Planning Lead

Vector NZ; Auckland; On-site; NZD 95,000 - 140,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible working

Wellbeing support

Learning and development

Job summary

Vector is seeking a Senior Planning professional to lead integrated portfolio planning across Digital & Data, connecting Vector31 priorities, roadmaps and delivery capacity. You’ll facilitate annual planning, manage dependencies and provide evidence-based recommendations to drive value and transparency.

You will collaborate with Delivery Partners, Programme Managers and Finance to align on priorities, risks and resource needs, ensuring initiatives have clear outcomes and governance.

Qualifications

• Strong analytical skills to interpret demand, capacity, readiness, dependencies and delivery information.
• Ability to turn complex information into practical planning insights and recommendations.
• Strong written and verbal communication to explain trade-offs and planning decisions clearly.
• Confidence supporting prioritisation, sequencing and investment discussions with senior stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Lead integrated planning across Digital & Data portfolios, programmes, domains and delivery teams.
• Facilitate annual planning activities aligning AMP requirements, roadmaps and investment timelines.
• Support quarterly prioritisation with visibility of value, capacity, readiness and dependencies.
• Gather, validate and connect planning inputs with Delivery Partners, Programme Managers and Finance.
• Maintain clear planning views to support evidence-based sequencing and investments.
• Create visibility of committed and in-flight work, capacity and portfolio flow.
• Identify and escalate planning risks, dependency conflicts and delivery pressures early.
• Coordinate mobilisation readiness with sponsorship, scope, funding and resources.
• Ensure governance rhythms, artefacts and reporting improve consistency and transparency.
• Continuously improve planning maturity and portfolio visibility.

Skills

Portfolio planning

PMO experience

Stakeholder management

Analytical thinking

Clear communication

Planning tools

Dashboards & reports

Tools

Spreadsheets

Planning tools

Portfolio systems

Dashboards

Reporting artefacts

Job description

Vector: Powering Auckland. Shaping the future.

At Vector, we're delivering the infrastructure, technology and services that will support a smarter, more connected and increasingly electrified Auckland.

Our Vector31 strategy sets a clear direction for the future. As we continue to evolve the way we serve customers, manage our network and enable business performance, Digital & Data plays a critical role in connecting strategy, technology and delivery.

To support this transformation, we're establishing a new Digital & Data operating model designed to strengthen business alignment, improve delivery outcomes and accelerate value creation across the organisation.

Strong delivery starts with good planning.

That means understanding priorities, making informed trade-offs, identifying dependencies early and ensuring work is sequenced based on value, readiness, capacity and strategic outcomes.

That's where you come in.

The opportunity

You might come from portfolio planning, PMO, programme management, delivery operations, portfolio management, business planning or resource planning. What matters most is your ability to bring clarity to complexity and help people make better decisions.

This is a newly created role within Digital & Data and an opportunity to help shape how planning, prioritisation and mobilisation work across the portfolio.

You'll lead integrated portfolio planning across Digital & Data, connecting Vector31 priorities, the AMP process, Digital Roadmap commitments, investment decisions, delivery capacity and business outcomes. You'll help create visibility of what we're doing, what we can realistically deliver, which dependencies matter most and where trade-offs need to be made.

The role sits at the centre of planning conversations, working with Delivery Partners, Programme Managers, Business Analysts, Finance, D&D Operations and business stakeholders to ensure decisions are informed by evidence rather than assumptions.

This isn't simply about maintaining plans.

It's about helping Digital & Data build the planning discipline, transparency and delivery confidence needed to successfully execute its strategy.

What you'll be doing

• Lead integrated planning across Digital & Data portfolios, programmes, domains and delivery teams.
• Facilitate annual planning activities, ensuring AMP requirements, Digital Roadmap priorities, investment timelines, dependencies and business commitments are aligned.
• Support quarterly and ongoing prioritisation by providing visibility of value, capacity, readiness, dependencies, delivery constraints and trade-off options.
• Work with Delivery Partners, Programme Managers, Business Analysts, Finance and business stakeholders to gather, validate and connect planning inputs.
• Maintain clear planning views and prioritisation information that support evidence-based sequencing and investment decisions.
• Create visibility of committed and in-flight work, capacity, delivery constraints and portfolio flow across Digital & Data.
• Identify and elevate planning risks, dependency conflicts, capacity challenges and delivery pressures early.
• Support mobilisation readiness by ensuring initiatives have clear outcomes, sponsorship, scope, funding, dependencies, resource requirements and planning assumptions before delivery commitments are made.
• Coordinate planning and dependency information across internal teams and external delivery partners.
• Establish and maintain planning standards, tools, governance rhythms, artefacts and reporting that improve consistency and transparency.
• Continuously improve planning maturity, prioritisation quality and portfolio visibility across Digital & Data.

What you'll bring

• Strong analytical skills and the ability to interpret demand, capacity, readiness, dependency and delivery information.
• The ability to turn complex information into practical planning insights and recommendations.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to explain trade-offs and planning decisions clearly.
• Confidence supporting prioritisation, sequencing and investment discussions with senior stakeholders.
• Experience working across multiple initiatives while maintaining clear and reliable planning information.
• A practical mindset focused on transparency, accountability, value and delivery flow.
• Strong attention to detail when managing planning artefacts, assumptions, registers, calendars and decision records.
• Experience working with spreadsheets, planning tools, portfolio systems, dashboards and reporting artefacts.
• A strong understanding of project, programme or portfolio delivery, including dependency management, resource planning, governance and delivery risk.

You may have experience in portfolio planning, PMO, delivery operations, resource planning, programme coordination, business planning, portfolio management or a related discipline. What's most important is your ability to help people make informed decisions and create confidence in delivery.

A little ambiguity doesn't scare you

We're building new capabilities and new ways of working across Digital & Data.

That means not every process is fully defined and not every answer already exists.

Some days you'll apply established planning practices. Other days you'll help us design better ones.

You'll work across disciplines, connect different perspectives and help create planning approaches that support better outcomes for the business.

If you enjoy bringing structure, visibility and alignment to complex environments, we'd love to hear from you.

Bring what you know. Be ready to learn. Teach us something too.

Different skills. Different perspectives. Better ways forward, together.

This is an opportunity to help shape how planning works across one of New Zealand's largest and most important infrastructure organisations.

You'll play a critical role in creating the visibility, prioritisation discipline and delivery confidence that enable Digital & Data to successfully deliver on Vector31.

You'll work alongside talented people across the business, influence important investment and delivery decisions, and help build a more connected, transparent and value-focused planning capability.

You'll also have access to Vector's wider employee benefits, including flexible ways of working, wellbeing support, learning and development opportunities, and professional development support.

Our behaviours

Change Makers | Customer. Customer. Customer. | Walk in Others' Shoes | We, Not Me | Consider It. Done.

If you're excited by the opportunity to help turn Vector31 ambition into action and strengthen how Digital & Data plans, prioritises and delivers work, we'd love to hear from you.

Additional Information

We know that some people may hesitate to apply if they don’t meet every single requirement. If this role excites you, we encourage you to apply anyway - your skills, enthusiasm, and unique perspective could be just what we’re looking for.

Vector values diversity in all its forms and welcomes people of all backgrounds, experiences, identities and abilities to be part of our team.