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Mō mātou | About us

Waikato Waters is a brand-new, publicly owned water utility bringing together water and wastewater services across the Waikato region — built from the ground up to deliver for communities today and for generations to come.

Te tūranga | The role

Reporting to the Design and Consenting Manager, the Strategic Consenting Planner leads Waikato Waters strategic consenting pathways and consent readiness — managing inherited and emerging consenting risks to enable compliant, timely infrastructure delivery. Waikato Waters is inheriting consenting obligations from six councils including expired consents, lodged applications and known areas of historical non-compliance, making this a role that requires both strategic oversight and practical risk management from day one.

Ō mahi | What you’ll do

• Provide oversight of inherited consenting risks including expired consents, lodged applications and known areas of historical non-compliance
• Identify and manage consenting dependencies early by working with Asset Management, Design and Consenting, and Project Delivery to ensure requirements are built into project scope and timelines
• Provide assurance that projects are consent-ready prior to progression into delivery, including clear mitigation strategies, regulatory pathways and stakeholder engagement requirements
• Lead engagement with regulators and Treaty Partners on strategic and high-risk consenting matters
• Act as subject matter expert and escalation point for complex, high-risk consenting challenges, providing advice to Infrastructure leadership and governance forums

Ō pūkenga | What you’ll bring

You are an experienced consenting planner with deep knowledge of the NZ resource management framework and a track record managing complex consenting risk for infrastructure projects — credible with regulators and Treaty Partners alike.

• Relevant tertiary qualification in environmental planning, resource management, environmental science or a related discipline, or equivalent experience
• Demonstrated experience leading or managing strategic consenting for infrastructure projects in NZ, ideally in water, wastewater, utilities or local government
• Strong working knowledge of the Resource Management Act and regional consenting processes for water and wastewater infrastructure
• Proven ability to manage complex consenting risk including expired consents, lodged applications, compliance gaps and enforcement risk
• Demonstrated capability engaging effectively with regulators and Treaty Partners on environmental effects and obligations
• MNZPI membership or equivalent professional accreditation is desirable

He aha ai mātou | Why join us

Waikato Waters is being built once — and you’d be part of that. He waka eke noa, we are all in this together. The work is real, the impact is visible, and the team we’re assembling is genuinely exceptional. We offer competitive remuneration, health insurance, and hybrid working where the role allows. To learn more about us, visit www.waikatowaters.co.nz

Me pēhea te tono | How to apply

Applications close 2 May 2026. For a full position description or a confidential chat contact us via HR@waikatowaters.co.nz and we will respond as soon as possible.

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