Project Investigations Group Manager

About the Role and Organization

At Transpower New Zealand, our mission is to empower the nation's energy future by enabling a net-zero carbon economy along with a reliable and secure electricity system. We uniquely operate across grid ownership, power system operation, renewable integration, and HVDC transmission. The scale and complexity of our work are projected to more than double within five years. To meet these demands, we are advancing our ways of working, boosting our capabilities, and positioning ourselves to deliver infrastructure, planning, and system outcomes vital for decades ahead.

Grid Delivery is the division responsible for safeguarding the National Grid's safety, reliability, and resilience, ensuring it meets New Zealand's electricity needs. This division combines operational, maintenance, programme delivery, planning, engineering, and service provider capabilities to transform grid strategies and investment decisions into coordinated national action. It collaborates across regions, customers, service providers, and internal partners to conduct safe fieldwork, maintain assets, manage outages, mitigate risk, and enhance work prioritization and delivery.

The Project Investigations group plays a crucial role in directing and harmonizing project investigation practices, leadership, governance, and frameworks. It ensures early-stage project definition, options evaluation, and investment decisions are consistent, well-integrated, and aligned with organizational priorities.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and develop the Project Investigations group by establishing systems, practices, and delivery disciplines that enable thorough investigation and definition of investment projects prior to their transition into delivery.
• Collaborate internally and externally to improve planning, governance, resourcing, and integration of project investigations with broader delivery priorities.
• Guide project investigation practice leadership by defining standards, controls, assurance, and quality measures.
• Drive capability development, workforce planning, and resource deployment to build leadership depth and uphold professional standards.
• Ensure strong alignment between project investigations and project delivery, programme delivery, engineering, and investment priorities.
• Utilize delivery insights, lessons learned, and industry best practices to promote continuous safety, efficiency, quality, and predictability improvements.
• Enhance governance through robust stage-gate processes, assurance, and delivery reviews, monitoring performance and initiating improvements as needed.
• Maintain strong stewardship of the operating model, clarifying accountabilities, interfaces, and decision rights as the Grid Delivery framework progresses.

Experience and Qualifications

• Proven senior leadership experience in complex project, programme, infrastructure, or asset-intensive environments including project investigation, project management, or delivery roles overseeing specialist teams.
• Strong expertise in capability building, accountability improvement, performance enhancement, and workforce planning across capacity, capability, and future needs.
• Demonstrable success in establishing or refining project investigation methodologies, controls, assurance mechanisms, and operating frameworks.
• Commercial acumen with an ability to influence senior internal teams, partners, consultants, service providers, and industry bodies.
• Experience leveraging performance data, lessons learned, and delivery insights to foster continuous improvement, preferably within electricity transmission, regulated infrastructure, utilities, or analogous sectors.
• Familiarity with business planning, budgeting, performance monitoring, governance metrics, and risk-informed decision support.
• A strong commitment to health, safety, wellbeing, and fostering inclusive, collaborative, and improvement-oriented team cultures.

Why Join Us?

Transpower connects people around a shared goal: empowering New Zealand's energy future. We value diverse viewpoints to navigate complex challenges, make thoughtful decisions, and deliver impactful work with enduring significance. As a senior leader, you will operate in an environment where transparent communication, connection, and clarity are prioritized. You will guide teams through complexity in pursuit of infrastructure outcomes critical at a national level. The role offers intellectually engaging assignments, continuous learning opportunities, and comprehensive health, wellbeing, and insurance benefits.

Additional Information

Applications are invited for this role with review beginning immediately; early conversations may take place ahead of the closing date. Interested candidates are encouraged to carefully consider the position description and further information available to understand the scale and expectations of the position.