Data and AI Activation Lead (Generation, Trading & Corporate)

Te Tākinatanga - Our Story   

At Contact, we believe home is the most important place in the world. It's all part of our vision to leave Aotearoa better than we found it. We’re a power, mobile, and broadband company, but we’re so much more than that.

We are transforming the ways we mahi, and how Aotearoa is powered, but we’re also investing boldly in renewable energy and the systems that will power a low-carbon future. Guided by our tikanga, we’re a team who care deeply about the work we do, how we support one another, and the impact we have. Simply put, we touch lives to make life better. 

As we step into the next phase of that ambition, data and AI are becoming critical to how we operate, from how we run our generation assets, to how we make decisions across corporate functions.

We’ve already invested in a range of AI tools. Now, the opportunity is to embed them, moving from isolated use cases into everyday ways of working that improve performance, decision-making, and resilience across the business.

This role exists to make that real, bringing AI into the heart of how our generation, trading and corporate teams operate.

Te Whiwhinga mahi | The Opportunity  

This is a senior leadership, enterprise-facing role focused on activating AI across our generation, trading and corporate functions, from operational environments to business-wide decision-making.

You’ll work alongside leaders and teams to embed AI into how we plan, operate, and optimise, helping shift the organisation from potential to practical application.

In this role, you will:

• Be part of the Data and AI Leadership team partnering with generation, trading corporate, and domain leaders to identify where AI can improve performance, efficiency, and decision-making
• Enable business teams to adopt AI tools with confidence, building capability and reducing reliance on bespoke technical delivery
• Help shape how AI is used across operational and corporate contexts, balancing innovation with safety and governance
• Work across initiatives to turn ideas into working solutions, from early prototypes through to embedded ways of working
• Guide decisions on how and when to use existing AI tools versus escalating for deeper development
• Track and communicate adoption, value, and outcomes to ensure AI delivers real impact across the business

This is a role that sits between strategy and delivery, influencing how AI shows up in day-to-day operations, not just in theory.

Ko wai koe | About You    

You’re someone who can navigate complexity and bring clarity, able to connect technical possibilities with practical outcomes in operational and corporate environments.

You know how to build trust with a wide range of stakeholders and bring people along on the journey, especially where change and ambiguity are involved.

You’ll likely bring:

• 5 years + of working with AI/ML in a senior role and business process optimisation with AI.  
• Experience applying generative AI and agentic AI solutions across data and AI platforms in enterprise environments, ideally across operations, infrastructure, or corporate functions.  
• Strong understanding of AI, data, and analytics, with hands-on experience delivering generative AI and agentic AI outcomes (not just advising).
• The ability to translate technical concepts into clear, actionable insights for non-technical audiences.
• Experience working with platforms such as Microsoft Copilot Agents, Databricks Genie, AWS or similar.
• A track record of influencing across teams to drive adoption and change with AI

Just as important is how you show up:

• Curious, adaptable, and comfortable working in evolving spaces
• Collaborative and grounded, you lift others up and bring people with you
• Pragmatic and outcome-focused, with a bias toward action
• Able to balance competing priorities and navigate high demand

Experience with emerging AI approaches (like agentic AI) or large-scale transformation work would be a bonus, but your ability to make AI meaningful and usable in real environments is what matters most.

We support flexible working where it works for the individual, the team and the business. Two of our main hubs are in Wellington and Auckland, and this role is best suited to someone who can work flexibly from one of these locations to enable strong in person connection and collaboration. While we do have smaller sites across other centres of Aotearoa, proximity to one of these hubs is important for this role. 

Contact is not a place you’ll stagnate. We’re growing, evolving, and investing in our people. We also offer a bunch of other perks like free health insurance cover, boosted KiwiSaver, access to Contact Shares, a ‘Good to be Home’ annual payment toward your home set up & wellbeing, a trail-blazing parental leave policy, twice yearly payments towards our products if you’re a Contact customer, and more! 

Applications close on Tuesday 2nd June. But just like peak demand, great talent surges early, so if this role sparks your interest, power up your application now! 

We love a good story at Contact, it’s what keeps our energy flowing! If you’ve got one that connects with this role, send it our way. 

Here at Contact Energy (Te Mata Hiko), we know our strength lies in developing a sense of belonging - one that helps us attract and retain people with a broad range of perspectives and experiences.

We’re committed to creating a workplace where everyone feels valued, respected, and empowered to bring their whole selves to work. Our goal is to reflect the diversity of our customers and communities to help build a better Aotearoa New Zealand.

We have a rich community of talented people that we support to thrive at Contact.

Our inclusive hiring process is designed to embrace the diversity of Aotearoa New Zealand, ensuring a wide range of perspectives are included in our decision-making and helping reduce bias along the way.

The wellbeing of our kaimahi is super important to us.

We use employee insights to offer a range of initiatives and resources to support physical, mental, financial and emotional wellbeing – including flexible working arrangements, employee network groups and a market-leading parental leave policy.

At Te Mata Hiko, we want everyone to thrive. We welcome applicants far and wide - of every age, stage, background, and pride. Join us and be part of a team that values your passion and attitude just as much as your experience and skills.

Please note, only candidates with the right to live and work in New Zealand will be considered for this role.

Research shows that while men apply to jobs where they meet 60% of the criteria, women and those in underrepresented groups tend to only apply if they tick every box. We're not about box ticking, so if you think you have what it takes but don't meet everything stated above, please still get in touch. We'd love to kōrero.

Te Mata Hiko (Contact Energy) does not accept any CVs received from recruitment agencies where a formal engagement has not been confirmed and agreed to with our Talent team. In the event that unsolicited CVs are submitted by recruitment agencies, Te Mata Hiko (Contact Energy) reserves the right to contact these candidates directly and consider them for current/future vacancies without any financial obligation to the recruitment agency in question. This will also apply to any CVs sent directly to line managers.