Communications and Engagement Manager - Water Hawkes Bay

Populous People Limited; Hawke's Bay; On-site; NZD 90,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

Populous People Limited in Hawke’s Bay seeks an Engagement and Communications Manager to steer Water Hawke’s Bay’s communications and engagement strategy as the region prepares to deliver drinking water, wastewater and stormwater services from 1 July 2027.

You will lead across communications, engagement, customer experience and reputation management, building trusted relationships with mana whenua, communities, regulators and governance bodies, guiding brand development through a period of

Qualifications

• Senior leadership experience in managing strategic communications in politically complex environments.
• Ability to engage with and present to key regional leaders and stakeholders, including mana whenua, will be essential.
• Relatability to utilities and infrastructure, and experience operating in multi-shareholder environments highly regarded.
• Brand and organisational identity development expertise and messaging across audiences and channels.

Responsibilities

• Steer Water Hawke’s Bay’s communications and engagement strategy for the region.
• Provide structured, consistent communications to governance bodies and shareholder councils.
• Lead across communications, engagement, customer experience and reputation management.
• Support refinement of the organisation’s purpose, vision, values and identity.
• Ensure narrative and stakeholder relationships are coherent and aligned with Hawke’s Bay communities.

Skills

Strategic communications

Stakeholder engagement

Public speaking

Leadership

Change management

Job description

This new opportunity will have you steering and guiding the communications and engagement for the new regional water services entity across the Hawke’s Bay region. This role is crucial in ensuring Water Hawke’s Bay (WHB) is ready to begin delivering drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater services from 1 July 2027, with a focus on providing safe and reliable water services for generations to come.

As Engagement and Communications Manager, you will be steering Water Hawke’s Bays’ communications and engagement strategy. This enduring programme of work is centred around building trust with communities, mana whenua, workforce and regulators, while standing up the channels, brand and systems the organisation will run on day one. You will ensure provision of structured, consistent communications to governance bodies and shareholder councils, and provide strategic and operational leadership across communications, engagement, customer experience, and reputation management.

You’ll work with key leaders across the entity to support the refinement of the organisation’s purpose, vision, values, and identity. And you will ensure the organisation’s narrative, stakeholder relationships, customer experience foundations, and public communications are coherent, trusted, and aligned with the aspirations of Hawke’s Bay communities.

To be successful you will need senior leadership experience in managing strategic communications in politically complex environments. The ability to engage with and present to key regional leaders and stakeholders including mana whenua will be essential. Relatability to utilities and infrastructure, and experience operating in multi shareholder environments will be highly regarded. Your brand and organisational identity development expertise and experience creating messaging that engages across different audiences and channels. will ensure you have real impact here. A creative and collaborative mindset, balanced with a strong focus on delivery and results is essential in this environment. Experience in steering teams and leading leaders through transformation change and high impact projects will be highly regarded.

This is an exciting and impactful role. If you have the required strategic communication expertise and want to be a part of something very special, we would love to hear from you.