Project Management Lead

1300SMILES Ltd; Auckland; On-site; NZD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Abano Healthcare is seeking a hands-on Project Manager to turn business priorities into actionable plans and drive delivery across cross-functional teams in ANZ. The role balances planning, coordination, problem solving and delivery discipline to ensure projects finish on time, within scope, and with clear communication.

You will partner with business leaders, set up practical project routines, track risks and decisions, and keep teams accountable for agreed actions and outcomes.

Qualifications

• Requires hands-on project management experience across cross-functional initiatives.
• Strong organisational skills and ability to navigate ambiguity.
• Excellent communication with sponsors and diverse stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Translate priorities into clear project plans with milestones and owners.
• Lead day-to-day delivery, manage risks, and ensure on-time delivery.
• Maintain governance tools and provide status updates to sponsors.
• Coordinate day-to-day communications between sponsors, teams and external partners.
• Provide planning support, templates, and delivery follow-up to project owners and teams.
• Identify and remove delivery blockers and improve processes.

Skills

Project management

Stakeholder coordination

Delivery discipline

Communication

Education

Formal qualification in Project Management or Business Administration

Job description

Company Description

Lead project delivery. Drive business priorities. Make an impact across ANZ.

As Australasia’s largest Dental Support Organisation (DSO), Abano Healthcare provides ready-to-use clinics, practice support teams and support services, allowing dentists to focus on delivering exceptional patient experiences.

With a portfolio of brands across Australia and New Zealand, including Lumino The Dentists, Maven Dental and 1300SMILES, Abano Healthcare supports more than 250 locations and 750 clinical partners across the network.

Our values underpin our shared commitment to becoming the leading oral healthcare provider in Australasia:

• We take the time to care
• We respect each other
• We play as a team
• We only bring our best

Job Description

This role is responsible for turning priority projects into clear plans and keeping delivery on track. This is a practical, hands‑on role that balances planning, stakeholder coordination, problem solving, and delivery discipline.

Working closely with business leaders and functional teams, the role will clarify actions, coordinate day-to-day delivery, remove roadblocks, and ensure project outcomes are delivered on time, within scope and with clear communication.

The ideal candidate will be comfortable working through ambiguity, bringing structure and pace to projects, and keeping people accountable for agreed actions and outcomes.

Key Responsibilities:

Project Planning and Coordination

• Translate business priorities into clear project plans, milestones, actions, owners and timelines.
• Set up simple, practical project routines, including action logs, status updates, risks and decision tracking.
• Work directly with project sponsors and team members to keep work moving and clarify what needs to happen next.

Project Delivery

• Lead the day-to-day delivery of allocated projects, including planning, coordination, execution and close-out.
• Identify blockers early, elevate issues when needed, and help teams work through practical solutions.
• Keep project teams focused on agreed actions, deadlines and deliverables.

Governance and Reporting

• Maintain fit-for-purpose governance tools that make project status, decisions, risks and next steps clear.
• Prepare practical project updates for sponsors and stakeholders, highlighting progress, risks, decisions needed and upcoming actions.
• Track budgets, timelines, milestones and benefits so issues are visible early and corrective action can be taken.

Stakeholder Engagement

• Coordinate day-to-day project communications between project sponsors, business teams and external partners.
• Build strong working relationships by being visible, responsive and clear on agreed actions, ownership and decisions.
• Represent project delivery in meetings by providing practical updates, surfacing risks and confirming next steps.

Support and Development

• Support project owners and team members with practical guidance, templates, planning support and delivery follow‑up.
• Share simple project management tools and ways of working that help teams deliver consistently.
• Build a collaborative, action‑oriented project culture focused on clarity, pace and delivery.

Operational Excellence

• Look for practical ways to simplify project tools, remove duplication and improve delivery discipline.
• Ensure project activity follows relevant policies, approvals, risk controls and business requirements.
• Help implement improvements that make project delivery easier, clearer and more effective for teams.

Qualifications

You are an experienced project management professional who enjoys turning business priorities into action. You bring a hands‑on approach, strong organisational skills and the ability to navigate ambiguity while keeping people focused on achieving results.

To be successful in this role, you will have:

• A formal qualification in Project Management, Business Administration, or a related field.
• At least 5 years of experience managing projects, including hands‑on delivery of cross‑functional initiatives.
• Proven ability to take a project from idea through to delivery, including planning, governance, stakeholder coordination and implementation.
• Experience in healthcare would be preferred – ideally with experience in PMS conversions and bring technology into medical settings.

Our Ideal Candidate:

• Practical and pragmaticwith the ability to bring structure to ambiguity, clear the noise from reality enabling people to prioritise appropriately and focus on what matters
• An exceptional communicatorwho loves to engage with diverse stakeholders one a wide range of issues and is then able report key points and actions in an appropriate and concise way
• Focused on the end game ensuring that each phase of the project is carefully followed to ensure it achieves the planned results within agreed timeframes and budgets.

Additional Information

Why Join Abano Healthcare?

Join a growing healthcare organisation where your work contributes to supporting dental practices, clinical teams and the delivery of quality oral healthcare across Australia and New Zealand.

At Abano Healthcare, our people are at the heart of what we do. We value collaboration, mutual respect, accountability and a shared commitment to delivering our best.

If you are a hands‑on project leader who enjoys bringing people together, creating clarity and delivering meaningful business outcomes, we would love to hear from you!