Programme Director

He kōrero mō mātou | About Watercare

Ki te ora te wai, ka ora te whenua, ka ora te tangata
When the water is healthy, the land and the people are healthy

Now is an exciting time to join Watercare, we're planning to spend $14 billion over the next 10 years to ensure we can continue to support our growing city in a climate-resilient way. When you average that out, that's an investment of $3.8 million every day!

He whakamārama mō te tūranga mahi | About the role

Reporting to the Chief Programme Delivery Officer, the Programme Director is a pivotal leadership role responsible for the successful delivery of a complex, multi-billion-dollar portfolio of major water and wastewater infrastructure programmes that will help shape Auckland's future.

Leading large, multidisciplinary teams and delivery partners, you will be accountable for the end-to-end delivery of critical infrastructure programmes, from planning, design and procurement through to construction, commissioning and operational handover.

This is a highly influential role requiring strong strategic leadership, commercial acumen and stakeholder management expertise. Working closely with Watercare's Executive Leadership Team, governance groups, mana whenua, contractors, consultants and regulatory stakeholders, you will drive programme performance while fostering a culture of safety, collaboration, innovation and excellence.

Key areas of focus include:

• Leading the delivery of major infrastructure programmes that support Auckland's growth and long-term resilience.
• Providing strategic programme leadership, governance reporting and executive-level stakeholder engagement.
• Driving outstanding performance across safety, commercial, cost, schedule and risk outcomes.
• Leading complex procurement, contract management and delivery strategies.
• Building and leading high-performing programme teams and delivery partnerships.
• Fostering meaningful engagement with mana whenua, communities and key stakeholders.

Ngā pūkenga e rapu nei mātou | About you

You are an accomplished infrastructure leader with a proven track record delivering large-scale, complex capital programmes in challenging environments. You bring a strategic mindset, sound judgement and the ability to inspire confidence across executive, governance and stakeholder groups.

You will have extensive experience leading major infrastructure programmes and multidisciplinary teams, coupled with strong commercial and contract management capability. You are recognised for your ability to navigate complexity, manage risk and deliver successful outcomes while maintaining a strong focus on safety and people leadership.

You bring a strong understanding of major construction delivery, ideally including tunnelling and underground infrastructure works. Comfortable operating at a programme level rather than directly managing construction activities, you excel at aligning contractors, consultants and stakeholders to achieve programme outcomes. You also understand programme planning, scheduling and project controls, enabling you to effectively oversee performance across large-scale, multi-year infrastructure investments.

To be successful in this role, you will bring:

• Significant experience delivering major infrastructure programmes and projects (preferably for construction companies), with a proven track record of successful outcomes on large-scale, complex investments.
• Demonstrated success leading multidisciplinary teams, delivery partners and stakeholders across complex programme environments.
• Strong commercial, procurement, contract management, governance and risk management capability.
• Exceptional stakeholder engagement, communication and influencing skills, with the ability to build confidence across executive, governance and delivery groups.
• A strong commitment to health, safety and wellbeing.

Experience within the water, wastewater or broader infrastructure sector will be highly regarded, as will an engineering qualification or equivalent professional expertise.

This is an outstanding opportunity to lead programmes of regional significance and play a key role in delivering essential infrastructure for the people of Tāmaki Makaurau.

Me pēhea te tono mai | How to Apply

Come and join our team! If you are looking for an exciting career opportunity with a fantastic team then please apply online today - www.careers.watercare.co.nz