the Mekong sub-region, as we deepen our partnerships. This position will also work closely with Australian Posts in the Mekong subregion, implementing partners, and other Australian Government agencies based in Australia and the region.