Senior Buyer

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 the energy transition to how we power Aotearoa and care for our people and communities. We’re a power, broadband, and mobile company, but we’re also investing boldly in renewable energy and smarter, more connected ways of working (mahi). Our ambition is simple: to leave Aotearoa better than we found it.

Some procurement roles support projects. This one sits right in the middle of delivering them.

We have a significant pipeline of renewable generation and energy-storage projects across New Zealand, with a significant volume, value and complexity of procurement and contracting work cranking behind the scenes to keep it all going. Around 96% of a project can be contracted, so getting procurement right matters. Equipment and materials need to be sourced at the right time, technical requirements need to be translated into workable packages, and commercial decisions need to keep pace with the project programme.

That’s where our Senior Buyers come in.

Te Whiwhinga mahi | The Opportunity

In this 3-year engagement (fixed term until December 2029), you’ll take ownership of the goods procurement workstream for an assigned Renewable Growth major project, following it through development, construction and commissioning. Projects may have an overall value approaching $300 million, with a significant volume of procurement packages, including individual packages valued in the millions.

Your job is to keep those packages moving.

You’ll build and manage the procurement plan and schedule, develop sourcing strategies, bring together technical documentation and requirements, take packages to market and lead tenders, evaluations, negotiations and recommendations through to award. Once agreements are in place, you’ll continue working across supplier engagement, quality, expediting, logistics, claims, variations and delivery interfaces.

This is a role for someone who is comfortable when not everything arrives neatly packaged. Scope and design can still be evolving as we go and multiple priorities will compete for attention. You’ll need to see what’s missing, bring the right people together, make sound calls and keep momentum without compromising commercial integrity or governance.

Ko wai koe | About You

This one needs genuine major-project procurement depth. Ideally, you’ll bring at least 10 years’ experience across project procurement, buying or supply chain, including significant responsibility for procurement delivery on major capital projects. You’ll know how to manage a high-value, high-volume portfolio from sourcing and evaluation through negotiation, award and delivery. You’ll understand the interfaces between procurement and engineering, project schedules, quality, expediting, logistics and materials management.

But technical experience alone won’t make you successful. You’ll need to be organised without becoming rigid, confident enough to challenge incomplete information, calm when things get pressured, and able to create clarity when circumstances are changing around you. Strong relationships matter too. You’ll be influencing engineers, project leaders, suppliers and commercial specialists without relying on hierarchy to get things done.

A relevant tertiary qualification is preferred rather than essential. If major-project procurement is your world and you thrive where there’s complexity, accountability and plenty to get done, this could be your kind of challenge.

This is a 3-year fixed term contract (until December 2029) where you’ll need to be on-site in Glenbrook 3+ days per week, so is best suited to someone based in Auckland or nearby.

Contact is not a place you’ll stagnate. Even in a fixed‑term role, you’ll enjoy a generous suite of benefits designed to support your wellbeing and make life a little easier. You’ll have the flexibility to work in ways that suit you and your team, plus access to our ‘Good to be Home’ annual payment to help with your home set‑up and wellbeing. If you’re a Contact customer, you’ll also receive twice‑yearly payments toward your energy and broadband bills. You’ll even get a boosted 4% KiwiSaver employer contribution while you’re here with us! And… if your fixed‑term runs for 18 months or longer – Southern Cross health insurance cover. And of course, you’ll also have access to a range of additional corporate discounts that make it good to work at Contact.

Applications close on Friday 6 November. 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.