Senior Manager Engagement and Strategic Relations in Adelaide

At SA Water, our work sustains life. Every day, we deliver safe, reliable water and wastewater services to more than 1.8 million South Australians, supporting healthy communities across our state. Behind this essential service are people who care. From engineering and science to construction, digital, operations and customer experience, every role plays a part. We bring our authentic selves to work, driven by purpose, supporting one another to deliver work that truly matters.

As Senior Manager Engagement and Strategic Relations, you'll lead one of SA Water's most strategically important functions at a pivotal time for the organisation. With a significant portfolio of major infrastructure projects on the horizon, you'll play a critical role in shaping how SA Water engages with customers, communities, government, regulators, industry partners and Traditional Owners to build understanding, trust and support for the investments that will help secure South Australia's water future.

Reporting to the General Manager Customer, Community and Engagement, you'll provide strategic leadership across community engagement, stakeholder relations and Aboriginal engagement, ensuring these functions are embedded early in planning and remain central to successful project delivery. This is a highly influential leadership role operating across the organisation and beyond.

Working closely with the Board, Executive and senior leaders, you'll help shape organisational priorities, provide trusted advice on complex and often high-profile issues, and lead engagement strategies that support the delivery of major projects, regulatory submissions and long-term business initiatives. From partnering with local government and industry associations to strengthening relationships with key government stakeholders and community leaders, you'll ensure SA Water is positioned as a trusted and collaborative partner.

At the same time, you'll lead the development of engagement capabilities across the organisation, helping to ensure strategic plans are translated into meaningful outcomes for customers, communities and stakeholders on the ground. This is a max-term opportunity for 3 years.

You're a strategic and influential leader who knows how to bring people together to achieve outcomes in complex, fast-moving environments. You may come from infrastructure, utilities, government or another stakeholder-intensive sector, but what sets you apart is your ability to navigate competing priorities, build trusted relationships and influence decision-making at the highest levels. You understand that meaningful engagement is not simply about communication; it's about creating alignment, building confidence and helping organisations make better decisions.

You bring experience leading large-scale engagement strategies connected to complex projects, public policy, infrastructure delivery or organisational transformation. You're politically astute, commercially aware and comfortable working in environments where public interest, community expectations and organisational priorities intersect. Equally important is your ability to build credibility internally. You'll be someone who can forge strong relationships across the business, earn the confidence of executives and operational leaders alike, and elevate the role of engagement as a critical strategic enabler of success.

As a leader, you're known for creating high-performing teams and helping people do their best work. You bring a collaborative approach, exceptional judgement and the confidence to engage with stakeholders at every level, from community representatives and local councils through to government leaders, regulators and Board members. You'll also have a genuine appreciation for the importance of partnering with Aboriginal communities and organisations, helping SA Water continue to strengthen relationships and deliver meaningful, long-term outcomes.

Ultimately, you're motivated by the opportunity to make a lasting impact, leading the relationships, partnerships and engagement approaches that will help shape the future of water services across South Australia.

Customer, Community and Engagement connects us with the people we serve, from everyday customer interactions to long‑term community relationships. The team includes customer service call centre professionals who provide frontline support, as well as specialists who engage communities and stakeholders, and partner with businesses to help shape how we plan, deliver, and communicate about our services.

In addition, your responsibilities will include:

• Fostering trust with our people, customers and community by providing expert advice and service that ensure we effectively communicate and engage audiences with our business strategy and its delivery across South Australia, every day.
• Ensure business plans are developed to achieve strategic priorities and performance goals of team members are aligned, ensuring accountabilities and authorities are clear and that direct reports have the authorities needed to be able to achieve their work.
• Lead the development, implementation and maintenance of individualised plans to ensure effective engagement and management of stakeholder relationships across key external organisations, industry groups and government agencies.
• Keep abreast of the changing environment and landscape that SA Water interacts with & in and adequately plan for and minimise risks & seize opportunities for the business.
• Develop relationships with, and exert influence on, senior external regulatory and key stakeholders in support of SA Water’s strategic interests through formal consultation and informal communication to actively support business delivery.
• Ensure SA Water develops and maintains strong strategic relationships with Traditional Owners that result in early and effective engagement.
• Monitor the direction of our capital program to anticipate when and where aboriginal engagement will be required, ensuring strategic engagement plans are developed for major projects.

Your success in this role will come from:

• Tertiary qualifications in Public Relations, Strategic Communication or a related discipline, or significant equivalent experience.
• Demonstrated ability to develop, implement and manage strategic initiatives.
• Demonstrated experience engaging with government partners.
• Ability to develop strong relationships with relevant external and internal customers and community.
• Demonstrated experience engaging and partnering with first nations people and developing positive outcomes.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Effective liaison and negotiation skills in potentially complex and highly emotive situations.

Applications close 4pm, Wednesday 11 November 2026. A great customer experience is best achieved by having a diverse and inclusive team that reflects the community we serve. Applications are encouraged from everyone, including people living with disability, job seekers of all ages, members of the LGBTIQA+ community, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and people from culturally diverse backgrounds.

Please note: We request that recruitment agencies do not submit candidates for this position, as they will not be accepted.