Risk Assurance Manager

• Lead the Risk Assurance function at Airways
• Great opportunity to be part of Airways Senior Leadership Team
• Role based in Christchurch or Auckland Office (5 weeks annual leave + staff car park etc) 
• Permanent Full Time

About Airways:

Our people manage New Zealand's 30 million square kms of airspace, providing air traffic control, surveillance, communication, flight inspection, mapping, and airspace design services. We work with government, regulatory authorities, airlines, airports, and the general aviation community to ensure pilots, passengers and goods reach their destination - safely. At Airways, our values underpin all that we do. We value Safety, One Airways, Excellence and Success in all that we do. 

Our organisation is made up of operational business groups that are supported by governance and corporate services functions. To learn more about our people and organisational structure, check out www.airways.co.nz/about

About the Role: 

The Risk Assurance team is responsible for providing independent and objective assurance that the organisation's risk management, audit, and internal control processes are operating effectively, including oversight of project safety. 

Reporting to the GM Safety & Assurance, the Risk Assurance Manager plays a critical role in overseeing the team that strengthens Airways’ audit, risk, and project safety frameworks by providing independent oversight, expert risk advisory, and assurance activities across the organisation, operating at line 2 and 3 in the Three Lines of Defence model. This role ensures that strategic, operational, and safety risks are effectively identified, assessed, and mitigated, with a strong emphasis on regulatory compliance and continuous improvement. 

Key focus areas in the position: 

Risk Management

• Leads the development and delivery of risk management strategy across Airways in line with the risk management programme and oversees all risk assurance activities owned by the risk assurance team.
• Responsible for preparing and coordinating reports for Board, ELT and Other stakeholders regarding areas of responsibility.
• Ensures currency of Enterprise Risk Framework, Critical Risk Registers, and oversight of business risk registers. 

Audit Management

• Oversees and manages the delivery of the Airways Audit and Assurance Programme, ensuring effective implementation of the Audit and Assurance programme.
• Oversee the coordination of external audits and manage relationships with external audit partners.

 Project Safety

• Ensure the project safety team maintains and continuously improves the project safety framework.
• Oversee the project safety team engagement with project teams and senior management to provide assurance the availability of effective project resource allocation that fulfils safety management requirements. 

Relationship & Stakeholder Management

• Establish and champions the development and management of key relationships between the Safety and Assurance Team and the wider organisation.
• Effectively engages subject matter experts (SMEs) internally and externally to support safety change activities and achieve verification and assurance outcomes. 

Best Practice

• Champion Management Review Process for S&A and more broadly across Airways.
• Support General Manager Safety and Assurance by advising and supporting on Airways led conferences, such as Safety Summit and Customer Safety Forum. 

About You:

To be successful in the role, you will have: 

• Tertiary qualification in System Safety Engineering, Safety Science, Risk Management, Safety Systems Auditing or equivalent industry related qualifications and / or experience.
• Solid experience in a senior level position within Airways or an organisation of similar size and complexity to Airways.
• Experience in Safety Change Management including Safety Planning, Safety Goals, Safety Artefacts and Risk Management.
• Have demonstrated ability to connect and collaborate with senior leaders and executives (internally and externally) gaining their confidence and trust to identify opportunities, solve problems, reduce risk and improve business performance.
• Ability to work in a dynamic business environment, influence and collaborate with people internally and externally, show resilience and agility, take ownership and focus on delivering successful business outcomes. 

To Apply:

If you are interested in this exciting Senior Leadership opportunity, please submit your application (CV and Cover Letter) via the job advertisement. 

This position will require pre-employment drug and alcohol testing, Ministry of Justice checks as well as other background checks. 

Application Closing date: Sunday, 7 September 2025.

At Airways, our people are at the heart of what we do to keep NZ skies safe. We are committed to creating a diverse, equitable and inclusive workplace where people feel they belong and can bring their whole self to work. We currently hold the Rainbow Tick and NQTick (neurodiversity) and are working towards Gender Tick. We make our recruitment decisions based on the best candidate for the job and therefore encourage applications from diverse candidates.

To apply, CLICK HERE

Application closing date: Sunday 7 September 2025