Senior Continuous Improvement Specialist

Air New Zealand Limited; Auckland; On-site; NZD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Staff travel benefits

FlexiLeave

Learning culture and career growth

Job summary

Air New Zealand in Auckland seeks a Senior Continuous Improvement Specialist to join the Lean Chapter within our Transformation team. You will partner with operational delivery units to improve processes and deliver outcomes, driving value through lean and CI practices.

This role requires resilience, autonomy and collaboration across teams, with travel within New Zealand and varying shifts. Strong LSS certification and 8+ years' experience are highly desirable.

Qualifications

• 8+ years’ experience applying and coaching LSS methodologies.
• Formal Lean Six Sigma certification (Green/Black Belt) desirable.
• Graduate-level qualification in a relevant field or equivalent.
• Proficiency in modelling and statistical techniques.

Responsibilities

• Drive cross-functional initiatives.
• Identify and reduce waste, variation and inefficiencies.
• Develop improvement roadmaps for value delivery.
• Lead measurable outcomes through hands-on delivery.
• Coach and mentor to build CI capability across the organisation.

Skills

Lean Six Sigma

Cross-functional leadership

DMAIC framework

Statistical modelling

Stakeholder management

Education

Graduate-level qualification

Tools

DMAIC framework

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!

Ready for take-off?

If you're passionate about CI and enjoy turning complexity into practical outcomes, we'd love to hear from you. Join Air New Zealand and help shape the future of how we deliver for our customers, our people and New Zealand.

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.

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."