Project Manager - Waitaki Upgrade

Mai te hiku ki te taurapa, whitikina e te rā

From the tail of the fish to the tail of the waka, shines the sun

This whakataukī speaks to our journey across Aotearoa, one waka, one purpose, powered by the natural forces that sustain us. Meridian is Aotearoa’s largest renewable electricity producer, generating energy from the winds of Tāwhirimātea, the waters of Tangaroa, and the warmth of Tama-nui-te-rā.   

Together, our two brands, Meridian and Powershop retail electricity to more than 400,000 homes, businesses and farms across New Zealand. Now that’s a pretty impressive combo!   

Mō te tūranga | About the role

Meridian are looking for an experienced Project Manager to manage the upgrade and modernisation of our iconic Waitaki Power Station. This is an excellent opportunity to manage a multi-year, brownfield upgrade of a large 7-unit 1930’s hydro generation station.

The project will be complex, spanning both planning and delivery phases, and leading full project execution with ultimate accountability for the safe delivery of the project. The role is suited to someone focused on safety, quality and long-term operational performance, while also delivering on time, with strong governance and within approved investment parameters.

Āu mahi | What you’ll be doing

• Providing overall leadership and accountability for the Waitaki Upgrade Project across the full lifecycle of planning, preparation, execution and handover phases.
• Developing the project delivery strategy, ensuring the programme is structured for safe, efficient and predictable execution in a complex brownfield operating environment.
• Holding overall accountability for project activities necessary for success including delivery planning, execution readiness, risk reduction, constructability planning and transition into execution.
• Ensuring that technical knowledge, design intent, commercial positions and established contract commitments translate into acceptable delivery performance and outcomes.
• Establishing and lead the project governance framework, ensuring clear decision‑making, effective escalation, and disciplined management of scope, cost, schedule and risk.

Ngā pukenga kei a koe mō tēnei tūranga | What you’ll bring

• You’ll have proven, extensive experience in leading similar brownfield large scale, multi-year, complex infrastructure projects, ideally within the energy, hydro or power generation environments but you could have delivered project in the Oil and Gas, Manufacturing, Chemical Plant industries or similar.
• You’ll have strong programme‑level capability in governance, risk management, cost control, schedule management and delivery assurance.
• You’ll demonstrate an understanding of engineering‑led projects, including integration of electrical, mechanical, civil and construction workstreams.
• You’ll be experienced in managing major OEM and contractor relationships, including complex procurement, commercial interfaces and performance management.
• You’ll have proven leadership capability, establishing, developing and sustaining performance from a multi-disciplined project team throughout the full project lifecycle
• You’ll have a highly developed health and safety leadership capability, with a track record of safe delivery in high‑risk environments.
• You’ll be happy to be based within a commutable distance to the Waitaki project site – we are happy to support relocation (and discuss the awesome location with you if you have any questions!)

Ngā painga ki a mātou | What we can offer

We value work/life balance, so our flexible work options (where possible) make things easier for you and your whānau. We also offer:

• An attractive and competitive salary package that’s reviewed annually, performance-incentive plus discounts from several partnerships 
• Southern Cross Healthcare - Wellbeing one insurance, funded scheme for eligible employees to give you that extra peace of mind   
• Enhanced leave provisions: three additional company paid days (over the holiday period), enhanced parental leave and options to buy up to 12 days additional leave 
• Life, trauma and income protection insurance (which we hope you won’t need!) 
• Enhanced KiwiSaver contributions 
• Access to the Meridian employee share scheme 
• Excellent learning and development opportunities, we want you to be the best version of yourself and will help you get there!  
• Award winning wellbeing programme that provides support whenever and wherever you need it 
• Employee discounts off your power with Meridian, every bit counts 
• A one-off $400 payment to support your work from home set-up (if needed) 

He aha koe i hono mai ai ki a mātou? | Why join us?     

We’re a great place to work with plenty of opportunities and career development for those that want it. We value and live by three ‘How to Be’s’: ‘be gutsy’, working together by ‘being in the waka’ and doing the right thing by ‘being a good human’.

We embrace diversity and inclusion and ensure that everyone feels like they belong, are welcomed, feel valued, and feel comfortable to bring their whole selves to work. We want all our people to be the best that they can be, so we make sure that there’s room for everyone to be exactly who they are, and welcome applications from people of all backgrounds and experiences, including individuals with disabilities, diverse health needs, and those who identify as neurodiverse, because we believe our differences make us stronger. We believe that fun is good for you, and we make sure that our office vibe reflects that. We support each other and celebrate our successes.

Sustainability sits firmly in our DNA – both socially and environmentally – and we’re doing what we can to help Aotearoa reduce their carbon emissions and we’re helping support others in our generation communities to do the same.

Tono mai ināianei tonu | Apply now

All in all, we’re a genuinely great place to work, with meaningful work, supportive teams, and a clear purpose. If this role sounds like a fit and you’re keen to make a real impact on New Zealand’s energy future, apply today and tell us what you’ll bring to the role.

If you’ve got any questions, please email [email protected]. We’re committed to becoming more accessible and providing support if needed. Please get in touch if there are parts of our process you would like assistance with (process found here: meridianenergy.co.nz/careers).

View the full Project Manager JD.

Location: Flexible across Waitaki Valley, Twizel or similar

Advertising closes Friday 26th June.