Senior Stakeholder Engagement Advisor

• Lead the delivery of external engagement for key water projects in Wellington

• Meaningful role with community and customer engagement focus

• Petone office, regular travel within Wellington region

This is a full-time permanent position of 40 hours per week.

The opportunity

As Senior Stakeholder Engagement Advisor, you will lead engagement planning and outreach with residents, businesses, community groups and other important stakeholders to support our capital projects, from stormwater upgrades to major drinking and wastewater builds.

You will play an important role in building strong relationships and delivering meaningful engagement initiatives with our key stakeholders, partners and communities. Bringing a proactive mindset and can-do attitude you will:

• Lead the development and delivery of stakeholder and community engagement strategies for Tiaki Wai’s capital projects

• Work with a diverse range of stakeholders to deliver on-the-ground engagement activities

• Ensure a community centric lens is provided on all Tiaki Wai capital projects

• Lead the organisation and management of community events and meetings

• Provide strong engagement advice and support to leaders

• Enjoy a high level of self-direction/autonomy/confidence giving advice to project leads, within a supportive and collaborative team environment.

About you

To be successful in this role you will bring:

• Solid experience in community engagement with a strong customer focus

• Experience in delivering engagement for large scale projects and programmes of work

• Highly developed interpersonal skills with an ability to build effective relationships and influence a wide range of stakeholders and audiences

• An ability to understand different perspectives and adapt your approach when required

• Ability to plan strategically and identify operational and organisational risks.

• Proven ability to interpret complex information and translate into straight forward and easy to understand messaging.

• A full clean driver's license as some travel across the wider Wellington region is needed.

Although a background in water services or infrastructure would be preferable, you’ll quickly develop this knowledge on the job.

Benefits

At Tiaki Wai, our purpose extends beyond delivering great water services for the region; we foster a thriving community, support a diverse workforce, and offer supportive development opportunities. We genuinely care about your safety and wellbeing.

Our benefits include:

• Flexible working arrangements including up to 2 days working from home

• Comprehensive wellbeing programme, including one paid wellbeing day annually

• Formal and informal professional development opportunities

• 5 weeks annual leave accrual will be available following 2 years of continual service

For a full list of our employee benefits click here.

About us

Tiaki Wai is a council-owned organisation responsible for managing the delivery of drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater services across Hutt Valley, Porirua, and Wellington.

We manage public-owned extensive water infrastructure and oversee the delivery of safe and reliable services for our communities. We focus on long-term investment, asset management, maintenance, and delivering major infrastructure projects that support public health, environmental protection, and regional growth.

Water is a precious taonga. At Tiaki Wai, we put care into every drop and are guided by our values of Integrity, Care, and Leadership. We work directly with water consumers and in partnership with councils and mana whenua to deliver better water outcomes for current and future generations.

Applications close: Monday 21 September 2026.

How to apply

To view a copy of the position description: click here

To apply for the role, click on the ‘apply’ button or visit the Tiaki Wai Careers site, if you are a Tiaki Wai employee please apply using your work email.

For further information, email: [email protected]

Applicants for safety sensitive roles will be required to undergo drug and alcohol testing prior to commencing employment with Tiaki Wai. You must also be legally entitled to work long-term in New Zealand or eligible to obtain a working visa.