Manager Change Integration and Business Readiness

New Zealand Transport Agency; Wellington; On-site; NZD 190,000 - 225,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible working arrangements

Five weeks annual leave

Income Protection and Critical Illness

Ongoing development and career growth

Collaborative, values-driven culture

Job summary

Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency seeks an experienced leader to drive readiness and integration across a portfolio of strategic change initiatives. You will shape prioritisation, sequencing and realisation to deliver sustained benefits across Customer & Services.

You will oversee an enterprise view of change, balancing capacity, demand and organisational priorities while influencing senior leaders and embedding changes into business-as-usual operations. This is a newly established leadership role.

Qualifications

• Experience managing a portfolio of concurrent change initiatives across multiple programmes.
• Proven leadership of business readiness, organisational change, or operational integration in large organisations.
• Ability to assess cumulative impacts across frontline operations, systems, processes, policies, reporting and resourcing.
• Strong strategic thinking with the ability to influence senior leaders and challenge priorities.
• Experience in customer-based environments with understanding of frontline realities and service impacts.
• Exceptional stakeholder engagement and relationship management skills.
• Experience building readiness frameworks, governance approaches, and adoption measures.

Responsibilities

• Lead the Change & Business Readiness function for Customer & Services.
• Maintain an integrated view of change demand, capacity, priorities and sequencing.
• Assess and prioritise business impacts of concurrent programmes and initiatives.
• Lead readiness activities across customer, people, process, technology, policy, risk, reporting and SME influences.
• Ensure appropriate operational, customer, communications, training and policy expertise are engaged.
• Provide strategic advice to senior leaders on readiness, capacity, risks and adoption.
• Govern readiness activities to embed changes into business-as-usual operations.
• Monitor adoption and benefits realisation to sustain outcomes.

Skills

Portfolio management

Change readiness

Stakeholder engagement

Strategic thinking

Leadership

Customer-focused

Governance

Job description

Lead the readiness and integration of multiple strategic change initiatives across our Te Mahau | Customer & Services Business Group. Shape how change is prioritised, sequenced, landed, and sustained to deliver better outcomes for customers and frontline teams. Join NZTA in a newly established leadership role.

Te Whiwhinga mahi | The opportunity

This newly established leadership role sits at the centre of how change is successfully introduced and embedded across Customer & Services (Te Mahau). Rather than leading the delivery of individual projects, you will take an enterprise view across a portfolio of concurrent initiatives, ensuring the organisation is ready to absorb change and that benefits are realised and sustained long after implementation. This role will appeal to someone who enjoys connecting the dots across multiple programmes, assessing cumulative impacts, and influencing decisions that improve organisational effectiveness and customer outcomes. This is an enduring leadership role that is closely embedded in NZTA’s business operations, so it will suit someone who enjoys staying connected to the ongoing rhythm of the business and helping change land well over time, rather than focusing solely on discrete change programmes.

Key responsibilities

• Leading the Change & Business Readiness function for Customer & Services.
• Maintaining an integrated view of change demand, organisational capacity, business priorities, and implementation sequencing.
• Assessing and prioritising the business impacts of multiple concurrent programmes and initiatives.
• Leading readiness activities across customer, people, process, technology, policy, risk, reporting, and service impacts.
• Ensuring the right operational, customer, communications, training, policy, and SME expertise is engaged at the right time.
• Providing strategic advice to senior leaders on readiness, organisational capacity, implementation risks, and adoption.
• Governing readiness activities to ensure changes are successfully embedded into business‑as‑usual operations.
• Monitoring adoption and benefits realisation to ensure intended outcomes are sustained.

We are seeking to appoint at a salary between $190,000 and $225,000, commensurate with skills and experience.

Ko koe tēnei | About you

You are an experienced change and business readiness leader who has successfully managed complex portfolios of change rather than individual projects in isolation. You understand how multiple programmes can create competing demands on operational teams and know how to balance organisational capacity, readiness, and strategic priorities to achieve successful outcomes.

To be successful in this role, you will bring

• Demonstrated experience managing a portfolio of concurrent change initiatives with different scopes, complexities, and delivery timelines.
• Proven success leading business readiness, organisational change, or operational integration in large and complex organisations.
• Experience assessing cumulative business impacts across frontline operations, systems, processes, policies, reporting, risk, and resourcing.
• Strong strategic thinking with the ability to influence senior leaders and challenge priorities where organisational capacity is at risk.
• Experience working in a customer‑based environment, with an understanding of customer needs, frontline realities, and service impacts.
• Exceptional stakeholder engagement and relationship management skills.
• Experience building readiness frameworks, governance approaches, and adoption measures that embed sustainable change.
• Strong people leadership capability, including building and developing high‑performing teams.

You will demonstrate knowledge of, or a willingness to gain an understanding of Te Ao Māori and promote tikanga and Te Reo Māori. You will also have knowledge of, or a willingness to gain an appreciation of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and its application in the public service.

Mō mātou | About Us

Customer & Services delivers great transactional products and services through operational excellence and a strong customer focus. The group supports the effective operation of New Zealand's land transport system while continually improving the experiences of customers who interact with NZTA. The Change & Business Readiness team prepares Customer & Services for change and supports its successful integration into business operations. The team provides the readiness, coordination, and specialist expertise needed to assess impacts, align priorities, support informed decision‑making, and embed sustainable change across the function.

Ka whiwhi koe i te aha | What you will get in return

• Flexible working arrangements (Role dependent)
• Five weeks annual leave.
• Income Protection and Critical Illness Insurance for permanent employees.
• Ongoing development and career growth opportunities.
• A collaborative, values‑driven environment where you can influence complex, nationally significant work.

Rā Katinga | Applications close

Applications close: 2 September 2026. For further information, email: [e-mail]. To be considered for this position you must have a legal right to live and work in New Zealand. Waka Kotahi is an equal opportunity employer (EOE). We recognise the importance of diversity and inclusion and are committed to providing a working environment that embraces these values. Please let us know if you need any support or have any access requirements that will help you through the recruitment process. Please note that we may begin shortlisting as we receive applications. We encourage early applications as we may withdraw the advertising at any time.

Ko wai mātou | About us

At Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency, it all starts with our people. The organisation’s performance and success depends on the people who choose to make this a great place to work and make a difference for Aotearoa. Waka Kotahi has a strong future focus, understanding that new technologies and changing customer expectations mean the transport system we know today will not be the one we deliver in ten years time.