Manager Water Planning

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

Job summary

SA Water in Adelaide is seeking a Manager Water Growth Planning to lead a team of seven planners and engineers, delivering robust infrastructure planning strategies that support South Australia’s growth. You will provide strategic direction, technical oversight and capability development to inform major capital investment programs across water networks, pipelines and treatment facilities.

Working closely with regulators, developers and government agencies, you will shape growth outcomes for both

Qualifications

• Tertiary qualification in Engineering or related discipline.
• Experience leading infrastructure planning teams and delivering planning strategies.
• Strong stakeholder engagement and communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Identify, prioritise, and plan short-, medium- and long-term capital investments for water networks and treatment facilities across SA.
• Lead risk-based planning and apply Water risk framework to identify and mitigate major risks.
• Develop and lead a multidisciplinary team of planners and engineers with a focus on diversity and inclusion.
• Build and maintain relationships with regulators, developers, and community representatives.
• Provide financial stewardship of growth planning budgets and capital forecasting inputs.

Skills

Leadership

Water growth planning

Stakeholder engagement

Team management

Strategic direction

Education

Engineering degree or related discipline

Job description

About the Company

At SA Water, our work sustains life. Every day, we deliver safe, reliable water and wastewater services to more than 1.8 million South Australians, supporting healthy communities across our state.

Behind this essential service are people who care. From engineering and science to construction, digital, operations and customer experience, every role plays a part. We bring our authentic selves to work, driven by purpose, supporting one another to deliver work that truly matters.

About the job

As the Manager Water Growth Planning, you will lead and develop a team of asset planning professionals responsible for identifying, planning, and scoping the infrastructure solutions needed to support South Australia's growth. Leading a team of seven planners and engineers, with anticipated future growth of the team, you will provide strategic direction, technical oversight, and capability development while ensuring high-quality planning outcomes are delivered across a diverse portfolio of water infrastructure assets. Your team's work will directly influence investment decisions across water networks, pipelines, pump stations, treatment infrastructure, and emerging water reuse opportunities that support both metropolitan Adelaide and regional South Australia.

This is a highly visible leadership role focused on overseeing the delivery of infrastructure planning solutions that enable future growth. Rather than delivering projects, your focus will be on guiding a team that develops robust planning strategies, infrastructure scopes, and asset solutions that inform major capital investment programs. Working closely with stakeholders across SA Water, government agencies, developers, regulators, and industry partners, you will help ensure growth infrastructure requirements are recognised early and supported by sound planning and analysis. While Adelaide will be a key focus, the role also provides opportunities to influence growth outcomes across regional South Australia, with occasional travel to locations such as Mount Barker, Victor Harbor, Murray Bridge, and Whyalla to understand local needs and build strong stakeholder relationships. In a fast-paced and evolving environment, you'll play a pivotal role in shaping the infrastructure that will support South Australia's future growth

About the Person

We're looking for a highly experienced infrastructure planning leader with experience in asset management and water infrastructure planning and a proven track record of delivering outcomes in large, complex and fast-paced environments. You bring deep expertise across water networks, including pipelines, pump stations and treatment infrastructure, coupled with a broad understanding of asset management, infrastructure planning and network design. Experience integrating water reuse opportunities into long-term planning is highly regarded, as is a strong appreciation for balancing growth, risk, cost, service and environmental outcomes. You'll hold qualifications in Engineering, Planning or a related discipline and have successfully contributed to major infrastructure investment programs valued between $500 million and $1 billion or more.

Beyond your technical expertise, you are a collaborative and authentic leader who knows how to build capability, develop talent and create high-performing teams. You foster strong relationships and strengthen collaboration across peers, leaders and team members throughout the business, bringing people together to achieve shared outcomes. You have exceptional communication and stakeholder engagement skills, with the ability to influence and build trusted relationships at every level, from technical specialists and operational teams through to executives, developers, regulators and Government agencies. Comfortable navigating ambiguity and change, you bring a strategic mindset, commercial awareness and a passion for shaping infrastructure that supports thriving communities. Most importantly, you'll be motivated by the opportunity to lead a team whose work will have a lasting impact on South Australia's future.

About Growth

The Growth business group is at the heart of shaping South Australia’s future. This team supports housing and infrastructure growth by delivering the infrastructure needed to expand our network and get trusted water and wastewater services to growing communities, enabling South Australians to thrive.

Working in the Growth group means partnering with developers, planners, and government to provide clear pathways, single‑point accountability, and consistent decision‑making for customers. By combining expertise, innovation, and strong relationships, the team delivers smarter solutions that support South Australia’s growth now and for generations to come.

In addition, your responsibilities will include:

Fostering trust with our people, customers and community by providing expert advice and service that ensure we effectively communicate and engage audiences with our business strategy and its delivery across South Australia, every day.

You will:

• Manage the identification, prioritisation, and planning of short-, medium- and long-term capital investments for Water networks and treatment facilities to deliver optimal outcomes at a catchment and system level for twenty-nine Water systems across the state.


• Lead risk-based planning approaches with the application of Water risk framework for enabling growth to identify intolerable risks and ensure appropriate mitigation strategies are highlighted to DRC to manage risk of spills and odour.


• Lead and develop a multidisciplinary team of planners and engineers focussed with focus on diversity and inclusion.


• Build and maintain strong relationships with internal and external stakeholders, including regulators, developers, and community representatives.


• Financial stewardship of Water growth planning budgets and capital forecasting inputs

Your success in this role will come from:

• Tertiary qualification in Engineering or related discipline.


• Extensive experience in Water infrastructure planning with proven data driven decision making capability.


• Strong understanding of asset management principles, growth planning, and infrastructure investments under regulatory framework with focus on innovation and continuous improvement.


• Proven Leadership experience in managing diverse and high performing technical teams within regulated utility environment.


• Demonstrated experience in planning, management, and delivery of complex and significant growth asset portfolios.


• Strong interpersonal skills, including ability to influence, communicate, lead through change, and manage conflict.

Further information can be found in the attached PD – Manager Integrated Growth Water Planning.docx

Applications close 5pm, 23rd September 2026.

For enquiries, please contact Heidi Neale from the Talent Acquisition team ([e-mail])

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.

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.

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