Kia ora!
This is a pivotal leadership opportunity to shape how Air New Zealand grows and serves one of its most strategically important customer segments. As Chapter Lead for Small to Medium Enterprises Sales, you will set the direction, lift capability, and unlock sustainable revenue growth by empowering a high performing team to deliver impact at scale.
SME is a critical growth engine for Air New Zealand. This newly established role recognises the scale and potential of the SME portfolio and ensures it has dedicated leadership focus. You will lead the SME Sales Chapter, with accountability for capability building, chapter vision, and people leadership, while also contributing as a Squad member within our agile operating model.
With a strong reputation for culture, service and innovation, Air New Zealand is consistently ranked as one of New Zealand’s most attractive employers. Behind the scenes, our commercial teams are shaping growth strategy, strengthening customer relationships, and supporting a future fit business that connects Aotearoa to the world.
The role you will play:
- Accelerate SME revenue growth through effective sales leadership, high-performing partner channels, and disciplined pipeline management
- Set and embed clear work standards and competencies across the SME Sales Chapter, ensuring consistent, high-quality execution
- Build chapter capability by coaching, developing, and upskilling Account Managers to lift performance, customer outcomes, and revenue growth
- Act as a subject matter expert and thought leader in SME sales, guiding best practice and inspiring your chapter with clear vision and direction
- Lead people management activities, including performance reviews, development planning, and identifying readiness for progression
- Enable strong collaboration across Squads by participating in regular planning, performance reviews, and cross functional decision making
- Recruit and insource talent to ensure the chapter has the capability and capacity needed for future growth
- Create an inclusive, trusting environment that encourages knowledge sharing, continuous learning, and innovation.
What we’re looking for:
- Deep subject matter expertise in sales, ideally within SME or complex B2B environments, with recognition as a trusted specialist
- Experience designing and implementing methods, standards, and capability frameworks that drive measurable performance improvement
- Proven experience leading and developing teams, with strong people management and coaching capability
- A track record of working effectively on cross functional initiatives within agile or matrixed environments
- Strong communication skills, with the ability to teach new concepts and techniques in an engaging and practical way
- A leadership mindset grounded in collaboration, transparency, empowerment, and trust, with belief in non-hierarchical ways of working
- Passion for developing people, removing roadblocks, and creating opportunities for others to grow and succeed
- Openness to new ideas and diverse perspectives, with the ability to foster curiosity, inclusion, and continuous learning.
If you bring most of this experience, along with transferable skills and the drive to grow, we’d love to hear from you.
Ready for take-off?
If you’re motivated by leading people, shaping capability, and driving meaningful commercial impact in a role that truly matters, this is your opportunity to help define the future of SME sales at Air New Zealand. Apply now and take the next step in your leadership journey.
Applications close 25 January 2026
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."
