Senior Project Accountant

Ko tō mātou kaupapa nui ko te tuku atu i tō mātou pūngao ki te wāhi e tika ana, kia whakahaukino kore ai i te rāngai pūngao o Aotearoa me te whakatairanga atu i te #changematters.  E kaingākau ana mātou mō tō mātou whāinga matua, ā, e whakahīhī ana anō mātou i te iwi tangata kei muri i a mātou e whaiwhai ana i te whāinga kotahi.  Nā runga i tēnei whāinga teitei, tērā pea ka ui ake koe ki a koe anō--ka pēhea tēnei āheinga e tautoko ana i tētehi Aotearoa pai ake, Aotearoa mā ake?

Our purpose is to put our energy where it matters, to decarbonise the New Zealand energy sector and promote #changematters.  We are passionate about our mission and proud to have a tribe of people behind us working towards a common purposes.  With such an ambitious goal, you might ask yourself – how does this opportunity help support a better, cleaner NZ?

At Contact, our Finance & Risk team is at the heart of the business key to ensuring the development and execution of our strategy. We do this by supporting and challenging the financial performance of the business, achieving operational excellence and through the provision of financial information and insights to make good decisions for the future.

As part of our commitment to the business, we are looking for a seasoned Senior Project Accountant to support capital projects in our Wholesale business. This role provides accurate and timely reporting, budgeting, financial management and project forecasting for key projects. They serve as the financial gatekeeper for all aspects of each project to ensure that financial outcomes and deadlines are being met.

You will work closely with the capital project owners to assist in recording, reporting and providing insight on actual performance against financial targets. In addition, you will lead the budgeting and planning process for those areas, providing support and challenge throughout the process, ensuring stretching but achievable plans. Most importantly, you will assist the business in making the right commercial and operational decisions by providing financial analysis and insight. 

Key tasks include: 

• Maintain General Ledger and prepare monthly accounts for project expenditure.
• Record, report and provide insight on actual project performance against financial targets.
• Lead the projects budgeting and planning process, providing support and challenge throughout the process.
• Support the development of business cases for capital projects, and assist the business in making the right commercial and operational decisions by providing financial analysis and insight.
• Advise project teams on strategies to maintain project budgets and present opportunities to reduce costs.

You will have plenty of stories to share with us about how you've had exposure to large and complex project work. You'll be able to tell us about the role you have played in bringing complex projects to life at the start of the process right through to measuring the financial benefits at the other end.

Your ability to leverage your technical expertise and influencing skills to provide superior financial advice across a complex stakeholder group really sets you apart. Your technical expertise has helped build mana with your stakeholders and you are known as a trusted business partner. You're not afraid to challenge the status quo and you are respected for that.

Here's a couple of must haves:

• Chartered Accountant professional qualification (or equivalent) (3 years plus) and significant accounting/business experience
• Advanced knowledge of accounting systems (preferably ERP systems), procedures, reporting, and other business systems
• Experience with evaluating and improving processes and controls within a complex commercial environment 
• Experience in capital project accounting, financial planning, analysis and reporting 
• Knowledge of the energy industry (preferrable but not essential)

We are open to the location you are based in. On occasions you'll be required to travel to some of our sites to meet with key stakeholders so you'll need to be comfortable travelling.

He mea nui ngā paki kōrero ki a mātou i Contact, nā reira, mēnā kei a koe tētehi e hāngai pea ana ki tā mātou e kimi nei i tēnei tūranga kei raro iho nei--kei te hiahia mātou kia whakapā mai ai koe!

We are big on stories here at Contact, so if you have one that you think might align with what we are looking for in the role below – we would love to hear from you!

Contact Energy is committed to being an inclusive employer. We want people to be themselves, after all, they can't be anyone else!

Please note, only candidates with the right to live and work in New Zealand will be considered for this role.