Project Manager

Contact Energy; Christchurch; On-site; NZD 120,000 - 170,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible working where possible

Wellbeing support

KiwiSaver

Job summary

Contact Energy is seeking a Project Manager to lead a portfolio of generation projects from planning through delivery. You will coordinate engineers, contractors, and operational teams, ensuring safe, efficient execution with long-term value for New Zealand's energy future.

You will join a collaborative team that emphasizes relationship building, risk management, and continuous improvement while mentoring others and guiding projects through regulatory requirements.

Qualifications

• Ideally an engineering degree with significant experience leading large-scale projects in infrastructure, utilities, energy or similar environments.
• Experience using project planning/scheduling tools (MS Project or Primavera) is important.
• Proven track record of delivering projects safely, on time and within budget.
• Regulated industries experience and mentoring others are highly valued.

Responsibilities

• Lead a portfolio of generation projects from planning through delivery.
• Collaborate with engineers, contractors, operations and stakeholders to ensure safe, efficient delivery.
• Coordinate upgrades, outages, regulatory/commercial requirements, and long-term value.
• Mentor team members and drive continuous improvement across the portfolio.

Skills

Project leadership

Stakeholder management

Commercial thinking

Safety focus

Mentoring others

MS Project

Primavera

Education

Engineering degree

Tools

MS Project

Primavera

Job description

Jora New Zealand will close on 9th September 2026. Thank you for being with us, we are cheering you on as you continue your career journey.

Whakatakoto te tūāpapa | Laying the foundation

At Contact, we're on a mission to help build a better Aotearoa by empowering New Zealand's transition to a low carbon future. As one of the country's leading energy generators and retailers, we power homes, businesses and communities while investing in the infrastructure and innovation that will support generations to come. Our people are at the heart of everything we do, bringing curiosity, courage and collaboration to solve meaningful challenges every day.

Our South Island Hydro Projects team plays a critical role in ensuring the long term performance, resilience and sustainability of some of New Zealand's most important renewable energy assets. Working across our hydro generation portfolio, including the iconic Clutha hydro scheme, the team delivers projects that enhance safety, reliability and operational performance while maximising the value of our renewable generation assets. It's a team where expertise is shared, ideas are encouraged, and the impact of your work can be seen across New Zealand for years to come.

Just as important as the work you'll do is where you'll do it. Nestled in the heart of Central Otago, our sites offer a lifestyle rich in sunshine, outdoor adventure and community, making it an incredible place to live, work and recharge.

Company Description

Whakatakoto te tūāpapa | Laying the foundation

At Contact, we're on a mission to help build a better Aotearoa by empowering New Zealand's transition to a low carbon future. As one of the country's leading energy generators and retailers, we power homes, businesses and communities while investing in the infrastructure and innovation that will support generations to come. Our people are at the heart of everything we do, bringing curiosity, courage and collaboration to solve meaningful challenges every day.

Our South Island Hydro Projects team plays a critical role in ensuring the long term performance, resilience and sustainability of some of New Zealand's most important renewable energy assets. Working across our hydro generation portfolio, including the iconic Clutha hydro scheme, the team delivers projects that enhance safety, reliability and operational performance while maximising the value of our renewable generation assets. It's a team where expertise is shared, ideas are encouraged, and the impact of your work can be seen across New Zealand for years to come.

Just as important as the work you'll do is where you'll do it. Nestled in the heart of Central Otago, our sites offer a lifestyle rich in sunshine, outdoor adventure and community, making it an incredible place to live, work and recharge.

Job Description

Te āhua o te tūranga | The nature of the role

This is an opportunity to lead projects that genuinely matter. As Project Manager, you'll take ownership of a portfolio of generation projects, guiding them from detailed planning and investment approval through to successful delivery. You'll bring together engineers, contractors, operational teams and stakeholders, ensuring projects are delivered safely, efficiently and with long term value in mind. Whether you're coordinating major infrastructure upgrades, planning complex outage work, or navigating commercial and regulatory requirements, you'll be trusted to make informed decisions that keep projects moving forward.

You'll join a collaborative team that believes great project delivery is about more than schedules and budgets. It's about building strong relationships, creating alignment, managing risk proactively and helping others succeed along the way. You'll play a key role in shaping how projects are delivered across our generation portfolio, mentoring others, driving continuous improvement and contributing to the future of renewable energy in Aotearoa.

Qualifications

Ko wai koe | About you

You're a confident and experienced project leader who enjoys turning complex challenges into successful outcomes. You know how to bring people together, build credibility quickly and maintain momentum when priorities compete. You thrive on solving problems, influencing stakeholders and creating an environment where teams can perform at their best. You'll combine strong commercial thinking with sound judgement, a focus on safety and a genuine commitment to delivering quality outcomes.

Ideally, you'll bring an engineering degree and significant experience leading large scale projects within infrastructure, utilities, energy, industrial or similarly complex environments. Experience using project planning and scheduling tools such as MS Project or Primavera will be important, along with a proven track record of delivering projects safely, on time and within budget. Experience working within regulated industries, strong programme management capability and mentoring others would be highly valued, but if you don't tick every box, we'd still love to hear from you. At Contact, we know that great people come from a variety of backgrounds, and we value potential just as much as experience.

Additional Information

At Contact, it really is good to be home. We support our people with wellbeing benefits that make a genuine difference, including flexible working where possible, strong health and wellbeing support, and access to confidential professional therapy for you and your whānau. You’ll also have access to free flu vaccinations, skin checks, onsite health support and learning through Contact University.

On top of a competitive salary, we offer KiwiSaver contributions, wellbeing payments to support your home setup, help with energy and broadband costs if you’re a Contact customer, plus access to discounts and free financial advice. We’re also proud to give back through community leave and partnerships across Aotearoa, creating a workplace where people feel supported, connected and able to do their best work

Applications close 9am Monday the 21st of September

Here at Contact Energy (Te Mata Hiko), we know our strength lies in developing a sense of belonging - one that helps us attract and retain people with a broad range of perspectives and experiences.

We’re committed to creating a workplace where everyone feels valued, respected, and empowered to bring their whole selves to work. Our goal is to reflect the diversity of our customers and communities to help build a better Aotearoa New Zealand.

We have a rich community of talented people that we support to thrive at Contact.

Our inclusive hiring process is designed to embrace the diversity of Aotearoa New Zealand, ensuring a wide range of perspectives are included in our decision-making and helping reduce bias along the way.

The wellbeing of our kaimahi is super important to us.

We use employee insights to offer a range of initiatives and resources to support physical, mental, financial and emotional wellbeing – including flexible working arrangements, employee network groups and a market-leading parental leave policy.

At Te Mata Hiko, we want everyone to thrive. We welcome applicants far and wide - of every age, stage, background, and pride. Join us and be part of a team that values your passion and attitude just as much as your experience and skills.

Please note, only candidates with the right to live and work in New Zealand will be considered for this role.

Research shows that while men apply to jobs where they meet 60% of the criteria, women and those in underrepresented groups tend to only apply if they tick every box.We're not about box ticking, so if you think you have what it takes but don't meet everything stated above, please still get in touch. We'd love to kōrero.

Te Mata Hiko (Contact Energy) does not accept any CVs received from recruitment agencies where a formal engagement has not been confirmed and agreed to with our Talent team. In the event that unsolicited CVs are submitted by recruitment agencies, Te Mata Hiko (Contact Energy) reserves the right to contact these candidates directly and consider them for current/future vacancies without any financial obligation to the recruitment agency in question. This will also apply to any CVs sent directly to line managers.