- Establishment CEO - build something that matters for West Coast communities
- Integrate three waters services across Buller, Grey and Westland into a new organisation
- West Coast based - Live and work in one of New Zealand's most extraordinary regions
About Coast Waters Ltd
Coast Waters Ltd is being established by the Buller, Grey and Westland District Councils as a purpose-built organisation to deliver water services across the West Coast region. It will bring together water services teams from the three councils into a single workforce with a shared culture focused on safety, professionalism and service excellence. Coast Waters will serve communities the length of the coast, from Karamea to Haast, operating across one of New Zealand's most geographically diverse and challenging environments. The three shareholder councils have already approved a Shareholders' Agreement and Constitution, and an experienced establishment board is in place.
About The Role:
This is a genuinely rare leadership opportunity. As founding Chief Executive, you will build Coast Waters from the ground up - integrating teams, systems and assets from three councils into a single high-performing organisation while maintaining uninterrupted service delivery throughout the transition. The Board is looking for a leader who is as comfortable building something from scratch as they are running it once it is built. This is an establishment and performance role, not a maintenance role, responsible for providing strategic leadership and management of the organisation through the current establishment phase to steady-state operations and beyond.
Reporting to the Board through the Chair, you will work closely with the three shareholder councils, mana whenua partners Te Rūnanga o Makaawhio and Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Waewae, Taumata Arowai, the Commerce Commission, and communities across the region to shape the organisation's culture, credibility and long-term direction. Day One is expected in July 2027, and the decisions made in the lead-up to that date will define Coast Waters for decades.
Skills & Experience:
We are looking for a proven senior leader who brings:
- Significant change leadership experience, ideally in establishment or transformation contexts within infrastructure, utilities, local government or the public sector
- A track record of building organisational credibility and trust with diverse stakeholders — including iwi and mana whenua partners, councils, regulators and communities
- Strong commercial and financial acumen, with experience overseeing investment programmes, budgets and long-term financial sustainability in complex environments
- An understanding of te ao Māori, the post-settlement environment, and a demonstrated commitment to Te Tiriti o Waitangi in practice
- Strategic thinking, planning and communication capability, including comfort operating under public and political scrutiny
- Experience working with and reporting to boards in accountability-focused public sector settings
- A values-driven leadership style that fosters inclusion, high performance and a strong safety culture.
An excellent understanding of the New Zealand water services regulatory environment, including the Local Government (Water Services) Act 2025, Taumata Arowai, and Commerce Commission economic regulation, will be an advantage, as will a tertiary qualification in a relevant field such as engineering, business, public administration, law or environmental management.
Why Coast Waters?
Coast Waters is being built on the values of the communities it will serve — practical, resilient, and deeply connected to place. The founding Chief Executive will have an outsized influence on the culture that takes hold, and the Board is looking for a leader who takes that responsibility seriously. You will have a clear mandate, full board support, and a connected leadership environment alongside the establishment board.
And then there is the West Coast itself. Mountains, rivers, coastline, and a pace of life that is hard to find anywhere else in New Zealand. For the right leader, relocating to the coast is not a compromise, it is part of the appeal of a role that offers genuine national significance at a pivotal moment in New Zealand's water services reform.