Our purpose | Tō mātou kaupapa
Central Districts Water is the new water services organisation for Palmerston North, Rangitīkei and Horowhenua. From 1 July 2027 we will deliver drinking water, wastewater and stormwater services to around 54,000 connections across the three districts, managing a $1.7 billion asset base and a capital programme of $1.4 billion.
We are jointly owned by Palmerston North City Council, Rangitīkei District Council and Horowhenua District Council, and established in partnership with Ngā Tapuwae o Hau, the alliance of tangata whenua across our three districts. We are being formed under the Local Government (Water Services) Act 2025.
Our kaupapa is to provide safe, reliable, affordable water services, delivered with care for the awa, the whenua and the communities that depend on them, both now and into the future.
Come and join us.
About the role | Mō te tūnga
As General Manager Māori Strategy and Partnerships, you will lead the development of Central Districts Water's partnership with tangata whenua and the way te ao Māori shapes how this organisation thinks, decides and delivers. You will report directly to the Chief Executive and sit on the Executive Leadership Team.
This is a design and a delivery role. In your first 12-18 months you will define what this capability needs to be for CDW in practice, build the operating model, and make the case for the team, budget and delegations required to sustain it.
You will be the principal executive relationship holder with Ngā Tapuwae o Hau, and with the iwi and hapū of Rangitāne o Manawatū, Ngāti Kauwhata, Ngāti Raukawa, Ngā Wairiki, Ngā Wairiki Ngāti Apa, Muaūpoko and others across the three districts. You will bring their rights, interests and aspirations into strategy, investment decisions, consenting, catchment planning and day-to-day operations. You will also advise the Chief Executive and the Board on Te Tiriti o Waitangi obligations, and engagement with Te Puni Kōkiri, Taumata Arowai and regional government.
About you | Mōhou ake
We are looking for a senior leader with mana, judgement and the standing to hold relationships at chair, kaumātua and chief executive level. You will bring deep experience working with iwi, hapū and Māori communities, a working knowledge of the post settlement environment, and the strategic capability to turn relationship expectations into practical organisational arrangements that are made real within an operating business.
You will be comfortable building something from nothing, patient enough to develop the function properly, and clear enough to give the Chief Executive confidence about direction, risk and obligation.