Policy and Government Affairs Manager in Melbourne, Victoria at Amber

Amber is an entirely new way to buy and sell power, designed for a world powered by renewable energy. We give customers direct access to the real-time wholesale electricity price as it varies every 5 mins and the technology to shift more of their energy usage to the times when cheaper renewables are available in the grid. It’s a cheaper way to buy power, a smarter way to sell power, and the fastest way for Australia to reach 100% renewable energy.

We are a clear category leader in Australia for home battery automation and are growing rapidly (close to 100k customers). We have also recently expanded into licensing our core technology to utilities overseas, including a partnership with E.ON Next in the UK.

Amber is backed by leading Australian and international investors, including Square Peg, Main Sequence, Breakthrough Victoria, Commonwealth Bank, NRMA, Gentrack, ETF Partners and E.ON Next. Most recently, Amber raised a $78.5 million Series E, led by 1GT, Morgan Stanley Investment Management’s climate tech fund, alongside participation from existing investors.

We are scaling rapidly and you’d be joining a team of close to 250 committed to building a diverse, inclusive, and purpose-driven culture as we transform a major industry.

Our products are reshaping home energy: Amber for Batteries cuts bills by exporting stored energy at wholesale prices of up to $20/kWh, and Amber for EVs enables the cheapest, cleanest charging. In 2026, we will push this even further with our new vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology.

💻 About the role

This role sits within the BD team because we believe there is a huge opportunity to be at the forefront of helping Amber lead the world not only in home battery automation but also in vehicle-to-grid (V2G).

Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) is one of the biggest levers we have: letting EV owners power their homes and earn from their car, lower their bills, and feed clean energy back to the grid — all while staying in control. Australia is the most advanced grid in the world which provides a great opportunity for our customers and the renewable transition, and Amber is positioning itself to be world leaders in V2G. What’s exciting is that as a new technology, the regulations and policy for V2G are being established today, so there is a huge opportunity to make an impact and help make sure they are the right policies for our customers.

We also believe Policy sits at the forefront of growth opportunities at Amber as we look towards new ways for customers' batteries to earn from the grid (such as Voluntary Scheduling and FCAS, as well as ways to support the National CER roadmap to drive uptake onto VPPs). This is where the BD team, and this role in particular, will work closely with the growth team.

While growth initiatives are at the core of this role, we are now at a stage where we are large enough that we need to stay on top of key regulatory or policy changes which may impact Amber’s core business. For this reason you will also work closely with our Head of Legal to help shape Amber’s approach to regulatory engagement on key rule changes and consultations.

This is the first dedicated policy role at Amber - so we are super excited to work with someone who can build and own the policy roadmap here at Amber as we scale.

✨ Why this is an exciting role

• A real seat at the table. You will sit on the Growth Leadership Team, and work with other leaders across the business. You’re not buried under layers of sign-off. You will also get dedicated access to CO-CEO and Founder Dan Adams, and Chief Growth Officer Emily Rubin.
• Climate impact you can point to. Making policy work for the betterment of our customers - so we continue to support more households gaining access and getting more benefits from their batteries, EVs - with access to cheaper, cleaner power.
• A team that's already strong. We have a strong business development team, and a dedicated group actively working on vehicle-to-grid at pace.
• Making a difference quickly. You will be the first dedicated policy person at Amber - there is so much opportunity to make an impact, fast!

👉🏽 Responsibilities

• Shape and drive Amber's strategy and organisations position on key policy developments
• Engaging with government, regulators, and peak industry bodies, and representing Amber in these domains.
• Lead targeted submissions, and direct engagement with policy/rule markers to influence design and rollout; coordinating input from cross-functional teams as required.
• Direct our policy priorities across emerging market shifts, vehicle-to-grid (V2G), and market design.
• Apply, build and own company tools and processes to assess policy and regulatory developments, leading regular internal meetings to agree priorities for engagement and triaging what matters most.
• Lead tactical planning and prepare materials for senior executive engagement, focused on opportunities to move outcomes.
• Build strong alliances with nonprofits, think-tanks, and experts to support major policy changes that accelerate Australia's adoption of automated home batteries and V2G charging.
• Seats, memberships and regular meetings - representing Amber in key member groups such as Smart Energy Council (SEC) subcommittees, and Electric Vehicle Council (EVC) working groups. Regular catch-ups with the federal and state departments, AEMO and ministers' offices.
• Manage a tactical budget - this may include commissioning and managing external experts, economic modelling and research.
• Media and public advocacy - work with Amber’s PR and marketing team to make sure we are having a voice on the right topics, and being seen as leaders in this energy space.

You're probably a match if

• We're open to mid-level or senior candidates. >4-8 years in policy, regulatory affairs, government or a peak body. Energy experience is preferred, but not a requirement; we will support capability building and professional development in relation to the energy market.
• Proven strategic instinct: you can tell the three things that matter from the thirty that don't, and say why in a paragraph.
• Strong, fast writing; comfortable using AI tools as a multiplier. Confident in presenting advice to executives internally, and government and stakeholders externally.
• The disposition of a good diplomat: reliable presence, low ego, high follow-through.
• Some people and project management experience: this role is built to expand; a strong hire could be leading a function and a team within a few years.
• You're confident initiating relationships from a standing start — comfortable picking up the phone, reaching out cold, and opening doors.
• You have a working knowledge of how government and regulators actually move (submissions, rule changes, ministerial offices), and an existing network.
• You thrive in a fast-paced, ambiguous environment — highly organised, able to juggle multiple projects, and build structure and process where little exists.

🎉 Benefits

• We’re committed to building a diverse and inclusive workplace and a great culture of people who love coming to work to build a better world.
• You’d be a part of a rapidly growing team of over 235 with expertise across energy, technology, marketing, and operations.
• Be part of a growing technology start-up that will shape the future of household and grid energy use.
• Enjoy a lively, collaborative workspace at our buzzing Melbourne CBD headquarters in the heart of the city
• Flexible working hours with provision for regular work from home arrangements.
• Equitable gender-neutral parental leave policies.
• An external Employee Assistance Plan (EAP) for mental health support.
• Competitive salary and share options in Amber.
• Annual Learning & Development budget to support your personal growth.
• Additional PTO between Xmas & New Year

This is a full-time role to be based ideally from Melbourne, but we are also open to considering the right candidate anywhere within Australia.

We are also open to discussing a four day work week or nine day fortnight once you are fully ramped up, if that flexibility is important to you and something you would be looking for.

Amber is a remote first team; we have an office in the Melbourne CBD, where we work flexibly between the office and home. The vast majority of our team are located in Melbourne. For those based in Sydney, they catch up in a co-working space in the city every now and then, and rest of the locations in Australia work from home. While we don't expect people to attend the office, we do expect that people mostly work in the Melbourne time zone to maximise collaboration.

💰 Salary range is between $150k and $180k base per annum for a mid level and $220k and $250k base per annum for a senior and is quoted excluding superannuation. All salaried roles at Amber include employee stock options over and above the base salary and superannuation.

🌈 If this kind of work gets you excited, we'd love to hear from you!

Even if you don’t meet 100% of the requirements listed above, we still encourage you to apply. We're open to all backgrounds and encourage people from underrepresented groups to apply. We never discriminate on the basis of race, religion, colour, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, or disability status.

🏅 Our hiring process will be as below:

• A screening interview with our talent team
• A take-home case study
• A follow up interview with the Hiring Manager
• A final chat with one/two of the Executive Leadership team members

🎬 The bit at the end

We promise to be respectful of your time as an applicant while trying to be as thorough as possible in finding the right fit for our team.

Applications will be accepted only from candidates already based in Australia, preferably Melbourne with full working rights!

Shortlisted candidates will be contacted promptly. All other applicants will also be notified of the outcome as soon as possible.

No recruitment agencies please. We've got this! Thank you.