Hello, I'm Maria
Career Designer, Programme Developer & Entrepreneur
The pace of change in the climate sector is remarkable, and it is creating opportunities that simply did not exist a decade ago. $1.3 trillion flows into climate finance every year, and 30 million new green jobs are expected across Southeast Asia alone by 2030. That represents both a very real challenge and a genuine opportunity for women who are ready to step forward.
Are you a mid-to-senior woman working in the climate sector who…
Sees the opportunities and wants to step into them but somehow you’re stuck where you are?
Is brilliant at designing far reaching climate solutions but you’ve never taken a pause to design your own career pathway?
Is ready to step into your next climate career chapter but you need someone to help you build the bridge to get there?
Knows that your current pace of work isn’t sustainable and you can’t keep going like this but you don’t know how to change it?
“Maria's thoughtful, inquisitive, and reflective approach led me to a sense of greater courage, connection, and possibility for my work as a sustainable energy entrepreneur."
- Melita, Solar Technology Entrepreneur
"I left the programme with a renewed sense of possibility and clearly defined set of actions".
- Ashley, Country Director, International NGO
If you recognise yourself in any of this, that is exactly where we start.
Pause and reflect
Our work begins with making sense of where you’ve been and reconnecting with what truly matters to you.
Gain clarity and direction
From there, we explore the routes forward that make sense for your experience and your ambitions, whether that’s climate finance, clean energy, policy or advocacy.
Curate a plan of action
And then we build it, a practical, step-by-step plan for your next climate career chapter that you can actually act on.
Book a 1:1 call to find out more or click on the brochure for details about the programme.
- Private Practice Clients
Where They Work..
Working With Organisations
I design talent development programmes for organisations working in the energy and climate sector, building leadership capacity and creating clearer pathways for women to move into senior roles. I’ve worked with organisations including GIZ Vietnam, Plan International and energy consultancies across the region, designing mentoring programmes, leadership initiatives and team development workshops that create lasting change. If your organisation is ready to advance gender equity in the energy transition and build the talent pipeline to make it happen, I’d love to talk.
GIZ Vietnam
Designed and curated a mentoring program for female talent in Vietnam’s energy sector, building pathways for women to step into leadership roles.
“Her analytical questions and reflective approach really helped us to design a programme to bring the greatest benefit to the female leaders for whom it was curated.”
Energy Consultancy
Opened up Design Thinking methodologies within the organisation, equipping teams with frameworks to approach complex energy challenges with fresh perspectives and collaborative solutions.
“The introduction of Design Thinking transformed how our teams approach complex challenges — fostering collaboration, creativity, and practical solutions.”
Plan International
Worked with the senior leadership team on talent development strategies to build leadership capacity and strengthen the talent pipeline across the organization.
“It was a transformative experience. Participants have grown in their capacity, taking on roles at a higher level and leading projects which were previously outside their comfort zone.”
How I Work
Coaching-led, insight-driven
I’m a licensed and accredited coach, skilled in listening deeply, understanding context, and transforming ideas into meaningful action.
Design thinking at the core
As an accredited design thinker, I bring creativity and structure together using a “How might we?” approach to unlock innovative solutions.
Collaborative by nature
I work closely with teams, programme designers, and creative-partners to bring ideas to life-from concept through to delivery.
- Project partners
I have collaborated and worked with
Your Financial Life - By Design.
A life design programme for internationally mobile women working in the development, social impact, and sustainability sectors who want to stop deferring and start designing their financial lives.
I have spent years working alongside professional women in these sectors, and in almost every career conversation, money came up: not as the main subject, but as the thing underneath it, quietly shaping every decision that nobody had properly looked at.
That recognition led my colleague Caren and I to create Your Financial Design. It is built specifically for women whose careers have crossed borders, contracts, and currencies, and who have never had the right space, structure, or toolkit to look clearly at their own financial future.
That space, that structure, and that toolkit: that is what Your Financial Design provides.
Welcome to your Financial Design Journey which includes:
01
Self-Paced
Online Platform
Work through modules in your own time with guided tools and explainer videos
02
My Financial
Design Tools
Exclusive tracking and
clarity tools
03
Curated
materials
Articles, books, and TED Talks to deepen
understanding
04
Café
Conversations
Live facilitated discussions for reflection and support
05
Interactive
communication
Interactive group connection with tutors and
peers
This group is currently full. Join the wait list to be the first to hear about the next programme.
Your Financial Design
BUILT WITH YOUR FINANCIAL TOOLKIT
A life design programme for internationally mobile women working in the development, social impact and sustainability sectors who want to stop deferring and start designing their financial lives.
I have spent years working alongside professional women in these sectors, supporting them through significant career transitions. And in almost every conversation about what comes next, money comes up. Not as the main subject. As the thing underneath the main subject. The piece of the jigsaw that was quietly shaping every decision, and that nobody had properly looked at.
The more I worked in career design, the clearer it became. You cannot design a meaningful next chapter, whatever it may be, without understanding what it will require of you financially. The two are inseparable.
And so, alongside my career design work, I created Your Financial Design with my colleague Caren.Â
The gap between where many women in these sectors find themselves and where they want to be is not a gap of income or intelligence. It is a gap of awareness, clarity, knowledge and intentional design.
Your Financial Design exists to close that gap.
Download your ebook
Change and transition looks and feels different for everyone. That’s why I’ve created this ebook – to help you explore your unique way of approaching transitions.
What clients say
- TESTIMONIALS
The Proof of the Pudding - The Results
General client feedbacks
 Melita – one to one section
GIZ section
- ABOUT ME
Maria Clancy MSc
Licensed Career Coach / Accredited Design Thinker / TEDx speaker
The energy transition is the defining challenge of our time.
We’re talking about $1.3 trillion flowing into climate finance every year and 30 million green jobs anticipated by 2030 in Southeast Asia alone. This is one of the largest infrastructure transformations in history.
The climate crisis isn’t waiting, neither are the opportunities. The sector is moving fast, capital is flowing, energy systems are being redesigned, and for this transition to be truly just, we need women at the top tables leading it, making decisions, shaping policy, and designing the frameworks that will define the next decade. Women just like you.
Read more
You’re already doing this work, designing energy transitions for communities and across entire regions, managing large scale climate programmes, leading teams, and making decisions that impact millions of lives. You’re brilliant at designing climate solutions for the world, but who’s designing for you, for your career and ultimately your life?
Somewhere between leading the energy transition and carrying everything else, you’ve lost your career thread. You need to pause, to raise your head above the parapet and see what’s actually out there, but there’s never time to stop long enough to look.
Here’s the thing: you’re exceptional at designing for others, but like most people in the world, you were never enabled to design for yourself.
This sector is burgeoning with opportunity: roles that didn’t exist five years ago, organisations scaling rapidly, tables where your strategic thinking is needed. But you can’t see them clearly when you’re running at full speed.
I help you build the bridge to your next climate career chapter:
Not with vague encouragement or motivational quotes, but with a step-by-step practical actionable plan.
We design your pathway the same way you design energy transitions: phased, planned, deliberate steps from one state to the next, from where you are now to the opportunity you can see.
I’ve worked in the impact sector all my professional life, including climate and social change. I get change. I’ve seen what it takes to lead work that matters, and I understand the weight of trying to create your own pathway while also carrying everything else.
I’ve lived career transitions myself. My career unraveled in the financial crisis when I had two small children and a burning desire to create another chapter in life. I didn’t have it all figured out, but I had a sense of my direction of travel, so I designed a plan, took action, and moved forward one step, then the next, then the next.
That’s exactly how we’ll build your bridge one step at a time. I’m a social entrepreneur, TEDx speaker, and career designer who knows what it takes to design forward when the pathway isn’t clear.
What you get when we work together:
We don’t spend months exploring and navel gazing. We design your pathway, and you leave with actions to move forward with.
You get bi-weekly one-to-one sessions and WhatsApp support between meetings because I’m in your back pocket, walking this with you every step of the way. You get a customized career design framework and a step-by-step action plan built for your whole life, not just your job title.
We start from where you actually are by recognising what you’ve already built and from there, we design where you want to go, and then we build it step by step the same way you design energy transitions.
This isn’t about hoping for the best. This is about proactively designing forward with intention, clarity and a plan.
And here's what becomes possible when you have a clear pathway:
You lead at the scale you’re capable of and the one that feels right for you. You bring your strategic thinking to the tables where it matters most, and you shape the transition alongside your colleagues.
From a place of choice, you design your best version of the life and career that is right for you.
Your next chapter is built step by step through deliberate action, not just good intention. This isn’t about finding the perfect path, it’s about building the one that works for you.
- GET IN TOUCH
Send a Message
Frequently Asked Questions
How long will my one:one programme take?
The programme takes between 12 / 16 weeks. We schedule meetings every two weeks or so but of course, we work in partnership to create the best possible schedule of meetings for you.
Is your programme exclusively for women?
Although I work primarily with women, I have also worked with lots of guys too! The programme content and process is the same. Each individual, whomever they may be, relates to the work in their own individual way.
Do I really need help with working through my action plan?
Only you can decide what is right for you. However, in my experience, maintaining momentum and working through daily / weekly actions can be very challenging for lots of people. That is why I have designed a journal (based on the Bullet Journal method) and a momentum process, to support clients in maintaining energy and commitment to taking the steps needed to bring their plans to life.
What if I don’t know at the end what I want to do?
We start by clarifying your intention (your desired outcome) at the very start of our process. And from there, we track towards that in every session. The process and structure we work with ensures that clarity comes.
Do we meet at the same time or schedule as we go?
So that we have a clear process, I generally ask that we schedule at the same time / day but of course, I work around your schedule – we can alter and change as we go.
Do you have lots of sector contacts which could open potential opportunities for me?
I am an enthusiastic community builder and will always look to connect you where and when I can, which may mean potential opportunities but of course, that is not something I would ever promise or guarantee.
Do we meet online or in person?
I generally work online but if we find ourselves to be in the same location, I am always delighted to meet in person.
I want to start now on the plan for what to do next - can I?
In order to create a solid foundation from which to design forward, we always start by reflecing back – so you can connect with your story – all that makes you who you are.
Will you tell me what I should do next in my career?
We work together, in partnership, so you can discover what the next right path for you is. I walk alongside you in that journey. We look at your past career, current chapter and from there, craft the design for your next phase. There is lots of discovering, exploring, crafting actions but no, I never tell you what you should do next!
Do you work only in the APAC region?
I work with clients from Africa, Europe, Asia – if you have a phone or a computer with connection, we can work togehter, wherever you are.
Can I get in touch with you apart from our session meetings?
Yes I keep open communication with my clients between sessions – by email or Whatsapp – whatever your preferred method of communication is.
