Head of Investigations

• Lead a national team responsible for investigating aviation safety
• Influence safety outcomes at a national level
• Support regulatory decisions that contribute to safer skies for all New Zealanders

About the role

This is a unique opportunity to lead the CAA’s national investigations function where you will provide strategic and operational leadership, ensuring the delivery of comprehensive, impartial investigations that establish what occurred, identify lessons, and inform appropriate regulatory and safety outcomes.

Reporting to the Deputy Chief Executive, Regulatory Enablement and Response, you will be a member of the senior leadership cohort, providing leadership beyond your immediate area of responsibility. Alongside leading the investigations’ function, you will bring a broader organisational perspective, helping to strengthen how intelligence, engagement, intervention, enforcement, systems learning and improvement work together as part of an integrated regulatory system.

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead the delivery of high-quality aviation safety and security investigations.
• Provide strategic and operational leadership to a multidisciplinary investigations team
• Ensure investigations are conducted with professionalism, independence, and integrity
• Guide effective regulatory responses arising from incidents, accidents, and security events
• Build organisational capability and foster a high-performing team culture
• Strengthen regulatory practice through intelligence, insights, and systems learning
• Support sound decision-making on complex and high-consequence regulatory matters
• Develop and maintain trusted relationships with industry, government, and key stakeholder
• Contribute to enterprise leadership and organisation-wide strategic priorities

The role also includes participation in an on-call Duty Manager roster, providing leadership during significant aviation events and responses.

This is a Wellington based position and the successful candidate will ideally take up the role in early February 2027.

The salary band for this role is $188,168 to $261,788, with the midpoint range being $230,231. Starting salaries are based on knowledge, skills and experience the successful candidate brings to the role, as well as internal relativities.

For more information on the role please view the position description.

What You’ll Bring

We are interested in hearing from experienced senior leaders who have led people and complex work and investigations in high-risk or high-consequence environments. You may bring experience from regulation, safety, compliance, intelligence, integrity, enforcement, accident investigation, aviation, transport, military or the wider public sector. More important is your ability to lead through complexity, build organisational capability and contribute to effective regulatory and enterprise outcomes.

You will bring:

• Significant senior leadership experience in complex regulatory, investigative, safety, compliance, intelligence, integrity, enforcement or operational environments
• A proven ability to lead leaders and multidisciplinary teams, build organisational capability, and create a high-performing and inclusive culture
• Experience operating in complex, high-consequence environments where sound judgement, credibility, resilience, transparency and effective decision-making are essential
• A track record of leading change and lifting capability while maintaining effective operational delivery
• Strong strategic and systems thinking, with the ability to balance immediate operational demands with longer-term regulatory capability, learning and continuous improvement
• The ability to translate evidence, intelligence and operational insight into improved regulatory practice and organisational learning
• Exceptional communication and stakeholder engagement skills, including the ability to build trust, influence outcomes and work effectively across organisational boundaries
• A collaborative, enterprise mindset and the ability to contribute beyond your immediate area of responsibility to wider organisational priorities and outcomes

Experience in aviation or a regulatory environment would be highly advantageous but is not essential. The successful applicant will be required to obtain and maintain the appropriate security clearance and meet the role's warranting and operational requirements.

About us

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is New Zealand’s aviation safety and security regulator. We play a critical role in protecting the travelling public, supporting the aviation sector, and strengthening New Zealand’s international reputation.

Our vision is simple and powerful: A safe and secure aviation system – so people are safe, and feel safe when they fly.

Our values: Professionalism, Respect, Integrity, Transparency, and Collaboration guide everything we do. We’re committed to diversity, inclusion, and creating a workplace where everyone feels safe, valued, and empowered to contribute.

Why Join Us?

You’ll lead one of NZ’s most specialised investigation functions, influence safety outcomes at a national level and Shape the future capability and direction of investigative practice.

• 5 weeks annual leave
• Sick leave entitlements from day 1
• Matching KiwiSaver contributions up to 4%
• Vision assistance
• Flu Vaccinations
• Employee Assistance Programme

Ready to Apply?

If you are an experienced senior leader who brings investigative discipline, rigour and sound judgement, thrives in complex, high-consequence environments, and is motivated by public service and a safe and secure aviation system, we would welcome your application.

Apply directly by completing the online application form (please note emailed applications will not be considered). Your cover letter will be a key part of our assessment process, so please highlight how your experience relates to the skills required for this role.

We want to ensure accessibility needs are well supported, so the recruitment process is fair and equitable for all. Please let us know if there is any support, we can provide to ensure the recruitment process is fully accessible to you.

If you have any questions about the role or application process, contact the Recruitment team at recruitment@caa.govt.nz

Applications close: Sunday 29 November 2026