Kia mahi ngātahi mō Pōneke mō tōna āpōpō | Working together for Wellington's future.
As a great harbour capital city, Wellington City Council has established a vision for Pōneke as an inclusive, sustainable, and creative capital for people to live, work and play. The future of Wellington is compact, inclusive & connected, greener, resilient, vibrant, and prosperous.
Waste is now a mainstream environmental and sustainability challenge for all New Zealanders. It affects all of us on a micro level, at home and at work, and at the City Council level it is one of the major drivers of our carbon profile. This makes Waste Operations one of the most challenging and rewarding places to work in the Council.
Our Waste, Water & Resilience team are ambitious, and we love it! Having adopted a zero-waste strategy for Wellington, this signals a significant shift in how we as a city think about waste, the services and infrastructure we provide, and how businesses, residents and the Council can contribute to making a difference for our city's environmental, societal, and economic future. And to help the wider team continue this critical work, we are looking for an experienced and capable Commercial Manager to join our team. In this role you will contribute as a member of the Waste Operations management team, challenging the status quo to reposition Wellington City as a leader in the field of waste operations.
The Role and You
Based at the Southern Landfill in Happy Valley you will manage the commercial side of the business, identifying and driving improvements that are consistent with our aspirations as an eco-city and will help us meet the objectives in our current Waste Management and Minimisation Plan. You'll be working directly with businesses in the waste sector, Senior Council staff and regulatory bodies. You'll need to be able to get to the nub of complex issues, identify and mitigate risk, and advise on how business decisions will affect the bottom line.
You'll need to:
- Understand the machinations of an operational business unit with turnover around $30m
- Manage Council's obligations regarding the Emissions Trading Scheme and Waste Minimisation Levy
- Lead Waste Operations' asset management, business planning, procurement and LTP processes, ensuring operational and capital budget alignment
- Increasingly, waste is an issue where New Zealanders are expecting change. This change will be high profile, and of public interest and the lasting impact of your work in this role will result in a greener, more resilient Pōneke for future generations to come.
To be successful in this role you will:
- bring experience and expertise in the waste sector. You'll be a problem solver, who is able to work with a wide range of stakeholders and customers. It's a robust environment and you'll need to be personally resilient.
- have significant financial management experience, preferably working in a contractor management environment.
- have a broad understanding of Local Government and relevant legislation.
- have a relevant Bachelor's degree
About us
Working for the Council offers you a range of benefits including 5 weeks annual leave, health and wellbeing support, Council staff discounts and a range of learning and development programmes and opportunities. We are an inclusive and diverse workplace, and we really care about our employees. We have a welcoming and respectful culture where you are supported to achieve your best.
If this sounds like you, we'd love to hear from you! Applicants must be eligible to work in New Zealand.
If you have any questions, please contact Jenny Elliott, Manager Waste Operations, at jennifer.elliott@wcc.govt.nz
Applications close 11th of March 2025 but don't delay, candidates will be reviewed as they apply, and this role may close early if suitable applicants are found.
We want to make sure any accessibility requirements you may have, are well supported so the selection process is equitable for everyone. Please let us know if there are any adjustments or support, we can offer to make our process more accessible to you by emailing: recruitment@wcc.govt.nz
