Senior Continuous Improvement Specialist

Air New Zealand; Auckland; On-site; NZD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Staff travel benefits

FlexiLeave

Learning culture

Job summary

Air New Zealand seeks a Senior Continuous Improvement Specialist to lead Lean transformation within the Transformation team. You will partner with delivery units, squads and leaders to identify value opportunities and drive measurable improvements across the business.

Based at the Auckland Airport Campus, the role requires travel within New Zealand, varying shifts, and autonomous collaboration. You will coach teams in Lean and CI practices while delivering practical, hands-on improvements and

Qualifications

• Deep Lean Six Sigma (LSS) skills with formal certification (green belt or black belt) desirable
• 8+ years’ experience applying and coaching LSS methodologies
• A relevant graduate-level qualification
• Proficiency in mathematical modelling and statistical techniques
• Proven delivery of measurable improvement outcomes across cross-functional initiatives
• Strong skills in business case & options development, modelling & analysis, initiative & change management, stakeholder management & facilitation
• Experience designing and implementing process improvements
• Exposure to operations, process, and technology improvement initiatives; DMAIC for delivery
• Consultative leadership style with influence without authority

Responsibilities

• Driving cross functional initiatives
• Identifying and reducing waste, variation and inefficiencies
• Developing and enabling improvement roadmaps
• Leading measurable improvement outcomes through hands-on delivery
• Contributing to digital and automation-enabled improvement initiatives
• Coaching and mentoring to build CI capability across the organisation

Skills

Lean Six Sigma

Stakeholder management

Facilitation

DMAIC

Change management

Statistical methods

Education

Graduate-level qualification

Job description

Job Description

Kia ora Air New Zealand is on an accelerated journey to deliver the best flying experience globally. Our purpose is to enrich our country by connecting New Zealanders to each other and New Zealand to the world. As part of this, we’re reinforcing ways of working that unlock value faster, designing and implementing incremental and step change initiatives, and strengthening a culture of continuous improvement (CI).

We’re seeking a Senior Continuous Improvement Specialist based in Auckland to join our Lean Chapter within our Transformation team, this includes Delivery & Performance, Lean and Business Analysis.

Are you a self-starter with a passion for lean, continuous improvement, and delivering value? Do you thrive in complex environments, bring resilience to your work, and enjoy partnering across the business to lift performance?

This role is based at our Auckland Airport Campus.

About The Role

As a trusted CI practitioner, you will partner with operational delivery units, squads and leaders to improve processes and deliver outcomes. You will identify value opportunities, drive improvement initiatives and coach others in lean and CI practices.

This role suits someone who is resilient, reliable and comfortable working autonomously while collaborating effectively across teams. The role is based in Auckland, with requirements to travel within New Zealand and work varying shifts as required.

What You’ll Be Doing

• Driving cross functional initiatives
• Identifying and reducing; waste, variation and inefficiencies
• Developing and enabling improvement roadmaps
• Leading measurable improvement outcomes through hands-on delivery
• Contributing to digital and automation-enabled improvement initiatives
• Coaching and mentoring to build CI capability across the organisation

What We Are Looking For

Strong CI experience, including:

• Deep lean six sigma (LSS) skills supported by formal certification, green belt or black belt or similar certifications highly desirable
• 8+ years’ experience applying and coaching LSS methodologies
• A relevant graduate-level qualification,
• Proficiency in mathematical modelling and statistical techniques
• Proven delivery of measurable improvement outcomes, including leading cross-functional and step-change, continuous improvement initiatives
• Strong skills in business case & options development, modelling & analysis, initiative & change management, stakeholder management & facilitation
• Experience designing and implementing process improvements
• Exposure to operations, process, and technology improvement initiatives, highly proficient in DMAIC framework for initiative delivery
• A consultative leadership style with the ability to influence without authority

Why join Air New Zealand?

• We want our people to live their best lives and access great benefits that support their lives outside work.
• Generous staff travel benefits for you, your friends and your whānau.
• FlexiLeave, giving you the option to purchase up to four additional weeks of leave each year.
• A learning culture with on-the-job development, career growth opportunities and experiences that help you reach your full potential and more!

Applications close 22nd October 2026.

Additional Information

At Air New Zealand, we are proudly committed to diversity, equity and inclusion and believe in creating a truly inclusive workplace where everyone can be themselves and thrive. Our people are our greatest asset – because while everything else we do in our operation can be replicated by our competitors, it is our people that truly set us apart. We are firm believers in celebrating the differences and diversity of thought our people bring to their roles.

Additional Information

Whāia te pae tawhiti kia tata. Ko te pae tata whakamaua, kia tina.

"Seek to bring distant horizons closer. Once near, seize them and make them your reality."