Group Manager - Organisational Performance and Innovation

With hundreds of kilometres of mountain biking and walking trails, 100,000 hectares of native and exotic forests, and the largest commercial forest plantation in the Southern Hemisphere, Rotorua is a centre for tourism and forestry.

We are proud of Rotorua. We want it to become the lifestyle destination of choice for professionals, families and people who have a passion for the outdoors.

Rotorua is in the heart of the Te Arawa region. Our population is approximately 78,000, including 40% Maori - the largest proportion of any city in New Zealand.

Being a bicultural city provides a foundation for us to recognise and celebrate our increasing diversity which enriches us as individuals and as a multi-cultural community. Te Kaunihera o nga Roto o Rotorua (Rotorua Lakes Council) is committed to biculturalism and working in partnership with Te Arawa, our local iwi.

About the role:

The Group Manager - Organisational Performance & Innovation plays a pivotal role in providing strategic direction and operational oversight for all commercial and strategy-related functions within our organisation.

This influential position carries significant leadership responsibilities in effectively communicating organisational objectives and priorities, ensuring alignment with council strategies.

The ultimate goal is to drive and support organisational performance, enabling the delivery of high-performing and efficient services to the council. The Group Manager will lead continual improvement initiatives, drive efficiencies, and enhance the user experience, thereby upholding top-quality service levels for our organisation.

What it does:

Our Group Manager - Organisational Performance and Innovation is responsible for ensuring that the organisation is aligned with our Council priorities so we can reliably plan, deliver and report on progress to our community.

The Group includes Governance, Strategy & Compliance, Information Solutions, Communications & Engagement and Capital Delivery of our major capital projects and programmes.

This role will lead change management efforts to support the implementation of performance and innovation initiatives to deliver organisational excellence. This position is the Chief Change-Maker that will set the critical path for business transformation.

Success will be achieved by the skilful use of design methodology to shape insights and work through complex problem solving, creating clear concepts and ways forward in line with business goals, and wider Council colleagues in the process.

What you'll bring:

• Highly developed analytical skills using data to inform decision-making and drive performance improvements.
• A clear vision for organisational performance and innovation that identifies and cultivates leadership talent within the organisation.
• Strong interpersonal skills and stakeholder engagement experience to communicate authentically with internal and external customers.
• Proven experience leading high-performing teams committed to continuous improvement and outstanding customer service.
• Expertise in creating and executing digital strategies that streamline processes and strengthen organisational and community connections.

Why join Rotorua Lakes Council?

The team is recently established and engaged with a customer-centric focus - they're ready to change things up to improve the district by improving community focused programmes and facilities.

This is an exciting time to join Rotorua Lakes Council. Our recently established, customer-focused team is ready to drive change that strengthens our community programmes, services, and facilities. We celebrate success, respond proactively to challenges, and thrive in a culture that values innovation and agility.

There is good work-life balance with flexible working, generous leave provisions including birthday leave, free flu shots, staff benefits and discounts at a range of local businesses.

We value people bringing a diverse set of skills and experience to council, so if you are seeking a senior executive role with the mandate to deliver positive change and strengthen the future of our district, and have an interest in local government, we invite you to join us.

Click here to view the Position Description.

Applications close at 9:59pm on Sunday, 12 October 2025.