Recruiting now: General Manager Digital, Data & Technology

Sheffield Recruitment New Zealand; New Zealand; Hybrid; NZD 180,000 - 300,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Nine-day fortnight

Hybrid working

Flexible hours

Sabbatical leave

Extra annual leave purchase option

Job summary

MainPower, based in Rangiora near Christchurch, is seeking an Executive Leader to turn current systems into integrated intelligence, building a trusted data platform and embedding AI and automation with strong governance.

You will carry executive accountability for cyber security and core business systems, and work closely with the GM Network & Future Energy on the OT/IT convergence that the modern network depends on.

Qualifications

• Senior digital, data or technology leadership at CIO/CTO level in regulated or asset-intensive context.
• Proven track record building enterprise data platforms with governance and adoption.
• Hands-on deployment of AI and automation with measurable benefits.
• Executive accountability for cyber security, including incident response and reporting.
• Understanding OT/IT convergence and implications for security and operations.
• Ability to translate technical concepts for a Board and non-technical peers.

Responsibilities

• Turn current systems into an integrated intelligence platform with governance.
• Oversee data, cyber security and core business systems at executive level.
• Collaborate on OT/IT convergence with the GM Network & Future Energy.
• Lead in embedding AI and automation across the organisation.

Skills

CIO/CTO level leadership

Enterprise data platform

AI and automation deployment

Executive cyber security

OT/IT convergence knowledge

Board communication

Job description

• Newly created Executive Leadership Team role
• Own the full stack: technology, data, cyber security and AI
• Rangiora base, 20 minutes from Christchurch
• Fixed term 18 months

About the Company:

MainPower has been distributing electricity to the North Canterbury region for around 100 years, delivering power to over 46,000 homes and businesses across the Waimakariri, Hurunui and Kaikōura districts. Based in Rangiora, MainPower is consumer-trust owned, with a strong and growing focus on the outcomes that matter to the people it serves.

MainPower delivered a strong financial result in FY2025/26, with profit after tax of $14.4 million and comprehensive income of $27 million following a network revaluation. Reflecting this performance, the Board is lifting the consumer rebate returned to customers from $10 million to $14 million for FY2026/27 — meaning more than 80% of customers on the network can expect no increase, or even a decrease, in their lines charges, even as costs rise elsewhere in the industry. $37 million was invested in the network during the year, reflecting the need to support one of New Zealand's fastest-growing electricity networks in a thriving and rapidly expanding region.

About The Role:

Reporting to the Chief Executive, this is a new role responsible for turning current systems into integrated intelligence: building a data platform the whole business can trust, embedding AI and automation with real governance behind it, and giving MainPower a technology base that's secure, well-architected and built to last. It's a rare brief - most organisations this size are retrofitting digital leadership onto existing structures. Here, you're setting the direction from day one.

You'll also carry executive accountability for cyber security and core business systems and work closely with the GM Network & Future Energy on the OT/IT convergence that a modern network depends on.

Skills & Experience:

• Senior digital, data or technology leadership at CIO or CTO level - ideally somewhere regulated, asset-intensive, or utility-shaped
• A track record of building enterprise data platforms and governance that people actually use
• Hands-on experience deploying AI and automation with measured benefit
• Executive-level cyber security accountability, including incident response and Board reporting
• Working knowledge of OT/IT convergence and what it means for security
• The ability to translate technology into terms a Board and non-technical peers will act on

MainPower backs flexibility in practice, not just policy: a nine-day fortnight, flexible hours, hybrid working, phased retirement, sabbatical leave and the option to purchase extra annual leave. You're joining a small, tight-knit Executive Leadership Team at a company that's investing seriously in its future - $37M into the network last year alone.

Culture:

MainPower's Executive Leadership Team is made up of seven General Managers who own their portfolios and lead the whole company first. The team works to the "control to trust" principle which its General Managers are expected to model. Expect autonomy and high standards along with a seat at the strategy table.