Lead Asset Planner OSI (Operational Services Infrastructure)

SA Water; Adelaide; On-site; AUD 150,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

SA Water is seeking a Lead Asset Planner OSI to provide strategic direction for asset planning, lead a team, and drive investment decisions to sustain water services in South Australia.

The role focuses on risk-based decision-making, lifecycle costing and stakeholder collaboration to deliver customer-focused outcomes across the OSI portfolio.

Qualifications

• Strategic, people-focused asset management leader with extensive infrastructure portfolio experience.
• Ability to make risk-based decisions that optimise asset performance and whole-of-life costs.
• Strong balance of technical expertise, commercial acumen and leadership capability.
• Proven ability to lead asset planning and drive long-term investment decisions.
• Demonstrated experience in risk-based decision-making and stakeholder collaboration.

Responsibilities

• Lead and develop a high-performing Asset Planning team, fostering accountability and continuous improvement.
• Develop and implement Asset Management Plans and Strategies aligned with objectives and outcomes.
• Drive asset investment planning, balancing risk, lifecycle costs and customer value.
• Lead robust business cases and investment recommendations with evidence-based decisions.
• Champion risk-based asset management, ensuring safety, environmental, regulatory and quality compliance.
• Build stakeholder partnerships and influence strategic decisions using asset data insights.

Skills

Leadership

Asset strategy

Investment planning

Stakeholder engagement

Risk management

Change management

Communication

Education

Engineering/Science/Asset Management discipline

Post-graduate property management

Job description

Lead Asset Planner OSI (Operational Services Infrastructure)

SA Water is a modern, government-owned utility serving over 1.8 million South Australians with essential water and sewerage services. With more than 1,700 employees and $14 billion in infrastructure, we’ve been delivering sustainable, innovative water solutions for over 165 years. Our nationally and globally recognised expertise helps us meet customer expectations today while shaping future water services to support healthy communities and thriving economies. SA Water values its people, doing meaningful work, staying authentic, making an impact, and focusing on the future.

About the Role:

This is a critical leadership role responsible for ensuring our assets continue to deliver safe, reliable and customer-focused outcomes while balancing risk, performance and whole-of-life cost considerations. You will provide strategic direction, lead a team of asset planning professionals, and drive investment decisions that support the long-term sustainability of South Australia's water and wastewater services.

If you're passionate about driving smarter infrastructure decisions and creating lasting impact, we’d love to hear from you.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and develop a high-performing Asset Planning team, fostering a culture of accountability, collaboration, innovation and continuous improvement.
• Develop and implement Asset Management Plans and Strategies that align with organisational objectives, customer needs and long-term service outcomes.
• Drive asset investment planning and prioritisation, balancing risk, performance, lifecycle costs and customer value across the OSI portfolio.
• Lead the development of robust business cases and investment recommendations, ensuring evidence-based decision-making and optimal resource allocation.
• Champion risk-based asset management practices, ensuring compliance with safety, environmental, regulatory and quality requirements.
• Build strong stakeholder partnerships and leverage asset data and insights to influence strategic decisions, improve asset performance and deliver sustainable customer-focused outcomes.

About the person

The ideal candidate will be a strategic and people-focused asset management leader with extensive experience managing large infrastructure portfolios and driving long-term investment planning. They will bring a strong balance of technical expertise, commercial acumen and leadership capability, with a proven ability to make risk-based decisions that optimise asset performance, customer outcomes and whole-of-life costs.

What you’ll bring

• Qualifications in Engineering, Science, Asset Management or a related discipline, coupled with a strong understanding of contemporary asset management principles and practices.
• Proven leadership experience, with the ability to build, mentor and develop high-performing teams in complex and evolving environments.
• Expertise in asset strategy and investment planning, including the development of asset management plans, business cases and long-term infrastructure investment programs.
• Strong stakeholder engagement and communication skills, with the ability to influence, collaborate and communicate effectively across technical, operational and executive audiences.
• Demonstrated risk management and analytical capability, using data, insights and sound judgement to make informed, value-based decisions.
• Experience driving change and continuous improvement, ideally within large, asset-intensive or regulated organisations, with exposure to critical infrastructure sectors highly regarded.
• Post-graduate qualifications in property management or similar advantageous.

If your background includes similar education and transferable skills, we’d love to hear from you!

Our Industry is like no other. Dive into the wonderful world of water and explore the boundless opportunities. Learn more about the water industry at careersinwater.com.au

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 LGBTQ+ 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.