Practice Lead - Technology Engineering

Te Tākinatanga - Our Story 

Ko tā Contact e whakapono nei, ko te taiao tonu te taonga nui katoa o te ao. 

Koinei mātou e whai atu nei kia mahue atu i a mātou tētahi ao hauora ake, tēnā i te ora i kuhu ai mātou. 

He pakihi whakarato hiko, ipurangi mātou, engari arā kē atu anō ā mātou taha. 

Kei te whakawhanake mātou i ā mātou mahi ake, i ngā ara hoki e whai hiko ai a Aotearoa, kei te kōkiri kia tukua te hiko tukurua, ā, kei te whakaputa i tētahi wheako matihiko mō ā mātou kiritaki kāore anō kia kitea i tēnei whenua. 

He tīma kotahi mano mātou nō ngā hau e whā, e ngākau nui ana ki ā mātou mahi, e aroha ana tētahi ki tētahi, e ako ngātahi ana, e whakapono tahi ana ki ā mātou tikanga ārahi: mā te manaaki kia toa, ka mana te katoa. 

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, leading the charge on renewable energy and digitising customer journeys in ways not yet seen here. A team of 1000+ from all walks of life who love what we do, look out for each other, and learn from one another every day, we’re stoked to be guided by our tikanga: we touch lives to make life better. 

Contact Energy is on a mission to lead the decarbonisation of New Zealand. We know that technology will play a crucial role in achieving our ambitions. Our recently formed Technology Innovation team (culminating from the decision to merge our Digital and ICT functions) is at the forefront of this journey, driving Contact into a tech and data-driven future.  

We’re all about innovation and sustainability. Being at the forefront of the renewable energy transition, we’re driving projects that support a sustainable future. As part of our newly created Delivery team, our Digital Engineering crew is integral to this mission, we know they are at the core of the function and make the magic happen.

Kōrero mō te tūranga | About the role 

As the Practice Lead - Engineering, you'll be at the helm of our Engineering team, covering front-end development, integration, backend development and Data engineering. Your mission? Drive performance and create a culture of continuous improvement. You'll collaborate closely with cross-functional teams, including our other newly created Data & AI and Platforms & Architecture teams, to deliver key projects that support our renewable energy goals. This role is all about managing our data and software engineering teams, ensuring they perform consistently, improve continuously, and maintain high standards moving forward. You'll lead and develop a high-performing team, mentor Chapter Leads and Senior Engineers and foster a culture that balances performance with a people first approach. We truly have a unique organisation where we operate almost like several businesses combined, including Retail, Trading, and Generation, to name a few. This means you'll get exposure to a variety of exciting projects and will have the opportunity to work with those cross-functional teams. You will have a seat at the table in technical forums (like architectural and data forums), representing Engineering in decision-making processes. You will drive our Engineering function at Contact.  

Ko wai koe | About You

We are looking for a dynamic leader with: 

• Leadership Experience: Proven experience in leading engineering teams, particularly in data or software engineering environments. 

• Agile Methodologies: Strong understanding and experience in agile methodologies, agile culture transformation and driving performance in agile environments.   

• People Transformation: Experience in managing large teams and driving people transformations, including integrating multiple cultures into a single cohesive culture. 

• Technical Expertise: Significant technical expertise in data and software engineering, with the ability to represent the engineering team in technical forums and decision-making processes. 

• Communication Skills: Excellent leadership and communication skills to work collaboratively with cross-functional teams and stakeholders. 

• Ability to Influence: Excellent influencing, interpersonal, and communication skills to engage senior leaders and technical specialists and coordinate complex initiatives across multiple teams. 

• Continuous Improvement: Ability to drive continuous improvement while maintaining high standards in engineering practices. 

• Passion for Sustainability: A strong passion for renewable energy and sustainability, contributing to strategic projects in this area. 

Additional Information 

Contact is not a place you’ll stagnate. We are growing and offer superb learning and development opportunities along with trailblazing policies like Growing Your Whānau, and perks like credit on your Contact Energy account, access to own Contact shares and a bunch of corporate discounts! 

He mea nui ngā paki kōrero ki a mātou i Contact, nā reira, mēnā kei a koe tētehi e hāngai pea ana ki tā mātou e kimi nei i tēnei tūranga kei raro iho nei--kei te hiahia mātou kia whakapā mai ai koe! 

We are big on stories here at Contact, so if you have one that you think might align with what we are looking for – we would love to hear from you!  

We’re accepting applications until Sunday, 8 June — but we’re reviewing them as they come in and there is the chance we might close the advert off early. So if you're keen, don’t wait — get your application in ASAP!

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.