Business Leader – Wellington

Vitruvius; Wellington; On-site; NZD 180,000 - 280,000; Full time

Job summary

Vitruvius is seeking a Business Leader for the Wellington office to oversee people, clients, and commercial performance while remaining actively engaged in client work and technical delivery for part of their time.

Reporting to the Managing Director and joining the Senior Leadership Team, you will establish standards and culture, develop the local team, manage budgets, and drive growth in the Wellington water practice through stronger client relationships.

Qualifications

• Demonstrated experience leading a team. This is an essential requirement.
• Recognised technical credibility in your discipline. Water experience is strongly preferred; other disciplines must show strength across the role.
• Approximately fifteen years’ experience in engineering consultancy.
• Genuine people leadership capability, including coaching, development and performance management.
• Commercial accountability for a budget, with confidence in pricing, forecasting and decision making.
• An established Wellington network, or the ability to build one through Vitruvius current client relationships.
• A preference for regular office presence, which the role requires to be effective.

Responsibilities

• Lead the Wellington office as its most senior representative, establishing expectations, standards and culture
• Develop and support three direct reports and build capability across the wider team
• Own Wellington’s commercial performance, business plan and growth trajectory, pursued at a measured and sustainable pace
• Maintain active technical delivery and client-facing project involvement alongside leadership responsibilities
• Grow the water practice, currently the clearest area of opportunity for the business in the Wellington market
• Develop client relationships in line with the firm’s model of fewer clients and deeper relationships, generating further work from within existing projects
• Contribute to the strategic direction of the wider business as a member of the Senior Leadership Team, and lead the Wellington component of annual business planning

Skills

Team leadership

Water project experience

People leadership

Budget accountability

Client relationships

Wellington network

Office presence

Forecasting

Job description

Jora New Zealand will close on 16th September 2026. Thank you for being with us, we are cheering you on as you continue your career journey.

An opportunity to lead a Wellington business within a New Zealand owned consultancy, where strategy is set locally and decisions are made without reference to an offshore head office.

Capstone Recruitment is partnering with Vitruvius to appoint a Business Leader for its Wellington office. Vitruvius is a New Zealand employee owned engineering consultancy of approximately 60 people across Wellington, Auckland and Tauranga, delivering water, rail, transport, land development and surveying services to clients nationally. Its purpose is projects that matter delivered by people who care. The organisation is flat with a clear ambition for its next stage of growth.

About the role

Reporting to the Managing Director and joining the Senior Leadership Team, the Business Leader holds accountability for the Wellington office: its people, its clients, its commercial performance and its growth. The role is deliberately not a pure management position. The appointee remains actively engaged in client work and technical delivery for close to half their time.

Key responsibilities

• Lead the Wellington office as its most senior representative, establishing expectations, standards and culture
• Develop and support three direct reports and build capability across the wider team
• Own Wellington’s commercial performance, business plan and growth trajectory, pursued at a measured and sustainable pace
• Maintain active technical delivery and client-facing project involvement alongside leadership responsibilities
• Grow the water practice, currently the clearest area of opportunity for the business in the Wellington market
• Develop client relationships in line with the firm’s model of fewer clients and deeper relationships, generating further work from within existing projects
• Contribute to the strategic direction of the wider business as a member of the Senior Leadership Team, and lead the Wellington component of annual business planning

Skills and experience

• Demonstrated experience leading a team. This is an essential requirement
• Recognised technical credibility in your discipline. Water experience is strongly preferred; candidates from other disciplines will need to demonstrate strength across all other aspects of the role
• Approximately fifteen years’ experience in engineering consultancy.
• Genuine people leadership capability, including coaching, development and performance management
• Commercial accountability for a budget, with confidence in pricing, forecasting and decision making
• An established Wellington network, or the ability to build one through Vitruvius current client relationships
• A preference for regular office presence, which the role requires to be effective