Senior Water Operations Specialist - Water Hawke's Bay

Populous People ·www.populouspeople.nz

Location Gisborne, Hawke's Bay, New Zealand
Type Full time
Level Senior
Source Shazamme
Engineering
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This is an impact role and a great opportunity to be part of the Water Hawke's Bay (WHB) transition team. Your water expertise will make a lasting contribution in terms of how water services and infrastructure is set up and managed across the Hawke’s Bay region moving forward.

This will be suited to an experienced water professional, ideally with an engineering background; either way you’ll have deep knowledge of water services assets and operations. You may already be in the region, in a council or consulting environment and want to take a lead role in transitioning the current water services delivery models into Water Hawkes Bay. Or you may be outside of Hawkes Bay and keen to relocate here for a stunning summer in the sun while you work closely with this highly engaged transition team.

Water Hawke’s Bay is a council-controlled organisation (CCO) jointly owned by Hastings District, Napier City and Central Hawke’s Bay district councils, established under the Government’s Local Water Done Well Reforms. WHB is governed by an independent and commercially accountable Board; this is a chance to join a high performing team determined to get this right for the region.

This transition team will ensure that Water Hawke’s Bay is ready to begin delivering drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater services from 1 July 2027 with a focus on providing safe and reliable water services for generations to come. In this role, you will ensure services are transferred to WHB with minimal disruption to customers and the communities. This is a fixed term role until 30 June 2027.

Working within the Operational Services Workstream, you will lead decisions that will shape the operational frameworks, processes and service delivery arrangements that support day-to-day operations. Much of this work starts with understanding how water services are delivered today - working alongside operational teams across the three councils and other stakeholders. You will help define how those services carry across into WHB, and lead the decisions on risk, compliance and regulatory obligations that go with them. Your scope will span the transition of operational data, service delivery readiness, and operational contracts and processes. Depending on your background, you may also contribute to other technical work packages within the workstream, such as Resilience, Incident and Emergency Management, Stormwater – Operational Delivery and Health and Safety.

To succeed in this role, you will bring technical knowledge of three waters operations and a practical understanding of how drinking water, wastewater and stormwater networks are managed. You know what it takes to keep water services running reliably — and you have the experience to translate that operational knowledge into frameworks and service delivery models that work in practice. You are likely to be working in a senior operational, engineering or technical leadership role within local government, a water utility or a related organisation.

If you have the required technical expertise and can build credibility and trusted relationships quickly, we would love to hear from you. Remuneration will reflect the significance of this role. Please apply through this portal. Or call the team at Populous People on 06 875 8446 for a confidential discussion to learn more.

Frequently asked questions

Who is hiring for the Senior Water Operations Specialist - Water Hawke's Bay role?
Populous People is hiring for the Senior Water Operations Specialist - Water Hawke's Bay position, a Shazamme client. Apply directly on the employer's career site.
Where is the Senior Water Operations Specialist - Water Hawke's Bay job located?
The Senior Water Operations Specialist - Water Hawke's Bay role with Populous People is based in Gisborne, NZ.
Is the Senior Water Operations Specialist - Water Hawke's Bay role full-time or contract?
This is a full time position at Populous People.
What experience level is the Senior Water Operations Specialist - Water Hawke's Bay role?
The Senior Water Operations Specialist - Water Hawke's Bay position is aimed at senior-level candidates.
How do I apply for the Senior Water Operations Specialist - Water Hawke's Bay role at Populous People?
Apply directly on Populous People's career page via the Apply button on this listing. ZammeJobs links straight through to the employer's ATS — no third-party form, no resume database.
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