Connections Relationship Lead

Some customer relationships are about responding to what's needed today, this role is also about understanding what might be needed tomorrow.

We're looking for a Connections Relationship Lead to build trusted relationships with our major customers, getting to know their business and understanding where they're heading and helping connect their future plans with the electricity infrastructure that enables them.

You'll become a key point of contact for a portfolio of significant customers, which could include some of Canterbury's largest manufacturers, retailers, institutions and commercial organisations. You'll get out from behind the desk, spend time with customers and build a genuine understanding of their sites, challenges, growth plans and future electricity needs.

About us

Passionate, curious, and innovative are a few words that describe our people. We are powering the future, connecting communities, and igniting innovation. Orion owns and operates the electricity distribution network that provides power to central Canterbury. As the third largest electricity distribution network in New Zealand, we cover remote rural areas, regional towns, and the city of Christchurch.

We are an essential service and take our responsibilities seriously. We are community owned and working here means a career with meaning and purpose that makes a difference in your very own neighbourhood.

The role

There's plenty of technical complexity in our world, but you don't need to be an electrical expert to succeed here. Your strength will be relationships, knowing your customers, asking good questions, spotting what's coming and bringing the right people together to make things happen.

You'll:

• Own and develop relationships with a portfolio of major customers

• Understand customers' businesses, growth plans and future requirements

• Develop tailored account plans and take a proactive approach to engagement

• Work across Orion to connect customers with the right technical expertise

• Turn complex technical and industry information into conversations that make sense

• Help customers navigate projects, timeframes, costs and network constraints

• Identify emerging opportunities, including businesses looking to grow or invest in Canterbury

• Bring customer insights back into Orion to help us improve how we work and the experience we provide

• Represent Orion through customer meetings, industry events and other engagement opportunities

About you

What matters more is that you're commercially curious, comfortable learning a technical environment and good at turning complexity into something customers can understand.

We're looking for someone who:

• Builds credible relationships and confidently influences senior customers and internal stakeholders

• Experience in energy, infrastructure, utilities or another technical or complex industry would be useful, with electrical knowledge an advantage but not essential

• Is naturally curious, with a genuine interest in understanding customers' businesses and where they're heading

• Takes ownership, showing initiative, sound judgement and confidence to develop their own approach

• Juggles competing priorities and multiple customer relationships effectively

• Communicates complex information simply, while balancing customer needs with commercial and operational realities

We offer

You'll find at Orion, you can come as you are and just be you. You will be joining a workplace that values who you are, the work you do, and the way you think. Importantly, we offer:

• Flexible working arrangements, and flexible locations with our Head office in Burnside and satellite offices in Rolleston and Ferrymead

• Five extra days of leave a year - three days of “My Days” leave and two “Orion Days” between Christmas and New Year

• A broad range of workplace benefits from a wellbeing allowance to access to our holiday house in Hanmer!

You might be surprised to find out that the company that brings the power to your home is innovative, inclusive, progressive, and quite good fun.

To apply

We encourage you to be you in your application! We are truly committed to diversity, inclusion and lifting our cultural capability.

Please reach out to us with any questions at zoe.dalton@oriongroup.co.nz. To learn more about us, check out our careers site to find out more about working at Orion.

You must have the right to live and work in New Zealand to apply for this job. Pre-employment checks are part of our recruitment process.