Commercial Lead

Taranaki; New Plymouth; On-site; NZD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible working arrangements

Positive work-life balance

Support for ongoing growth and development

Job summary

Taranaki is seeking a Commercial Lead to join Venture Taranaki, located in New Plymouth. This role involves supporting business development and progressing investment-ready initiatives across sectors. Key responsibilities include developing business cases, financial models, and collaborating with various stakeholders. The ideal candidate will have strong commercial acumen, experience in multi-stakeholder environments, and the ability to assess feasibility and investment readiness. The position offers a supportive workplace culture with a focus on development.

Qualifications

• Strong commercial acumen, including experience developing business cases and financial models.
• Proven ability to support or lead business development.
• Experience in complex, multi-stakeholder environments.

Responsibilities

• Support business development by progressing commercially viable opportunities.
• Partner with leaders to translate strategy into investment-ready initiatives.
• Provide commercial advice for decision-making and feasibility assessments.

Skills

Commercial acumen

Business development

Analytical capability

Stakeholder engagement

Financial literacy

Tools

Business case development

Financial modeling

Market analysis

Job description

This is a unique opportunity to join Venture Taranaki and play a central role in turning regional ambition into commercially viable, investment ready outcomes.

As Commercial Lead, you will work across priority programmes and strategic initiatives to help shape and progress opportunities from concept through to implementation. A key focus of the role is developing robust business cases, financial models, and delivery pathways that ensure initiatives are grounded in market reality and positioned for funding and execution.

Working closely with General Managers, Programme Leads, and external partners, you will bring a practical, hands on approach to commercialisation, supporting opportunity development, testing market demand, structuring partnerships, and helping establish clear pathways to delivery. You will be involved throughout the lifecycle of initiatives, providing commercial insight at critical decision points to strengthen feasibility, reduce risk, and improve investment readiness.

You will also contribute to Venture Taranaki’s long term sustainability by identifying and progressing diversified revenue opportunities, and applying commercial insight to funding models, pricing, partnerships, and cost recovery approaches. Your work will help strengthen financial resilience while supporting meaningful regional outcomes.

This role sits at the intersection of strategy and delivery, contributing to initiatives across sectors such as food and fibre, tourism, and energy. It offers the opportunity to work with industry, investors, and stakeholders to help translate ideas into tangible outcomes that support Taranaki’s long term economic growth.

Mō mātou / About us

As the regional development agency for Taranaki, Te Puna Umanga Venture Taranaki are working to build a thriving Taranaki economy that supports the growth and prosperity of our region’s people and environment alongside our economy. We support local entrepreneurship and enterprises to grow, promote our region and attract visitation, talent, and investment, and help to develop and establish our sectors.

We achieve this through sectoral support initiatives, business growth services, regional promotions, and strategic projects and planning, working across the organisation, and with our numerous partners and stakeholders to deliver on our regional strategy and vision Tapuae Roa.

Based in the heart of Ngāmotu New Plymouth, our team of around 25 people work with stakeholders across a wide range of industries and sectors, local and national government, community groups, iwi, and individual enterprises.

With a strong and inclusive culture, we offer a modern, open working environment, a positive work‑life balance, flexible working arrangements, and a commitment to supporting your ongoing growth and development.

We are also proud to be on a journey to becoming a Te Tiriti‑led organisation. We value people who are committed to contributing to this vision and to developing their own understanding and capability as tangata tiriti.

Ngā kawenga matua / Key responsibilities

• Support business development by identifying, shaping, and progressing a pipeline of commercially viable opportunities
• Partner with General Managers and Programme Leads to translate strategy into practical, investment‑ready initiatives
• Provide commercial input into programmes and projects to ensure strong financial foundations and market alignment
• Support the development of business cases, financial models, and investment proposals
• Build and maintain relationships with key partners, stakeholders, and investors to enable collaboration and opportunity progression
• Contribute to the design of partnership, ownership, and delivery models for initiatives
• Provide commercial advice to support decision‑making, including feasibility, risk, and investment readiness
• Embed consistent commercial discipline, tools, and frameworks across projects and programmes
• Apply commercial insight to strengthen pricing, funding models, partnerships, and cost recovery approaches
• Lead the identification and development of new revenue and funding opportunities to support long‑term financial sustainability

Ngā pūkenga me ngā wheako / Skills and experience

• Strong commercial acumen, including experience developing business cases and financial models
• Proven ability to support or lead business development and progress opportunities from concept through to delivery
• Experience working across complex, multi‑stakeholder environments
• Ability to assess feasibility, risk, and investment readiness of initiatives
• Experience with funding models, pricing strategies, or revenue diversification approaches
• Strong analytical capability and financial literacy
• Ability to translate strategy into practical, implementable commercial solutions
• Understanding of partnership, ownership, and governance structures
• Strong relationship management and stakeholder engagement skills
• Ability to work effectively in a dynamic, evolving environment, contributing as part of a collaborative, team‑focused organisation

Applications close 5pm Friday 15 May. Interviews are expected to take place the following week.

We reserve the right to close this advertisement early if a suitable candidate is identified.