Head of Customer Experience and Insights

Tiaki Wai; Wellington; Hybrid; NZD 110,000 - 170,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

WFH options

Wellbeing day

Professional development

Annual leave progression

Job summary

Tiaki Wai is seeking a senior Customer Experience Leader to shape how we put customers at the heart of water services in the Wellington region. You’ll partner with the Chief Customer Officer to design and implement an organisation-wide CX capability spanning insights, service design and governance.

You’ll lead multidisciplinary teams, drive customer research and journey redesign, and oversee a Customer Reference Group planned for early 2027 to deliver tangible improvements for diverse

Qualifications

• Senior-level experience in customer experience, service design, customer insights or customer strategy.
• Experience establishing, transforming or maturing customer-focused capabilities.
• Deep expertise in customer research, insight, segmentation and voice-of-customer approaches.
• Strong service design and customer journey capability, with experience redesigning services around customer needs.
• Experience integrating customer, digital and operational data to identify opportunities and influence decisions.
• Ability to influence senior stakeholders and drive alignment across complex organisations.
• Experience building and leading multidisciplinary teams.
• Commitment to accessibility, inclusion and understanding diverse communities.

Responsibilities

• Lead customer experience strategy and create an organisation-wide CX capability.
• Work with Chief Customer Officer to drive insights, service design and governance.
• Oversee Customer Reference Group planned for early 2027.
• Influence senior stakeholders to align across departments and functions.
• Build and lead multidisciplinary teams focused on customer outcomes.

Skills

Senior CX experience

Service design

Customer research

Stakeholder influence

Team leadership

Accessibility & inclusion

Job description

• Shape customer experience from the ground up
• Build a customer-first organisational capability
• Based in Petone

This is a full time position of 40 hours per week

The opportunity

Tiaki Wai is building something new. Our ambition is not simply to establish the systems and services needed to deliver water services, but to create an organisation that is genuinely centred on the customers and communities it exists to serve.

That means putting customer insight, experience and service design at the heart of how we develop services, make investment decisions and measure success. You’ll work with the Chief Customer Officer to lead that work.

Bringing together customer experience strategy, service design, research, insights, segmentation and voice of customer, you’ll build the capability that helps Tiaki Wai understand its customers and translate that understanding into action.

You’ll work across the organisation to ensure the customer and community perspective informs everything from service design and digital experiences to operational improvements and strategic investment. A key priority for this role will be ongoing oversight of a Customer Reference Group, planned to be established from early 2027.

This is an opportunity to do more than inherit an existing CX model. You’ll help create the model, build the capability and establish the disciplines that will influence how Tiaki Wai works for years to come.

About You

We’re looking for a proven customer experience leader who has the breadth to operate across strategy, customer insights, service design and organisational change.

You know how to move from research to insight, from insight to design, and from design to meaningful organisational change.

You’ll Bring

• Senior-level experience in customer experience, service design, customer insights or customer strategy.
• A track record of establishing, transforming or maturing customer-focused capabilities.
• Deep expertise in customer research, insight, segmentation and voice‑of‑customer approaches.
• Strong service design and customer journey capability, with experience redesigning services around customer needs.
• Experience integrating customer, digital and operational data to identify opportunities and influence decisions.
• The ability to influence senior stakeholders and create alignment across complex organisations.
• Experience building and leading multidisciplinary teams.
• A strong commitment to accessibility, inclusion and understanding the needs of diverse communities.

Rather than fitting customer experience into an established organisation, you’ll help establish an organisation with customer and community at its core.

Benefits

At Tiaki Wai, our purpose extends beyond delivering great water services for the region; we foster a thriving community, support a diverse workforce, and offer supportive development opportunities. We genuinely care about your safety and wellbeing.

Our Benefits Include

• Flexible working arrangements including up to 2 days working from home
• Comprehensive wellbeing programme, including one paid wellbeing day annually
• Formal and informal professional development opportunities
• 5 weeks annual leave accrual will be available following 2 years of continual service

For a full list of our employee benefits click here.

About Us

Tiaki Wai is a council-owned organisation responsible for managing the delivery of drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater services across Hutt Valley, Porirua, and Wellington.

We manage public-owned extensive water infrastructure and oversee the delivery of safe and reliable services for our communities. We focus on long‑term investment, asset management, maintenance, and delivering major infrastructure projects that support public health, environmental protection, and regional growth.

Water is a precious taonga. At Tiaki Wai, we put care into every drop and are guided by our values of Integrity, Care, and Leadership.

We work directly with water consumers and in partnership with councils and mana whenua to deliver better water outcomes for current and future generations.

Applications close: Wednesday, 18 November

Applicants for safety sensitive roles will be required to undergo drug and alcohol testing prior to commencing employment with Tiaki Wai. You must also be legally entitled to work long‑term in New Zealand or eligible to obtain a working visa.