Senior Project Manager

Queenstown Airport proudly connects our home with Aotearoa New Zealand and the world. We operate world-class infrastructure, provide strong aviation networks, and strive to deliver experiences beyond our customers’ and communities’ expectations.

Our vision is to be an innovative airport that people love to travel through, and our community takes pride in. To achieve this, our strategic plan includes an ambitious programme of core infrastructure and capital development projects.

The Position

We are seeking an experienced Senior Project Manager to lead and deliver complex, high-value infrastructure projects across Queenstown Airport. This role is responsible for driving projects from initial scope definition and business case development right through to market engagement, procurement, and successful execution.

In this hands-on senior role, you will take ownership of multidisciplinary project delivery while building strong, collaborative relationships across internal business units, consultants, project teams, and external stakeholders. You will also play a key leadership role within the team, helping to mentor less experienced project managers and promote best-practice project delivery methodologies.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and deliver multiple complex, high-value infrastructure projects on time, on scope, and on budget, ensuring intended business benefits are realized.
• Define scopes of work, delivery approaches, and key project requirements, translating them into documentation that supports market engagement, procurement, and execution.
• Partner with senior leaders and stakeholders to define problem statements, identify project opportunities, and build robust business cases for approval.
• Manage external contractors, ensuring safety plans are thoroughly reviewed and implemented in close collaboration with HSE specialists.
• Build and implement stakeholder communications and engagement plans to ensure a collaborative approach to project delivery across internal and external teams.
• Oversee project governance, variation management, and reporting—including status updates, trend analysis, and Board-level capital expenditure requests.
• Provide leadership, guidance, and mentoring to project team members and less experienced project managers.

About You

You are a proactive, highly accountable project delivery leader who thrives on complexity and making things happen. You bring strong commercial and technical acumen, paired with the interpersonal skills needed to influence outcomes, navigate competing demands, and build credibility across all levels of an organisation.

To be successful in this role, you will ideally bring:

• Extensive experience successfully leading and delivering complex, multidisciplinary infrastructure projects (PRINCE2, PMP, or PMBOK practitioner qualifications are highly regarded).
• Proven expertise in defining scopes of work, developing business cases, and managing procurement and project execution strategies.
• Strong understanding of project governance, risk management, procurement, and Health & Safety best practice.
• Experience managing external contractors and overseeing safety plans alongside HSE specialists.
• Exceptional stakeholder engagement, facilitation, and communication skills, with a proven ability to manage conflicting priorities.
• Advanced expertise in project management software and strong proficiency in Microsoft Office tools.
• Demonstrated ability to mentor, coach, and build project management capability within a team.

Why work for us?

• Health insurance through Southern Cross
• Comprehensive Whānau Policy
• Training and development opportunities
• Annual well-being subsidy
• OCP - counselling programme
• Day off for your birthday
• Onsite parking
• Long service recognition (5, 10 & 15 years)
• Opportunities to volunteer for community activities and events
• Gold Pride Pledge Supporter

Applicants for this position must have NZ residency or a valid NZ work visa.

Queenstown Airport is an equal opportunity employer and committed to creating a diverse and inclusive workforce. We encourage all suitably qualified applicants to apply.

For a copy of the position description or if you have any questions about the role, please don't hesitate to contact [email protected].

Apply now via SEEK. Application deadline is Thursday 1 October 2026.