Head of Strategy, Design & Value

Water Corporation is seeking an accomplished and future-focused Senior Leader to join our Strategy and Transformation Group as Head of Strategy, Design & Value.

Reporting to the General Manager Strategy and Transformation, this influential role will shape and sustain our enterprise strategy, strengthen the connection between strategy and execution, and help Water Corporation deliver greater value for our customers, communities and owner.

As a member of the Group Leadership Team, you will work closely with the Executive Leadership Team, Board and senior leaders to translate our long-term direction into clear priorities, integrated plans and measurable outcomes. You will lead a multidisciplinary team responsible for enterprise strategy, strategic integrated planning, organisational design, performance insights and value realisation.

About the role 

You will provide advice on the trends, risks and opportunities shaping Water Corporation’s future. Through environmental scanning, enterprise intelligence and scenario analysis, you will support confident, evidence-based decisions and ensure our strategy and plans remains relevant in a changing operating environment.

A key focus will be strengthening the line of sight from Thrive2035 and our Corporate Plan through to Group priorities, investments and delivery. You will govern the integrated planning framework, support enterprise prioritisation and bring together performance measures, portfolio health and strategic insights to inform decision-making and maximise value.

You will also build strategic capability across Water Corporation, developing frameworks, roadmaps and targeted interventions that support consistent, high-quality planning and execution.

What the role will involve: 

• Shaping and evolving Water Corporation’s long-term strategic direction.
• Translating corporate strategy into clear, actionable and measurable priorities.
• Lead strategic planning across the Corporation.
• Providing trusted advice to executives and the Board on emerging trends.
• Governing the integrated planning framework connecting strategy, capability, investment and execution.
• Consolidating performance, KPI and portfolio information into a clear enterprise view.
• Generating insights that guide strategic prioritisation and investment decisions.
• Leading deep-dive performance and value reviews.
• Building enterprise-wide strategic planning and execution capability.
• Partnering with leaders across transformation, operating model, change enablement, portfolio management, finance, technology, customer, asset, operational and people functions.
• Leading, coaching and developing a high-performing and inclusive team.
• Championing safety, accountability, collaboration and continuous improvement.

Key skills and experience: 

You are an experienced strategic leader who can make sense of complexity, frame long-term choices and turn strategic intent into practical action. You are comfortable operating at an Executive level and are recognised for your judgement, analytical strength and ability to influence diverse stakeholders.

You bring a whole-of-organisation perspective and understand how strategy, organisational capability, people, process, information, technology and investment must work together to achieve sustainable outcomes.

To be successful, you will bring:

• A degree qualification in business, change or a related discipline.
• Extensive experience designing and delivering enterprise strategies, planning frameworks, roadmaps and governance in large, complex environments.
• Extensive experience leading enterprise-wide transformation and multidisciplinary teams.
• Experience developing business architectural constructs and assessing complex solutions across multiple business and knowledge domains.
• Highly developed conceptual, strategic and analytical capability.
• The ability to identify emerging issues, connect themes across the enterprise and translate insights into clear choices and priorities.
• Strong commercial acumen and a disciplined approach to governance, performance and value.
• Significant experience engaging, influencing and building alignment with senior internal and external stakeholders.
• Highly effective written and verbal communication skills.
• Demonstrated success leading through ambiguity, complexity and change.
• A commitment to developing people, building organisational capability and creating a constructive, high-performance culture.

Experience in strategy formulation or regulatory submissions within the utilities sector, together with management consulting experience in strategy or large-scale transformation, will be highly regarded.

Your leadership approach:

Our leaders take personal ownership, put safety first and make decisions with the whole organisation in mind. They continually seek to improve safety, customer service, organisational performance and productivity.

For this role, we are looking for a leader who:

• Creates an environment of openness, inclusion and trust.
• Builds cohesive teams and enables people to perform at their best.
• Leads with resilience, confidence and sound judgement.
• Communicates complex ideas with clarity and purpose.
• Coaches and develops future leaders and technical experts.
• Challenges constructively and supports confident decision-making.
• Models accountability and visible leadership through change.
• Places customer, community and enterprise outcomes at the centre of decisions.

Key relationships:

This role will build trusted partnerships across Water Corporation, including with the:

• Executive Leadership Team and Water Corporation Board
• Strategy and Transformation Leadership Team
• Finance, Information Technology, Customer and Community, People and Safety, Asset Planning and Delivery, and Operations Groups
• Strategy Community of Practice
• Operating Model and Change Enablement function
• Portfolio Management Office

You will also engage with key external stakeholders, including government and regulatory bodies, peer water utilities and strategic industry partners where required.

Apply: If you are interested in the above opportunity, please submit a covering letter and resume that best demonstrates your ability to meet the requirements of the role. 

As part of the recruitment process you may be required to complete pre-employment screening which may include a medical, qualification check, police clearance and Australian working rights check. 

Applications close Friday 25^tth September 2026

Our commitment to a diverse and inclusive workplace 

Diversity and inclusion are more than words. They guide us on building a thriving workforce that reflects the diversity of our customers and our community. 

We encourage applications from every background, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, people with disability, women, youth, LGBTQIA+ folks and people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. 

We are committed to ensuring an accessible and inclusive work environment to enable people with disability to participate fully in all aspects of employment. 

Applicants with disability who require adjustments during the recruitment process including an alternative format of the application form, can contact a Recruitment Officer at recruitment@watercorporation.com.au or 08 9420 2000.  

To read our diversity and inclusion statement, please visit our website