Group Manager Commercial and Strategy

**The District**

Timaru District is a thriving and innovative community. It is the central hub for the South Island, servicing a large agricultural heartland, with a growing economy that provides the import and export gateway for primary sectors. We boast a Top 10 most loved beach in New Zealand and have access to mountains, rivers and lakes, making Timaru an ideal destination for recreational, sporting and cultural pursuits.

Let’s not forget about that 7 minute commute to work

**The Organisation**

The Timaru District Council aims to enable democratic local decision-making and action by, and on behalf of communities, to promote the social, economic, environmental, and cultural well-being of its communities in the present and for the future. With around 400 employees, there are a diverse range of roles from community-facing to support and technical specialists.

**The Role / Person**

The Group Manager Commercial and Strategy (GM) reports to the Chief Executive and is a member of the senior leadership team. The GM leads a team of 7 direct reports and a wider team of over 40 people, with responsibility for the following critical functions across the organisation:

- Finance
- Information Technology
- Strategy and Corporate Planning
- Risk and Assurance
- Property
- Programme Delivery

The key purpose of this role is to provide strategic direction and operational oversight to all commercial and strategy functions and to deliver amazing customer service to internal and external stakeholders by championing continuous improvement and increasing operating efficiencies. The role requires a high level of strategic and authentic leadership across all of Council, with an ability to communicate organisational objectives, determine key strategic priorities, and ensuring the effective delivery of all functions to provide the best integrated solutions for Council and the Timaru District.

The GM Commercial and Strategy will also play a key role in leading the digital transformation of Council to deliver an ongoing improvement in user experience through harnessing smart information technology systems.

We are looking for a professional, senior business leader who is tertiary qualified, ideally with 7+ years’ demonstrated experience of leading large and complex business units in organisations of scale in either the private or public sector. Essential requirements for success in the role include a proven track record in leadership and communicating organisational objectives and values, leading risk management and assurance functions, ensuring legislative, statutory, and contractual compliance, oversight or governance of multiple projects with competing deadlines. Experience of developing long term plans to link daily operations to organisational vision as well as conducting major process reviews and implementing enterprise wide change as a result.

You will be someone who is passionate about making a positive contribution to the Timaru District and its communities. Able to champion organisational culture to nurture an engaged, customer focused, safe and healthy work environment. A strategic thinker with excellent analytical skills and a keen eye for transformational improvement, you are an effective communicator, able to build rapport at all levels to influence the best outcomes for all, underpinned by the principles of natural justice and procedural fairness. You are a consultative and decisive leader with the mana and courage to challenge the status quo when needed and someone who takes a real pride in building high performing teams who deliver quality outcomes for all stakeholders now and into the future.