Construction Technical Manager - Major Land Development

SA Water; Adelaide; On-site; AUD 150,000 - 200,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Work with cutting edge technology

Mentorship and knowledge building

Employee Assistance Programs

Purchasing Leave

Job summary

SA Water is seeking a seasoned leader to head the Construction Services team, guiding major land development projects across South Australia. You will coordinate with developers, agencies, consultants, and internal teams to ensure safe, efficient water and wastewater servicing aligned with growth plans.

You will drive planning, governance, and delivery while balancing safety, commercial objectives and regulatory requirements. Experience in urban growth projects is highly regarded.

Qualifications

• Candidates should demonstrate leadership across large, multi-disciplinary teams.
• Experience managing complex stakeholder relationships within land development or infrastructure environments.
• Strong knowledge of land development processes, growth infrastructure planning, and delivery frameworks.
• Experience negotiating agreements and managing customer relationships.
• Proven ability to manage complex projects, budgets, risks and schedules.

Responsibilities

• Lead and develop a high‑performing team delivering major land development outcomes across SA's growth corridors.
• Oversee servicing solutions, infrastructure planning, development assessments, and project delivery.
• Build relationships with developers, government agencies, consultants, and internal stakeholders to enable outcomes.
• Provide expert advice on water and wastewater servicing requirements, asset standards and regulatory obligations.
• Oversee major development applications, infrastructure agreements and commercial arrangements.
• Lead cross‑functional collaboration and negotiate complex technical and stakeholder matters.

Skills

Leadership

Stakeholder management

Communication

Influencing

Project management

Education

Engineering degree

Construction Management

Urban Planning

Project Management

Job description

SA Water is a successful, modern water utility wholly owned by the Government of South Australia. We employ more than 1,700 people across a broad range of disciplines who operate more than $14 billion worth of infrastructure to deliver essential water and sewerage services to more than 1.8 million South Australians.

With operations and offices across the state, our strength and expertise have been shaped by our history. For more than 165 years, South Australians have depended on us to innovate and deliver efficient and sustainable water services. With nationally and internationally recognised industry expertise, we’re focused on understanding and meeting our customers’ expectations.

As well as safely delivering smart and reliable services for our customers of today, we innovate to shape the water solutions of the future that will support thriving economies and healthy communities.

We are driven by our values; we value our people, we do work that matters, we keep it real, we know that our work has impact, and we are future focussed. Staying true to our values ensures that we consistently deliver positive outcomes for all South Australians.

About the job

Reporting to the Manager Construction Services, you will lead a team responsible for supporting and facilitating major land development projects across South Australia. You will work closely with developers, government agencies, consultants, contractors, and internal stakeholders to ensure water and wastewater servicing strategies are developed and delivered efficiently, safely, and in alignment with SA Water's growth objectives.

You will provide leadership across planning, servicing assessments, infrastructure delivery coordination, stakeholder engagement, and governance activities to support the successful delivery of major urban growth and development precincts.

As a key leader within the Construction Services team, you will drive collaborative outcomes that balance customer needs, commercial objectives, regulatory requirements, and long-term asset sustainability.

About you

You are a highly capable leader with experience in land development, infrastructure delivery, urban growth, or utility servicing environments. You possess strong stakeholder management capabilities and have a proven ability to lead teams, influence outcomes, and navigate complex development projects involving multiple parties and competing priorities.

You are passionate about enabling customer outcomes while ensuring infrastructure is planned and delivered safely, efficiently, and sustainably.

You will:

• Lead and develop a high-performing team responsible for delivering major land development outcomes across South Australia's growth corridors, fostering a culture of safety, customer focus, innovation, and continuous improvement.
• Support strategic growth objectives by overseeing servicing solutions, infrastructure planning, development assessments, and the delivery of major development projects.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with developers, consultants, local and state government agencies, industry bodies, and internal stakeholders to facilitate successful development outcomes.
• Provide expert advice on water and wastewater servicing requirements, growth planning, asset standards, regulatory obligations, and development delivery pathways.
• Oversee the assessment and management of major development applications, infrastructure agreements, servicing proposals, and associated commercial arrangements.
• Lead cross-functional collaboration and negotiate complex technical, commercial, and stakeholder matters to ensure the successful delivery of major growth and infrastructure projects.
• Monitor and manage project performance, risks, budgets, schedules, resources, and identify opportunities to improve servicing processes, stakeholder experience, and infrastructure delivery outcomes.

Your success in this role will come from:

• Tertiary qualifications in Engineering, Construction Management, Urban Planning, Project Management, or a related discipline, or equivalent industry experience.
• Demonstrated experience leading teams and managing complex stakeholder relationships within land development, utilities, infrastructure, construction, or urban development environments.
• Strong knowledge of land development processes, growth infrastructure planning, water and wastewater servicing requirements, and development delivery frameworks.
• Experience working with developers, consultants, government agencies, contractors, and regulatory authorities to achieve customer, commercial, and development outcomes.
• Proven ability to manage complex projects and programs, including risk management, budget oversight, performance reporting, resource planning, and issue resolution.
• Strong commercial acumen, including experience negotiating agreements, managing customer relationships, and balancing competing stakeholder priorities.
• Excellent communication, leadership, and influencing skills, supported by an understanding of safety, environmental, quality, and governance requirements. Experience with major urban growth projects, greenfield developments, master-planned communities, or strategic infrastructure programs will be highly regarded.

Benefits you will get in return:

This is a rare opportunity to play a critical management role within one of South Australia's largest infrastructure delivery programs. You'll have the ability to influence major commercial outcomes, shape industry partnerships, and contribute to projects that deliver lasting benefits for communities across the state.

Join a purpose-motivated organisation committed to innovation, collaboration, safety, and creating sustainable outcomes for South Australia.

• Work with cutting edge technology on a variety of assets and diverse projects
• Mentorship and opportunities to build up the technical knowledge in engineering to shape the future of the organisation
• Employee Assistance Programs (EAP)
• Option to extend your holidays by Purchasing Leave

Further information can be found in the attached candidate pack - Construction Technical Manager - PD.docx

For enquiries, please contact Gregg Forte from the Talent Acquisition team [e-mail]

Applications close 5pm, 20th of November.

A great customer experience is best achieved by having a diverse and inclusive team that reflects the community we serve. Applications are encouraged from everyone, including people living with disability, job seekers of all ages, members of the LGBTIQA+ community, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and people from culturally diverse backgrounds.

Please note: We request that recruitment agencies do not submit candidates for this position, as they will not be accepted.