- Put customers, people and safety at the heart of a new utility
- Build the culture and customer experience of a new organisation
- Masterton-based.
Mō tēnei tūranga mahi | About this role
Waitī Waters is a new, publicly owned water services organisation headquartered in Masterton. Established under the Local Government (Water Services) Act 2025, Waitī Waters is being established by four district councils, South Wairarapa, Tararua, Carterton and Masterton, and two iwi, Rangitāne and Ngāti Kahungunu, to serve current and future generations in the Wairarapa and Tararua region.
Our responsibilities are significant and ambitious, delivering drinking water, wastewater and stormwater services to approximately 25,000 connections and managing $707 million in assets and a $466 million capital works programme into 2034.
The General Manager, Customer, People and Safety will lead the functions that shape how customers, communities, partners and staff experience Waitī Waters. You will bring together customer and communications, people and culture, and health and safety into one group, and create the trusted, safe and engaged organisation the region deserves.
Importantly, you will also be drawn to these regions, with a strong sense of place and a desire to serve in the provision of our most vital infrastructure.
Ko wai koe | About you
We are seeking a people-centred leader who has built culture, capability and customer trust in a complex organisation, and who brings the warmth and relational intelligence to operate across diverse partners with integrity and mana.
Great candidates for this role will likely have:
- Significant senior leadership experience across a mix of customer, communications, people and culture, health and safety, or organisational development, whether gained as a General Manager or as a proven senior leader.
- A strong record of building organisational culture, workforce capability and employee engagement, and a genuine commitment to health, safety and wellbeing, ideally through change or transition.
- Sound understanding of customer experience, customer service, and delivering high-quality services to build customer and community trust and meet expectations
- Demonstrated ability to build and maintain organisational reputations through effective and trusted communications, and public engagement and consultation
- A commitment to being part of the founding executive leadership team shaping performance, teams, systems and culture for a new community-based organisation.
- A commitment to working in partnership with Councils and iwi to make Waitī Waters a success for the region.
- A values-driven style with a connection to, or a passion for, the Wairarapa and Tararua region.