14th May, 2026
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
This is a key operational leadership role responsible for coordinating and driving Waikato Waters' day-to-day workflow and works management activities across water and wastewater operations.
Reporting to the Engineering Manager - Operations, you'll lead the operational workflow function — ensuring faults, planned maintenance, reinstatements, customer requests and operational jobs are prioritised, communicated, tracked and completed safely and efficiently.
You'll work across field operations, contractors and operational support teams to maintain service continuity, manage operational risk and ensure work programmes remain coordinated, responsive and customer focused.
This role also leads a team of Works Programme Coordinators and plays an important role in operational escalation, reporting and after-hours leadership support.
Ō mahi | What you'll do
- Lead daily operational workflow coordination across reactive and planned works
- Prioritise faults, maintenance and customer-driven jobs to meet operational service levels
- Coordinate field teams, contractors and operational resources across multiple workstreams
- Lead daily stand-ups, workflow planning and escalation activities
- Monitor operational risks, bottlenecks and network impacts, escalating where required
- Ensure councils and stakeholders are kept informed during operational events and service disruptions
- Deliver operational reporting and workflow performance insights to support decision-making
- Support continuous improvement across operational systems, coordination and service delivery
- Participate in the operational leadership on-call roster
Ō pūkenga | What you'll bring You'll be an experienced operational leader who thrives in fast-paced service environments where coordination, responsiveness and clear decision-making are critical.
- Strong experience coordinating operational or maintenance workflows in infrastructure, utilities or field service environments
- Background in water, wastewater or similar operational networks
- Experience leading teams and coordinating competing operational priorities under pressure
- Ability to manage escalations, operational risk and customer impacts effectively
- Strong communication and stakeholder management capability across operational and external groups
- Experience working across field operations, contractors and support teams
- Strong organisational, reporting and problem-solving skills
- Relevant engineering or related qualification, or equivalent operational experience
- Full clean NZ driver's licence is essential
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 Waikato Waters, visit us at www.waikatowaters.co.nz
Me pēhea te tono | How to apply Applications close 13 June 2026. For a full position description, contact us at HR@waikatowaters.co.nz and we will respond as soon as possible. (Please note we will be reviewing applications as we receive them so don't delay in applying as this ad may close early should we find a suitable person).
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