Leadership & Talent Manager

About the role

The Manager – Leadership & Talent will lead NZTA Waka Kotahi’s enterprise‑wide approach to leadership development, talent management and succession planning. Reporting to the Head of Learning & Organisational Development, this newly created role is strategically important for building future‑ready leadership pipelines across New Zealand.

Key responsibilities

• Lead the design and delivery of NZTA’s leadership development pathways and priority initiatives.
• Establish and maintain clear succession and talent governance to strengthen leadership pipelines.
• Drive talent identification and leadership assessment processes such as 360‑degree feedback and self‑assessment.
• Manage external providers and market engagement for leadership development solutions.
• Integrate leadership development with broader talent and succession processes throughout the employee lifecycle.
• Provide insights, reporting and analytics on leadership capability, succession health and development impact.
• Lead and develop a high‑performing team, setting clear priorities and building capability.

Required profile

• Strategic leader with a passion for building leadership capability at scale.
• Strong organisational development background and ability to influence senior stakeholders.
• Significant experience shaping leadership development and organisational capability strategies.
• Expertise in succession planning, talent governance and leadership assessment.
• Proven track record selecting and managing external providers and development solutions.
• Ability to connect leadership development with broader talent and succession processes.
• Strong analytical capability to turn insights into actionable outcomes.

Required skills