AI & Analytics Practice Manager

• Shape and grow our AI, analytics and GenAI centre of excellence
• Turn data into trusted insights, business value and intelligent products
• Guide responsible AI guardrails and standards across the business

Transpower’s purpose is to empower the energy future for New Zealand—a future that delivers a net-zero carbon economy and a reliable, secure electricity system.

At the forefront of the energy sector, Transpower is the state-owned enterprise that owns and operates New Zealand’s national electricity transmission system and fulfils the role of system operator. With more than $5 billion in critical infrastructure assets, we play a pivotal role in connecting generators to users and distribution networks across Aotearoa.

Role Context

In this role, you’ll help lead Transpower’s enterprise-wide AI \& Analytics Practice—expanding advanced analytics to include Generative AI (GenAI) and support delivery of our AI strategy. You’ll help shape the direction, guardrails and standards that enable the organisation to safely and confidently turn data into actionable intelligence and AI-enabled solutions.

Sitting within our Enterprise Information \& Data function, you’ll be a key member of the Data \& Analytics leadership team. You’ll partner across business divisions and ICT, including data, delivery, platform and infrastructure teams—to ensure AI and analytics solutions are ethical, secure, production-ready, and aligned to enterprise goals and regulatory expectations.

About the team

The AI \& Analytics team develops advanced analytical and AI-driven models (ML models) that improve decision-making across Transpower. As our centre of excellence for data science and AI capability, the team builds and maintains complex analytical models, develops trusted intelligence products, and partners across the organisation to grow a strong community of practice—ensuring insights are accurate, secure, ethical and production-ready.

The AI \& Analytics Practice Manager reports to the Chief Data Officer and leads a team of 2–5 specialists. You’ll work closely with Value Managers (Senior Business Managers from across the organisation), Intelligence Product Owners, the Data Management Practice Manager, the D\&A Delivery Lead, Delivery Teams and wider Data \& Analytics participants—alongside external analytics and AI partners, consultants, and academic or research institutions, as well as all business units across Transpower.

The Opportunity

This is a centre of excellence leadership role. As our AI \& Analytics Practice Manager, you will lead and evolve Transpower’s enterprise AI and analytics capability—setting direction, enabling delivery and ensuring high-quality outcomes across a distributed model. Defining and delivering the AI \& Analytics roadmap, ensuring a strong link between investment and business value outcomes.

You’ll champion trust and adoption of AI and analytics across the organisation, establishing standards and guardrails —including MLOps and GenAI production practices—that enable federated delivery while maintaining shared discipline, governance and compliance. Production grade practices. You’ll embed a model where AI and analytics are delivered across the organisation, with shared standards and strong coordination.

You’ll work on complex, real-world challenges, balancing rapid AI innovation, enterprise trust, governance and risk and a clear transition of AI into business value. You’ll drive real use of GenAI—moving beyond concept into usable, trusted applications across the business.

You’ll build internal capability and external partnerships to ensure AI remains a long-term organisational strength.

This is a pivotal leadership role in an organisation central to New Zealand’s transition to a more electrified, net-zero future. If you enjoy working across complexity, influencing enterprise direction, and partnering with thoughtful, purpose-driven people to deliver meaningful outcomes, this role offers genuine impact to all New Zealanders.

As a trusted advisor and advocate, you’ll communicate the roadmap, build confidence, and support investment in AI and analytics capability. Over the next few years, your focus will include:

• Developing and delivering Transpower’s analytics and AI roadmap aligned to prioritised backlogs of insights, decision models and intelligence products
• Establishing and evolving best practice for machine learning and large-scale GenAI production, including responsible AI, MLOps and model lifecycle management
• Defining AI and analytics guardrails that enable federated capability across business teams while maintaining shared standards, governance and delivery discipline
• Building and maintaining an inventory of insights, decision models and intelligent products aligned to privacy, ethics, security and compliance requirements
• Partnering with Intelligence Product Owners and business leaders to understand decisioning needs and deliver innovative, decision-quality outcomes
• Ensuring AI and analytics environments support efficient exploratory and experimental work, with outputs that can transition safely and reliably into production
• Improving AI and analytics standards, practices and platforms over time, working with relevant ICT teams to ensure enabling technology is fit for purpose
• Exploring, assessing and trialing emerging AI and analytics innovations, and translating opportunity into practical enterprise value
• Set direction with AI across the board, from predictive maintenance

What will you bring?

You’ll bring experience across AI, analytics or adjacent capability areas, alongside the leadership, commercial judgement and delivery focus to translate strategy into meaningful outcomes. You’ll be comfortable working with a wide range of stakeholders and balancing innovation with the governance, assurance and risk management needed in a high-trust environment.

Capabilities and experience we’re looking for (please provide examples):

• Significant experience leading data, analytics, AI or adjacent capability areas in complex environments, including leadership of people, budget, operational delivery and change
• Ability to translate AI and analytics strategies into meaningful business outcomes such as improved decision-making, risk reduction, productivity uplift or clearer performance measures
• Experience building, growing or supporting advanced analytics, data science, GenAI or related practices, including responsible AI and MLOps or AIOps approaches
• Delivery leadership across complex initiatives, with strong governance, stakeholder engagement and follow-through
• Comfortable working across complex data ecosystems to understand needs, shape practical solutions and make balanced trade-offs
• Experience helping to deliver enterprise analytics capability in federated environments while maintaining shared standards, governance and prioritisation discipline
• Good judgement across privacy, security, ethics, compliance and risk management
• Knowledge of modern analytical and AI technologies, such as ML, GenAI, NLP, agents and cloud-based AI services
• Experience in AI engineering, machine learning engineering, software engineering or closely related delivery disciplines
• A tertiary qualification in a relevant field, or equivalent experience gained through practice
• Experience working in a cloud (Snowflake, AWS) and on-prem technology stack

We’re interested in people who have built or supported AI, analytics, digital, product or decision-support capability in complex environments. You may bring this experience from energy, infrastructure, technology, public sector or other data-rich settings.

What’s advantageous but not essential

• Postgraduate study and/or recognised professional certifications relevant to AI, data science or related discipline
• A general understanding of the energy sector
• Experience building industry partnerships (e.g., vendors, academic/research institutions) that strengthen capability and create talent pipelines

Join us at Transpower!

Aotearoa, New Zealand is powered by the people who work here. Every home, marae, electric vehicle and hospital relies on the electricity we help move and manage. This is your opportunity to join an organisation with national impact—supporting New Zealanders, the economy and the transition to a more sustainable future.

Our people bring diverse perspectives, expertise and a strong sense of purpose. We work in the office or on-site for a minimum of three days each week to build relationships, support learning, deliver outcomes and sustain our culture, while still offering flexibility around daily start and finish times to help balance work and personal commitments.

We prioritise employee wellbeing and development with a wide range of benefits and support for our people. You can learn more here: https://www.transpower.co.nz/about-us/careers-transpower/staff-benefits

Next Steps

To learn more about the breadth of our work at Transpower, review our latest Integrated Report and the position description for this role.

If this AI \& Analytics Practice Manager opportunity aligns with many of your strengths and aspirations, we encourage you to apply. Even if you don’t meet every point listed, we’d still welcome your application.

Applications close Tuesday 9th June, however, willbe reviewed as they are received, and we may begin conversations with suitable candidates before the close date. Ensure you are an early applicant and apply today!

Existing eligibility to work in Aotearoa New Zealand is required.