With 11% of the total land area of New Zealand, including Fiordland National Park and Stewart Island, The Southland District Council has the largest land area to manage of any territorial authority. Council not only encompasses the management and improvement of physical assets such as roads, bridges, water supply, cemeteries, and parks but also the Southland communities' social, economic, cultural, and environmental wellbeing. Our 200+ staff are diverse in their backgrounds, skillset, and location, spread across three Invercargill offices (Forth Street, 20 and 42 Don Street) and seven area offices situated at Riverton, Otautau, Te Anau, Winton, Oban, Lumsden, and Wyndham. Southland District Council offers scope for a rewarding and interesting career in local government under excellent working conditions, in a part of the country which is ideally suited to family life and the pursuit of a wide variety of activities. We are seeking a customer-focused manager to lead our customer support and librarian teams. This leadership role oversees a team of approximately 20 employees and manages two direct reports. As the Customer Delivery and Libraries Manager, you will be responsible for setting the strategic direction of our customer experience. You will ensure that our regional offices and libraries are well-equipped to meet the evolving needs of our customers. This role emphasizes continuous improvement in service delivery, financial sustainability, and overall customer service excellence. Your responsibilities include (but are not limited to): Lead, motivate, and empower the customer support and librarian teams, developing and implementing customer service and library strategies and facilitating the teams' professional development. Be the customer champion, driving initiatives to improve the customer experience and leveraging technology for efficiency. Ensure regional offices and libraries meet the evolving needs of the community and manage service delivery to improve engagement. Identify and resolve areas of risk or liability, escalating potential issues to the Group Manager. Build productive relationships with community libraries and stakeholder groups, fostering professional networks. The successful applicant will possess the following skills and experience: Minimum of five years managing complex customer services and/or library strategies, with experience in leading high-performing teams at the leading leaders level. Proven ability to design and implement new service delivery models, develop business cases, and drive customer-driven service improvements. Strong skills in identifying customer needs, building exceptional customer experiences, and managing relationships with stakeholders. Experience in strategic planning, project delivery, and assessing legal, reputational, and financial aspects of situations. Excellent communication, presentation, and facilitation skills, with strong IT literacy and a continuous learning approach to technology. Ideally, you will have a background and/or professional qualification in libraries. What's in it for you? This is an opportunity to meaningfully contribute to the future development of our Southland communities. Our customer support hub, regional offices, and libraries are integral to how ratepayers, residents, and visitors interact with Southland District Council. We recognize that staff are our most valuable asset. We believe in supporting them in their training and development, having competitive remuneration packages which are benchmarked against market rates, and an environment which enables personal growth. If you're up for the challenge, then please follow the link to download a job description and apply online today. #J-18808-Ljbffr