A new chapter is starting for water services in Wellington’s metropolitan area. From 1 July 2026, Tiaki Wai will take over responsibility for providing drinking water, wastewater and stormwater services to approximately 433,000 residents across Wellington City, Porirua City, Hutt City, and Upper Hutt City.
As a council-owned water services organisation, oversight will be maintained by a Partners Committee made up of representatives from shareholding councils and mana whenua (Taranaki Whānui ki te Upoko o Te Ika and Ngāti Toa Rangatira). From 1 July, Tiaki Wai will bill customers directly for water services, meaning it can make more prioritised, sustainable investment and borrowing decisions. Councils will also transfer their water assets to Tiaki Wai, giving it the independence, resources, and region-wide perspective to effectively manage and improve water services for current and future communities.
Reporting to the Chief Executive Officer, the Chief Financial Officer will play a key role in helping to shape Tiaki Wai through its establishment phase and into long-term operational maturity, ensuring the organisation is set up, resourced, and aligned for future success and delivering to its customers, communities, partners and shareholders.
Based in Wellington and with accountability for ensuring the ongoing financial sustainability, affordability and resilience of Tiaki Wai, the CFO will provide strong financial stewardship, effective reporting, funding and investment management and lead the strategic development and establishment of the billing and revenue function for this new entity. An appreciation for the need to balance financial discipline alongside Tiaki Wai’s commitment to ensuring service quality, resilience and long-term sustainability, will be critical.
Ideally CA qualified, the appointee will be a proven CFO, having honed their skills in complex regulatory environments of scale, likely involving asset ownership or infrastructure. The ability and desire to contribute more broadly to the entity as a whole will be essential and the successful candidate will be skilled in working effectively with critical stakeholders such as government and mana whenua in order to achieve outcomes.
Given the nature of this new entity, previous experience in leading large-scale transformation and change will be critical, as will the ability to achieve results in an environment that is dynamic, complex and ambiguous. Inspirational leadership, collaboration and a strong results-focus will be critical to success, and the appointee will be pragmatic and resilient in their approach. With multiple stakeholders and against a landscape of public accountability, commercial judgement and the ability to navigate competing priorities will prove essential.
For more information or to apply, please contact Hobson Leavy Executive Search: tiakiwai@hobsonleavy.com.
Applications close at 5.00pm Wednesday 8th April 2026
