Strategic Procurement Manager – Construction

• Manage a category management team across a spend of $127m per annum
• Intellectually stimulating environment of critical national importance
• Be part of a collaborative team, working to empower New Zealand's energy future

Transpower sits at the centre of the New Zealand electricity industry.   We plan, build, operate, and maintain the National Grid - $5B of assets - critical infrastructure that makes up the high voltage backbone transmitting electricity around the country 24/7.

About The Team
Our Procurement team is part of our Corporate Services division led by the Chief Financial Officer and is responsible for driving cost savings, process efficiencies and best practice procurement across the organisation.

The team operate a centre led procurement function that works to achieve enterprise level outcomes from over $800 million of procurement spend per annum across domestic and international suppliers, ensuring we have a supplier relationship framework that supports procurement and commercial management within our operational divisions driving both financial and non-financial benefits.

The Opportunity
–
interviews to be arranged as suitable candidates are identified
As Strategic Procurement Manager, reporting to the Head of Procurement, you will be responsible for leading and developing the Strategic Procurement team (:6 direct reports) to support Transpower's operational delivery in alignment with our objectives and sound procurement principles. You will be accountable for the sustained delivery of benefits by overseeing the development and execution of supplier segmentation and category strategies including supplier relationship management frameworks and operational plans.

The procurement team manages over $800m of spend per year and this role would manage the category managers that are responsible for :$127m of that. You will ensure internal customers are engaged and relationships both internally and externally are well managed. Working collaboratively with strategic supply partners and external market peer organisations you'll leverage scale and synergies and deliver incremental value.

A strategic advisor for high value / complex procurement as well as delivery, you will lead change initiatives, support capability uplift and champion adoption of procurement technology and AI tools that enable efficiency and effectiveness. This is a people leadership role with expectation to coach, grow and further develop your team members as part of a high performing combined procurement and supply team of :40 passionate professionals.

What will you bring?
A highly effective leader and astute relationship manager your background will encompass experience gained within category management environments (products and materials), including negotiations with offshore OEM suppliers.

You will be experienced working with international providers in a high volume and high value spend environment and be able to evidence embedding structure (process) and aligning deliverables with, and which achieve, organisational objectives (plans), as well as identifying and implementing the measures (KPI's) that support driving supplier performance, whilst being agile to deal with what the day may bring in a project based asset management organisation.

You will pride yourself on achievements such as quantifiable savings and contract improvements that have delivered benefits beyond standard expectations.

Your CV and cover letter
will include relevant qualifications (Business, Commerce, Law, Engineering) and/or equivalent experience and reflect:

• Leadership – managerial (line management), commercial and operational
• Business planning, financial management and reporting
• 10+ years of commercial or procurement experience with a minimum three years in leadership roles within similar sized business
• Leading procurement processes, contracts, supplier relationships, projects, and programmes with large budgets and volume

• Commercial and procurement experience for the supply of

• complex construction and delivery projects

• outsourced service provider relationships for project and maintenance services, and/or
• complex OEM/integrator delivered design, supply and install solutions

While not essential – a solid understanding of and experience with government procurement rules and probity, balanced with sound direct commercial and procurement experience in the electricity / energy, construction or utilities sectors, including project delivery and maintenance, will be viewed as advantageous.

Why join Transpower
It's exciting On offer is significant intellectual stimulation, working with the scale, criticality, and complexity of our lifeline utility. It is both stimulating and challenging. We are an equal opportunity employer and value the diversity of thought that comes from our people of over 28 ethnicities.

We work in the office or on-site for a minimum of three days a week, supporting relationships, learning, and outcomes, while offering flexibility for personal and work commitments.

Your wellbeing is prioritised with a range of excellent employee health and wellness benefits – check them out here: Staff benefits | Transpower

Applications close Monday December 9th, 2025.
Please note that applications will be reviewed as they are received, and interviews scheduled as suitable candidates are identified. We are committed, in identifying the ideal candidate, to offering pre-Christmas. Please
do not
delay submitting your application.
Existing eligibility to work in New Zealand is required.