Strategic Delivery Partner

Watercare; Auckland; On-site; NZD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Training and development opportunities

Life and income protection insurance

Generous parental leave

Employee discounts

Job summary

Watercare in Auckland seeks an experienced Strategic Delivery Partner to turn strategy into action across key programmes. You will work with the Executive and senior leaders to define initiatives, set up for success, and deliver with pace in a fast-paced, complex environment.

You'll translate strategy into well-defined initiatives, test delivery plans, and unblock at-risk programmes, providing clear insights to leaders and decision-makers.

Job description

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

Now is an exciting time to join Watercare, we're planning to spend $14 billion over the next 10 years to ensure we can continue to support our growing city in a climate-resilient way. When you average that out, that's an investment of $3.8 million every day!

At Watercare, we're delivering some of Auckland's most critical and complex initiatives - and we're looking for an experienced Strategic Delivery Partner to help us turn strategy into action and outcomes.

This is a highly influential role, working alongside the Executive and senior leaders to shape, challenge, plan and deliver key strategic programmes across the organisation. You'll play a hands‑on role in ensuring our most important initiatives are clearly defined, set up for success, and delivered with pace.

As a Strategic Delivery Partner, you will operate at the heart of our Strategic Projects Office, partnering closely with the Executive, project sponsors and delivery teams to:

• Shape and translate strategy into action - work with leaders to turn strategic priorities and complex problems into well‑defined initiatives with clear outcomes, ownership and success measures
• Strengthen planning - test delivery plans for realism, sequencing and resourcing, ensuring alignment across portfolios
• Drive delivery momentum - work with sponsors and teams to maintain momentum, surface difficult issues early, and agree the interventions needed to keep critical initiatives on track
• Unblock and recover initiatives - step in where needed to remove barriers or stabilise at-risk programmes
• Provide clear insight to leaders - prepare decision‑ready material and offer transparent, practical advice on delivery confidence

This is not a traditional PMO or programme management role - you'll work across strategy and delivery, stepping in where your judgement and intervention can make the greatest difference.

You're a confident and commercially astute strategic delivery professional who thrives in fast‑paced, complex environments.

You will bring:

• Proven experience in programme delivery, transformation, strategy, consulting or business improvement roles
• A track record of stabilising or turning around complex initiatives
• Strong experience working in matrixed, multi‑stakeholder environments
• Sound commercial and governance thinking, with a focus on value and outcomes
• The ability to operate with ambiguity, bring clarity, and drive decisions

You are known for being:

• A hands‑on delivery leader who gets things done
• A pragmatic problem solver with a bias for action
• Comfortable working at pace and engaging senior stakeholders with confidence
• Able to identify risks early and intervene constructively

Exposure to large-scale infrastructure or capital programmes would be highly regarded.

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