Regional Affairs Manager

Job Description

Kia ora!

Play a key role in shaping how Air New Zealand connects with communities across Aotearoa. As Regional Affairs Manager (Corporate Affairs Specialist - Regional Affairs), you will help strengthen relationships across the regions we fly to, supporting the airline’s deep connection with the communities we serve.

Sitting within the Corporate Affairs team, this role works across the airline to support a coordinated, thoughtful approach to regional engagement. You will contribute to how Air New Zealand maintains and strengthens its role in connecting people, places and opportunities across New Zealand.

How you’ll make an impact

• Build and maintain trusted relationships with regional stakeholders through consistent and constructive engagement
• Support engagement with local and central government on matters relating to regional connectivity or our broader strategy
• Partner with internal teams to ensure regional perspectives are well understood and reflected in decision-making
• Support partnerships with regional organisations, including tourism and economic development groups
• Contribute to initiatives that strengthen relationships and community connection across key regions
• Coordinate regional engagement activity, ensuring a consistent and well-executed approach

What we’re looking for

• Experience working across multiple stakeholders, with the ability to build trust and maintain strong relationships
• Proven experience providing strategic and commercial input within a complex organisation, with strong commercial acumen and the ability and judgment to contribute to and influence well-considered outcomes and decisions at a senior level
• A strong understanding of regional New Zealand and the role connectivity plays in supporting communities
• Strong communication skills, with the ability to engage a range of audiences in a clear and balanced way
• An understanding of local and central government and public sector processes
• A practical, solutions-focused approach, with strong planning and coordination skills
• Professionalism, a commitment to excellence and the ability to work constructively across a range of situations

If you meet most of the criteria and are interested in supporting Air New Zealand’s connections with communities across New Zealand, we welcome your application.

Why join Air New Zealand?

We want our people to live their best lives and access great benefits that support their lives outside work.

• Discounted staff travel across Air New Zealand and partner airlines for you and your whānau
• FlexiLeave, giving you the option to purchase up to four extra weeks of leave each year
• Access to Koruhealth and discounted Southern Cross health insurance options
• Ongoing learning and development opportunities to grow your career
• A wide range of work perks and discounts, from travel to retail and wellbeing support

Take flight and apply now! Bring your ability to connect, influence, and create meaningful impact in a role that spans the country and shapes how we show up in every region. This is your opportunity to contribute to something bigger while growing your career with an iconic New Zealand brand.

Applications close 31st May 2026

Please note, while we will provide an outcome to every candidate, due to high application volumes we will only organise follow-up conversations with shortlisted candidates.

Additional Information

At Air New Zealand, we are proudly committed to diversity, equity and inclusion and believe in creating a truly inclusive workplace where everyone can be themselves and thrive. Our people are our greatest asset – because while everything else we do in our operation can be replicated by our competitors, it is our people that truly set us apart. We are firm believers in celebrating the differences and diversity of thought our people bring to their roles. We encourage candidates from diverse backgrounds, including those with a disability, additional health and mental health needs, and/or are neurodiverse to apply for our roles.

If you have encountered any accessibility barriers and require further information or reasonable accommodations to our recruitment process, please reach out to the recruiter listed on this job advert so they are able to support you to freely participate equitably in our recruitment and selection process.

Whāia te pae tawhiti kia tata. Ko te pae tata whakamaua, kia tina.

"Seek to bring distant horizons closer. Once near, seize them and make them your reality."