General Manager Supply Chain

Air New Zealand; Māngere-Ōtāhuhu; On-site; NZD 250,000 - 350,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Staff travel benefits

FlexiLeave

Learning & development

Wellbeing support

Travel and retail discounts

Job summary

Air New Zealand seeks a General Manager Supply Chain to lead a delivery unit that ensures materials, tooling, GSE and inflight supplies are available for safe, reliable operations at the lowest lifecycle cost. You will align multiple teams, drive transformation, and partner with unions and suppliers to strengthen capability and performance.

You will apply AI, analytics and digital forecasting to optimise planning, inventory and resilience while delivering strategic enterprise outcomes and

Qualifications

• Significant senior leadership experience in complex, highly regulated environments.
• Extensive supply chain leadership experience in aviation or similarly complex, asset intensive and safety critical industries.
• Proven track record in operational transformation and embedding cultural change.
• Experience using AI, advanced analytics and digital forecasting to improve supply chain performance.
• Strong commercial acumen balancing operational integrity, customer outcomes and financial performance.
• Experience developing and delivering enterprise strategy.
• Exceptional stakeholder leadership, capable of influencing senior leaders and unions.
• Ability to make clear decisions in ambiguity and maintain composure during disruption.
• LEAN or Six Sigma expertise is desirable.

Responsibilities

• Set strategic direction for the Supply Chain Delivery Unit and align planning, execution and continuous improvement to deliver outcomes.
• Lead and develop high performing teams and drive cultural change across a complex environment.
• Leverage AI enabled tools, digital forecasting and data driven insights to strengthen planning and inventory.
• Ensure availability of materials, tooling, GSE and inflight supplies while optimizing inventory and supplier performance.
• Build partnerships with suppliers, unions and across the business to support change and excellence.
• Lead delivery of new aircraft programmes and fleet upgrades with governance and compliance.
• Champion ethical, sustainable supply chain practices and regulatory responsibilities.
• Make decisions in ambiguity and address issues early to maintain delivery under pressure.

Skills

Senior leadership

Supply chain leadership

Aviation industry

AI and analytics

Strategic thinking

Stakeholder management

Decision making in ambiguity

LEAN or Six Sigma

Educational qualification

Education

Tertiary qualification

Job description

The future of our airline depends on the strength of the decisions we make long before an aircraft leaves the gate. As General Manager Supply Chain (Delivery Unit Lead), you will shape one of Air New Zealand's most critical enterprise capabilities, setting the direction for an integrated supply chain that ensures the materials, tooling, ground support equipment (GSE) and inflight supplies are available to enable safe, reliable aircraft operations while delivering the lowest total lifecycle cost.

As part of our Tech Ops leadership team, you'll lead an enterprise Delivery Unit that sits at the heart of how Air New Zealand performs. You'll align multiple teams behind shared priorities, balancing long term strategy with operational excellence to deliver the best business outcomes. Working across Procurement, Supplier Relationship Management, Inventory Planning, Global Distribution, GSE and Performance and Sustainability, you'll build trusted partnerships across the business, with suppliers and with our unions to strengthen capability and deliver sustainable commercial outcomes.

You'll create an environment where people feel valued, respected and empowered to contribute their best. Leading with purpose, you'll provide clarity through complexity, make confident decisions, foster accountability and build the capability needed to strengthen our supply chain today while preparing it for tomorrow.

How you'll make an impact

• Set the strategic direction for the Supply Chain Delivery Unit, aligning planning, execution and continuous improvement to deliver outstanding operational, commercial and customer outcomes.
• Lead and develop high performing teams while embedding lasting cultural change across a complex operational environment.
• Leverage AI enabled tools, digital forecasting and data driven insights to strengthen planning, optimise inventory and improve supply chain resilience.
• Ensure the availability of materials, tooling, GSE and inflight supplies, optimising inventory, supplier performance and distribution networks to support safe, reliable operations at the lowest total lifecycle cost.
• Build trusted partnerships across the business, with suppliers and unions, creating alignment that supports organisational change and operational excellence.
• Lead the successful supply chain delivery of new aircraft programmes and fleet upgrades.
• Champion sustainable, ethical and compliant supply chain practices, including fulfilling the regulatory responsibilities of Senior Person for Supply Chain under Part 145.
• Make clear decisions in ambiguity, address issues early and lead with composure when the supply chain is under pressure.

Success in this role will be measured through stronger commercial outcomes, increased supply chain resilience, successful transformation, sustained regulatory compliance, high team engagement and trusted partnerships across the business.

What we're looking for

• Significant senior leadership experience in complex, highly regulated environments.
• Extensive supply chain leadership experience in aviation or similarly complex, asset intensive and safety critical industries.
• Proven success leading operational transformation and embedding lasting cultural change.
• Experience using AI, advanced analytics and digital forecasting to improve supply chain performance and decision making.
• Strong commercial acumen, balancing operational integrity, customer outcomes and financial performance.
• Experience developing and delivering enterprise strategy.
• Exceptional stakeholder leadership, with the ability to influence senior leaders, build strategic supplier relationships and foster constructive partnerships with unions.
• The ability to make clear decisions in ambiguity, address issues early, create accountability and maintain composure during operational disruption.
• Strong negotiation, supplier relationship management and continuous improvement capability, ideally including LEAN or Six Sigma.
• A relevant tertiary qualification or equivalent leadership experience.

If you bring most of this experience, along with transferable skills and the drive to grow, we'd love to hear from you.

What we can offer you

We want our people to live their best lives and access great benefits that support life outside work.

• Generous staff travel benefits for you and your whānau.
• FlexiLeave, giving you the opportunity to purchase up to four additional weeks of leave each year.
• A learning culture that supports your growth through meaningful experiences and development opportunities.
• Access to wellbeing support through our Wellbeing Hub, Employee Assistance Programme and Peer Support networks.
• Discounts across travel, accommodation, retail, banking and insurance, along with access to Air New Zealand's superannuation and medical cover options.

Ready for take-off?

This is a rare opportunity to shape the future of one of Air New Zealand's most critical enterprise functions. If you lead with purpose, create clarity through complexity, build trusted partnerships and have the resilience to drive lasting change, we'd love to hear from you.

Additional Information

At Air New Zealand, we are proudly committed to diversity, equity and inclusion and believe in creating a truly inclusive workplace where everyone can be themselves and thrive. Our people are our greatest asset - because while everything else we do in our operation can be replicated by our competitors, it is our people that truly set us apart. We are firm believers in celebrating the differences and diversity of thought our people bring to their roles.

"Seek to bring distant horizons closer. Once near, seize them and make them your reality."