Chief Information Officer

Unleash your potential in Rotorua: Where work and life thrive together!

Imagine a workplace where your efforts directly shape the future of the vibrant community that is Rotorua. Te Kaunihera o ngā Roto o Rotorua - Rotorua Lakes Council offers you that opportunity and more. After a fulfilling day at mahi, soak in our abundance of geothermal pools, explore the mesmerising ngāwha (geysers), and conquer world-famous mountain biking trails. As we stand firmly committed to biculturalism and collaboration with Te Arawa, our local iwi, your appreciation for Māori values, te reo, and tikanga Māori will flourish. Join us and shape your career in an environment where innovation meets tradition.

He kai kai āu ringa! Nau mai! You have the opportunity to make a huge difference! Come join us!

Rotorua Lakes Council is looking for a strategic and people‑focused Chief Information Officer to lead our information, data and digital teams. This role exists to make Council easy to work with on the inside, and easy to access on the outside. You’ll bring modern thinking, practical systems and smart processes that improve how we work and how our community experiences our services. No buzzwords required. Just good judgement, reliable systems, and a commitment to treating information as a public taonga.

In this role you will lead our digital transformation. You’ll improve customer experiences, strengthen our data and insight capability, and make sure our technology and information are secure, trusted and future‑fit. You will guide our digital strategy, oversee cyber and information risk, and make sure our reporting to the Executive team and elected members is clear and meaningful. You will also help turn "we need a system" into "we have a plan".

You’ll oversee a wide portfolio including IT, digital services, data and analytics, information management, GIS and major enterprise systems. You will work across Council to design digital services that are intuitive, inclusive and accessible. You will partner early with mana whenua and stakeholders, supporting decisions that reflect Te Tiriti o Waitangi principles and local tikanga.

To thrive in this role, you need strong senior leadership experience across information, digital, data or technology in complex environments. You will be confident leading multidisciplinary teams, managing major programmes and advising executives and governance groups. You will bring experience in data governance, privacy, cybersecurity and digital service design. Experience working with mana whenua and Māori communities is essential.

This is your opportunity to lead a capable team, modernise our digital ecosystem and deliver visible improvements for our people and our district. We support innovation, simplicity and continuous improvement. Bring examples of the systems, frameworks or digital transformations you’ve led. We’re excited to see how you’ll help us lift our game for Rotorua.

This vacancy closes on Sunday, 22 March 2026. 

Please click here to view position description

Te Kaunihera o nga Roto o Rotorua (Rotorua Lakes Council) is committed to working in partnership with Te Arawa, our local iwi. We aspire to being a bicultural organisation and we value staff who speak te reo Maori, have an appreciation of Maori values, and a working knowledge of tikanga Maori.

Sound like you? Click the Apply button now!