Te Tākinatanga | Our Story
We’re a power and broadband company, but we’re so much more than that. We are transforming the ways we mahi, and how Aotearoa is powered, leading the charge on renewable energy and digitising customer journeys in ways not yet seen here.
Speaking of leading the charge on renewable energy, we have partnered with leading global solar developer Lightsource bp to develop a pipeline of grid scale solar farms across New Zealand. Most recently we announced being chosen to develop phase one of a renewable energy precinct at Christchurch Airport, known as Kowhai Park. Kōwhai Park will host a solar farm that will span around 300-hectares just behind Christchurch Airport’s runways – it’s big, so big in fact it will be among the largest in the country.
The project will generate 290GWh of electricity per year, to put that into context it’s enough to meet the annual demand of approximately 36,000 homes and will have the same carbon benefit as planting around 1.25 million native trees and shrubs. The Contact and Lightsource bp joint venture will develop, build, own and operate the solar farm, with Contact buying most of the output.
Kōrero mō te tūranga | About the role
Growing renewable development to meet new demand is a key pillar of our Contact26 strategy. As a Development Manager – Solar, it will be up to you to drive Contact’s solar strategy, taking options from pre-feasibility through to financial close. You will oversee the integration of solar generation into Contact’s generation portfolio and develop business cases for solar projects. This may also include co-location of battery storage.
One of your key tasks will involve developing Kowhai Park solar farm in partnership with Lightsource bp. In addition to this, we will be counting on you to identifying opportunities for new solar generation projects.
To ensure success you will need to apply robust project management methodologies to help guide projects through the various development stages. You will engage in all commercial aspects of the projects including landowner agreements, grid connection, EPC contracting, project financing and other procurement activities. It will also be up to you to oversee Power Purchase Agreements or other innovative contracting structures.
This role reports into our Head of Wind and Solar and sits within the Development team. As a manager, you will have one direct report, a Development Specialist – Solar. You will lead and motivate them, helping them to grow and reach their full potential.
Location wise, we are ideally seeking someone who is Wellington based but we are open to considering other locations.
Tā mātou e kimi nei? - What are we looking for?
This role is a mix of commercial and people skills, the dream would be to find somebody who has prior experience in generation development, some relevant energy sector commercial exposure and has led and managed a team.
In this role you’ll be collaborating with a diverse range of internal and external stakeholders across all levels of seniority. Building effective working relationships will come naturally to you and you’ll have top notch communication skills (verbal and written). You are comfortable taking the lead, and you’re not afraid to challenge things and ask the hard questions. You approach things in a calm and concise manner, connect the dots and provide context always.
You’ll have experience in project management and managing complex projects and will be familiar with what it’s like to work in a fast paced, dynamic environment. You’ll need to be comfortable working ‘in the grey’ and roll with the punches when things don’t go as planned or change tact.
Strong commercial acumen is a must, you’ll need to have transactional experience including joint ventures, and asset and business sales and purchases. We’d also like to see knowledge of investment appraisal techniques and that you’re well versed in budget management. All this experience will set you up for success and enable you to influence others, negotiate and make sound decisions.
Ideally, you’ll have a relevant tertiary qualification e.g., commerce, mathematics, statistics, engineering science or operations research supported by a genuine interest in the energy industry.
Additional Information
If this position sounds like a bit of you, we’d love to hear from you. It’s a unique leadership role where you have the ability to influence our solar portfolio and play a key role in our journey to lead the decarbonisation of Aotearoa. Help us build a brighter future!
There are a bunch of perks to being a permanent Contact kaimahi (employee). Along with great leadership, teammates, development, and growth and progression opportunities, you’ll enjoy free health insurance cover, better-than-your-average leave, access to Contact Shares, a ‘Good to be Home’ annual payment toward your home set up & wellbeing, a trail-blazing parental leave policy [link removed], discounts on Contact Energy products, and more.
Research shows that while men apply to jobs where they meet 60% of the criteria, women and those in underrepresented groups tend to only apply if they tick every box. We're not about box ticking, so if you think you have what it takes but don't meet everything stated above, please still get in touch. We'd love to kōrero.
