Senior Business Partner

Watercare Services Limited; Auckland; On-site; NZD 150,000 - 230,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Training and development opportunities

Life and income protection insurance

Generous parental leave

Employee discounts at retailers

Job summary

Watercare Services Limited in Auckland seeks a commercially minded finance leader to own the Finance partnering relationship for your portfolio, drive budgeting, forecasting and benefits realisation, and provide independent advice to the Executive team.

You will lead initiatives to deliver opex savings, productivity and value-for-money opportunities, while communicating insights and risks to senior leaders to inform timely decisions.

Qualifications

• Significant senior finance or portfolio business partnering experience in a complex organisation.
• Proven record of delivering cost efficiency, productivity or performance improvement with measurable outcomes.
• Strong commercial judgement and ability to spot opportunities, test assumptions and shape practical solutions.
• Experience leading cross-functional initiatives through influence, clear accountability and disciplined benefits tracking.
• Confidence partnering with Executive and senior leadership teams, including providing independent advice and constructive challenge.
• Strong budgeting, forecasting, financial modelling, business-case and risk-management capability.
• Ability to simplify complex financial information and tell a compelling story that drives action.

Responsibilities

• Own the Finance partnering relationship for your portfolio and advise the relevant Executive and leadership team.
• Set and drive the portfolio financial performance agenda, making priorities, risks, cost drivers and performance issues visible and actionable.
• Identify, assess and drive material opex savings, productivity, demand-management, revenue and value-for-money opportunities.
• Lead initiatives from initial insight and commercial assessment through to implementation, tracking and confirmed benefits realisation.
• Lead portfolio budgeting, forecasting and operating planning, ensuring plans are credible, integrated and actively used to manage performance.
• Coordinate input from FP&A, Financial Control, Commercial, Regulatory Finance and Transformation so the portfolio receives joined-up Finance advice.

Skills

Senior finance experience

Commercial finance

Portfolio business partnering

Cost efficiency

Productivity improvements

Commercial judgment

Stakeholder engagement

Budgeting

Forecasting

Financial modelling

Risk management

Executive partnering

Influencing skills

Education

Accounting/Finance/Commerce qualification

Job description

He kōrero mō mātou | About Watercare Ki te ora te wai, ka ora te whenua, ka ora te tangata When the water is healthy, the land and the people are healthy There's never been a better time to join Watercare. We're delivering a $15.2 billion, 10-year capital investment programme, the largest in our history, creating opportunities to work on transformative infrastructure, sustainability and digital projects that will shape Auckland's future. With more than $4 million invested every day, you'll be part of work that makes a lasting difference to our communities and environment.

About the role

You will sit at the centre of business decisions, combining commercial acumen, financial leadership and operational insight to help leaders make better choices and deliver stronger outcomes. You will develop a deep understanding of the portfolio, identify where value is being lost or could be created, and drive initiatives through from opportunity to implementation and benefits realisation. Your mandate: create a credible pipeline of opex savings, productivity improvements and commercial opportunities, then work with accountable leaders to convert that pipeline into sustainable, measurable value.

What you will deliver: Own the Finance partnering relationship for your portfolio and act as principal Finance adviser to the relevant Executive and leadership team. Set and drive the portfolio financial performance agenda, making priorities, risks, cost drivers and performance issues visible and actionable. Identify, assess and drive material opex savings, productivity, demand-management, revenue and value-for-money opportunities. Lead initiatives from initial insight and commercial assessment through to implementation, tracking and confirmed benefits realisation. Challenge underperformance and agree practical corrective actions with accountable leaders, escalating material risks or delivery slippage where required. Lead portfolio budgeting, forecasting and operating planning, ensuring plans are credible, integrated and actively used to manage performance. Provide commercial leadership and robust challenge across business cases, investment choices and operating proposals, including whole-of-life costs, risks and benefits. Translate complex financial and operational information into clear choices, recommendations and actions that enable leaders to move with confidence and pace. Coordinate input from FP&A, Financial Control, Commercial, Regulatory Finance and Transformation so the portfolio receives joined-up Finance advice. Strengthen financial risk management, controls and accountability across the portfolio.

About you

You are a commercially minded finance leader who is energised by improving performance, not simply reporting it. You can move comfortably between strategy and detail, build trust quickly, challenge constructively and bring people with you when change needs to happen.

You will bring:

• Significant senior finance, commercial finance or portfolio business partnering experience in a complex organisation.
• A proven record of delivering cost efficiency, productivity, commercial value or performance improvement, with measurable outcomes.
• Strong commercial judgement and the ability to spot opportunities, test assumptions and shape practical solutions.
• Experience leading or driving cross-functional initiatives through influence, clear accountability and disciplined benefits tracking.
• Confidence partnering with Executive and senior leadership teams, including providing independent advice and constructive challenge.
• Strong budgeting, forecasting, financial modelling, business-case and risk-management capability.
• The ability to simplify complex financial and operational information and tell a compelling story that drives action.
• Excellent stakeholder engagement and influencing skills, with the confidence to constructively challenge thinking and influence outcomes without direct authority.
• A relevant accounting, finance or commerce qualification, or equivalent experience.
• Experience within a large infrastructure, utility or asset-intensive organisation, or supporting programmes focused on cost efficiency, productivity or value for money.

What's in it for you

We offer a competitive salary and staff benefits package including:

• Training and development opportunities
• Life and income protection insurance plans
• Generous parental leave
• Employee discounts at a range of large retailers