Director of Electrical Operations - NZ

Newenergy; New Plymouth; Hybrid; NZD 180,000 - 290,000; Full time

Job summary

New Energy in New Zealand is seeking an experienced electrical construction leader to own our electrical operations nationwide. This senior role oversees project delivery, people, and customer relationships while guiding growth of the electrical business.

You’ll lead Electrical Project Managers, Site Managers and Supervisors, ensuring safe, on-time delivery within budget and quality standards. The role reports to the Managing Director and can base anywhere in New Zealand with travel to sites.

Qualifications

• Track record of delivering complex electrical construction projects.
• Experience leading multi-disciplinary teams and subcontractors.
• Strong commercial judgement and planning skills.

Responsibilities

• Lead Electrical Project Managers, Construction/Site Managers and Supervisors.
• Ensure safe, on-time, on-budget delivery to required quality.
• Manage project budgets, cost performance and programme.
• Build strong customer relationships and manage contractual performance.
• Lead internal electrical teams and specialist subcontractors.
• Plan resources, procure subcontractors and coordinate delivery.
• Oversee QA/QC and construction completion.
• Provide visible health and safety leadership.
• Identify opportunities to improve systems, capability and delivery.
• Build the team, processes and partnerships to support growth.

Skills

Leadership

People management

Budgeting

Contract administration

QA/QC

Health & safety leadership

Customer relationship management

Education

Electrical trade qualification

Job description

Lead the delivery. Build the team. Help shape what’s next.

New Energy is looking for an experienced electrical construction leader to take ownership of our electrical operations across New Zealand.

This is a senior leadership role with responsibility for project delivery, people, commercial performance, customers and the continued growth of the electrical business.

Our electrical operation currently delivers around $40M of work each year across approximately four major projects, supported by a lean internal team and specialist electrical subcontractors.

Reporting to the Managing Director, you’ll have the opportunity to make a real impact on how we deliver projects today and how we build the capability to grow tomorrow.

Job Description

What you’ll be responsible for:

• Leading Electrical Project Managers, Construction/Site Managers and Supervisors
• Overall delivery of electrical projects — safely, on time, to budget and to the required quality
• Managing project budgets, cost performance and programme
• Building strong customer relationships and managing contractual performance
• Leading internal electrical teams and specialist subcontractors
• Resource planning, subcontractor procurement and delivery planning
• Electrical quality, QA/QC and construction completion
• Visible health and safety leadership
• Identifying opportunities to improve systems, capability, productivity and delivery
• Building the team, processes and subcontractor partnerships needed to support future growth

Our typical electrical construction scope includes DC cabling, LV/MV systems, inverter and transformer stations, and 33kV reticulation. New Energy supports cold commissioning but does not lead overall project commissioning.

What we’re looking for:

We’re open-minded about your current title. You may already be an Electrical Director, Operations Manager or Project Director, or you could be an experienced Senior Project Manager ready for the next step.

What matters most is your track record of successfully delivering complex electrical construction projects and leading people.

You’ll bring:

• A relevant electrical trade, engineering or industry qualification
• Strong people leadership and management capability
• Sound commercial judgement, cost control and planning skills
• Strong contract administration experience, ideally with NZS and/or FIDIC contracts
• Experience managing subcontractors and complex project interfaces
• Strong QA/QC and health and safety leadership
• Excellent customer and stakeholder management skills
• The confidence to make decisions, solve problems and have difficult conversations when required

Experience in utility-scale solar, BESS or renewable energy would be valuable, but isn’t essential. We’re also interested in strong leaders from electrical infrastructure, transmission and distribution, substations, industrial electrical construction and other major-project environments.

The person

As well as having a great attitude, you’ll be a practical and approachable leader who takes ownership and gets things done.

You’re comfortable making decisions, dealing with issues early and finding solutions rather than creating unnecessary complexity. You communicate clearly, build trust with your teams and customers, and can hold people accountable while maintaining strong working relationships.

Most importantly, you’re someone people want to work with and trust to deliver.

What’s in it for you?

This is an opportunity to take genuine ownership of a growing national electrical operation.

You’ll have the scope to influence how we deliver projects, develop our people and capability, strengthen our systems and subcontractor network, and help shape where the business goes over the next few years.

The role can be based anywhere in New Zealand, with regular travel to projects around the country.