Corporate Affairs Manager

The Corporate Affairs Manager – New Zealand leads government and industry engagement and external communications activity across the country. The role focuses on building trust and strengthening reputation with government, regulators, media, iwi, community groups, and industry partners, while ensuring consistency with Group-wide priorities.

Working closely with the New Zealand Managing Director, the Operations Senior Leadership Team and the Corporate Affairs & Brand team, this position provides strategic direction on external engagement, messaging, and reputation management to support the business's priorities and purpose of enabling communities to thrive.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and lead a government and industry engagement strategy aligned to business priorities.
• Build and maintain trusted relationships with key stakeholders, including government agencies, regulators, iwi, media, and community organisations.
• Manage issues and crisis communications, ensuring timely, accurate, and coordinated responses.
• Lead proactive external communications and media engagement to strengthen reputation and visibility.
• Drive strategic storytelling and thought leadership that supports business objectives.
• Collaborate with business unit teams and the Group Corporate Affairs function to ensure alignment across Australia and New Zealand.
• Promote sustainability initiatives, community engagement, and the organisation's strong safety culture in all external communications.

What You Will Bring

• Tertiary qualification in Communications, Public Relations, Political Science, or a related discipline.
• 8–10 years of experience in corporate affairs, communications, or government relations roles within complex or regulated industries.
• Proven experience developing and implementing communication and engagement strategies.
• Strong understanding of New Zealand's political, regulatory, and media landscape.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with sound judgment when managing sensitive issues.
• Ability to work collaboratively across multiple stakeholders and business units.
• (Desirable) Experience in the infrastructure, construction, or essential services sectors.
• (Desirable) Experience engaging with Māori/iwi and applying Te Tiriti o Waitangi principles in practice.

Benefits Of Working with Downer

• Work with an ASX/NZX listed company, working with market leaders in infrastructure services.
• Grow your career with us, we are passionate about giving our people opportunities to grow through personal and professional development and continuous learning:
• Professional development programs
  • Access to professional memberships and industry networks
• Be part of a team that cares, we foster a work environment built on support that is flexible around our employee's wellbeing needs:
• Flexible work arrangements
  • Parental leave
  • Employee Assistance Program
  • Programs promoting diversity and inclusion
• A range of Corporate Benefits, including:
• Discounted services through (car hires, hotels, insurance, retail stores, gyms)
  • Volunteering day
  • Marram subsidised healthcare

Why Downer?

You want your work to matter and so do we. With over 26,000 people across Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific, our team is made up of individuals with unique perspectives, backgrounds, and ideas.

We know that diversity makes us stronger and we actively celebrate it through our commitment to inclusion and belonging.

We're committed to building a team that reflects the diverse communities we serve and we welcome people of all ages, genders, sexual orientations, cultures, abilities, and lived experiences. We especially encourage applications from those whose voices have traditionally been underrepresented in our industry, including women Māori and Pasifika Peoples, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, veterans, people with disability, and neurodivergent individuals. Even if your experience doesn't align perfectly with this role, we'd still like to hear from you. If it feels like the right fit, apply - potential counts, and so do you.

As a WORK180 Endorsed Employer, we support flexibility that works for your life, inclusive leadership that values your voice, and equitable access to opportunity so you can do your best work and bring your whole self to it.