Te Tākinatanga | Our Story

At Contact, we believe home is the most important place in the world. That belief shapes everything we do, from leading New Zealand's energy transition and powering Aotearoa, to creating better experiences for the customers who trust us to connect and power their homes. Guided by our Values & Behaviours, we’re a team who care deeply about the work we do, how we support one another, and the impact we have. Simply put, we touch lives to make life better.

We’re a power, broadband, and mobile company, but we're also investing boldly in renewable energy, digital innovation, and smarter, more connected ways of working (mahi). Our ambition is simple: to leave Aotearoa better than we found it.

Technology is a critical enabler of that ambition. It supports safe and reliable operations today, while helping us modernise how we work, strengthen our data foundations, improve security and resilience, and lift customer experience, pace and performance across Contact.

We’re now looking for a Technology Partner Manager to build and mature how Contact manages its strategic technology partners by lifting governance, commercial discipline, supplier performance and value across our enterprise technology landscape.

Te Whiwhinga mahi | The Opportunity

This is not a “keep things ticking along” vendor management role.

It’s a newly created opportunity to build a commercially disciplined partner management capability, shaping how Contact engages with strategic technology partners and ensuring those relationships deliver stronger performance, clearer accountability and better value from our technology investment.

Sitting in Technology’s Strategy & Transformation team and working closely with the Head of Strategy & Transformation, you’ll bring structure, commercial leadership and strategic focus to an evolving partner landscape. You’ll strengthen governance, improve supplier performance, support commercial planning, and help align our vendors and strategic partners are aligned to Contact’s technology roadmap, investment priorities and business outcomes.

You’ll work across Technology leadership, Finance, Procurement, delivery, operations, security, architecture and external partners, connecting the right people, insights and commercial levers to improve quality, speed, cost-effectiveness and risk management.

There is meaningful, visible work to lead.  You’ll help build partner management capability, improve governance and performance, and support key commercial activities, including work connected to enterprise architecture and broader technology and service opportunities.

• Build and mature Contact’s Technology partner management capability across an evolving vendor ecosystem.
• Lead strategic partner development across Technology, working closely with Technology leaders, subject matter experts, Finance, Procurement and key business stakeholders.
• Establish and uplift governance frameworks for strategic partners and vendors, ensuring alignment with business priorities and the Technology investment plan.
• Drive stronger vendor performance — improving quality, speed, cost-effectiveness and risk management across the Technology partner landscape.
• Support commercial planning, modelling, RFP development, supplier risk management and performance conversations.
• Advise on capex and opex planning, performance metrics, financial planning and asset management to support efficient delivery and operations.
• Communicate Technology strategy, roadmap updates, technical requirements and performance expectations to partners, vendors and internal stakeholders.
• Provide insight on vendor capability, dependencies, risks, opportunities, benefits and change impacts.
• Act as a trusted advisor and coach, helping lift commercial and vendor management capability across Technology. 
• Identify opportunities to simplify systems, improve processes, strengthen financial performance and minimise risk.
• Act as a trusted advisor and coach on vendor and commercial management best practice
• Identify opportunities to improve systems, processes, financial performance and risk management across the vendor landscape
• Contribute to team performance and support broader technology and business transformation initiatives

Ko wai koe | About You

You’ll bring experience technology, commercial decision-making and senior stakeholder relationships whether in strategic partner management, technology account management, service delivery, technical sales, managed services, systems integration or a similar field.

What matters most is your ability to connect the dots. You understand how technology vendors operate, how commercial arrangements shape delivery, and how to build the kind of partner relationships that create accountability, trust and better outcomes.

You’re commercially sharp, relationship-led and comfortable operating with ambiguity. You know how to influence without relying on hierarchy, bring structure to complex environments, and work across multiple stakeholders, priorities and delivery models.

You don’t need to be the deepest technical expert in the room, but you do need enough technology understanding to ask good questions, assess trade-offs, understand partner capability and contribute meaningfully to strategic and commercial decisions.

You’ll ideally bring

• 10+ years’ experience in strategic partner relationship management, technology commercial management, managed services, systems integration, service delivery, technical sales, account management or a related field.
• A strong blend of technology understanding, commercial capability and relationship leadership.
• Experience managing vendor or partner performance, commercial relationships, supplier risk, RFPs and/or strategic technology services.
• Strong commercial planning capability, including business case development, budgeting, forecasting, reporting and cost/value optimisation.
• Experience working with capex and opex planning.
• Confidence working across cross-functional technology and business transformation environments.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving and decision-making skills, with a practical, can-do mindset.
• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to clearly articulate strategic and commercial positions to stakeholders at all levels.
• A relevant degree or professional qualification in an area such as commerce, finance, engineering, management or a related discipline.

This role needs someone who can work across commercial, technology, delivery and relationship spaces, and bring people with them.

This is a rare chance to step into a role where you’ll build something meaningful, influence how Contact works with strategic technology partners, and help create a more disciplined, scaled and future-focused approach to vendor and commercial management.

We support flexible working where it works for the individual, the team and the business. Our main hubs are in Wellington, Auckland and Tauranga, and this role is best suited to someone who can work flexibly from one of these locations to enable strong in person connection and collaboration. While we do have smaller sites across other centres of Aotearoa, proximity to a main hub is important for this role.

Contact is not a place you’ll stagnate. We’re growing, evolving, and investing in our people. We also offer a bunch of other perks like free health insurance cover, boosted KiwiSaver, access to Contact Shares, a ‘Good to be Home’ annual payment toward your home set up & wellbeing, a trail-blazing parental leave policy, twice yearly payments towards our products if you’re a Contact customer, and more!

Applications close on Thursday 13th August. But just like peak demand, great talent surges early, so if this role sparks your interest, power up your application now!

Here at Contact Energy (Te Mata Hiko), we know our strength lies in developing a sense of belonging - one that helps us attract and retain people with a broad range of perspectives and experiences.

We’re committed to creating a workplace where everyone feels valued, respected, and empowered to bring their whole selves to work. Our goal is to reflect the diversity of our customers and communities to help build a better Aotearoa New Zealand.

We have a rich community of talented people that we support to thrive at Contact.

Our inclusive hiring process is designed to embrace the diversity of Aotearoa New Zealand, ensuring a wide range of perspectives are included in our decision-making and helping reduce bias along the way.

The wellbeing of our kaimahi is super important to us.

We use employee insights to offer a range of initiatives and resources to support physical, mental, financial and emotional wellbeing – including flexible working arrangements, employee network groups and a market-leading parental leave policy.

At Te Mata Hiko, we want everyone to thrive. We welcome applicants far and wide - of every age, stage, background, and pride. Join us and be part of a team that values your passion and attitude just as much as your experience and skills.

Please note, only candidates with the right to live and work in New Zealand will be considered for this role.

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.

Te Mata Hiko (Contact Energy) does not accept any CVs received from recruitment agencies where a formal engagement has not been confirmed and agreed to with our Talent team. In the event that unsolicited CVs are submitted by recruitment agencies, Te Mata Hiko (Contact Energy) reserves the right to contact these candidates directly and consider them for current/future vacancies without any financial obligation to the recruitment agency in question. This will also apply to any CVs sent directly to line managers.