Business Support Lead

Shaw Asphalters 

Right now, almost every invoice, enquiry, supplier conversation and compliance obligation in this business crosses the owner's desk. That is the thing holding us back, and this role is being created to fix it.

We're a Hamilton-based asphalt paving and civil contracting business heading into our busiest summer yet. We need someone to take genuine ownership of the incoming enquiries, commercial and administrative side of the company; not to be handed tasks, but to own whole functions and run them properly.

What makes this different:

We don't want a big admin team. We want one very good person supported by good systems.

We've already automated and automating a chunk of what most businesses hire people to do - accounts payable processing, digital job capture - and we're building a unified operating platform for the crews. Routine processing is handled by the systems; you review the exceptions, make the calls the numbers require, report on where the business stands, and decide what happens next.

If you like finding a faster, smarter way to do things, you'll enjoy it here. If you want a predictable, unchanging job, you won't.

What you would own

From day one:

Own the accounts function: receivables, payables and payroll processing are largely automated, so you review exceptions, approve payment runs, and are accountable for accuracy across Xero
Bank reconciliations, month-end reporting and GST returns
Chasing debtors and making the calls on collection and credit
Inbound enquiries — reception, triage, qualifying and routing
Purchase orders, supplier ordering, and tracking job costs against budget — investigating variances and deciding what to do about them

Building over the first 3 -6 months:

Job cost reporting, and presenting it in our review meetings
Health and safety support: investigation JSEAs, client inductions, certification tracking
Compliance and risk: insurance renewals, contracts, prequalification, company registers
Fleet compliance: managing WOFs, RUCs, servicing, repairs
TMP and Corridor Access Request applications
Supporting the Managing Director's calendar, and owning ad-hoc projects end to end

Where it goes:

HR administration, building out our internal training programme, sales support, and eventually leading the admin team as the business grows. This role is deliberately the step before Business Manager and then General Manager. You'll see every part of how this company works, which is exactly the grounding that progression needs.

What we need from you:
Genuine financial acumen/business knowledge: you can read a balance sheet, understand the story a P&L shows, interrogate a job cost report, spot when something's wrong, and decide what to do about it. This matters more than years spent on manual bookkeeping.
- Working knowledge of accounts processes (receivables, payables, reconciliations, payroll), enough to review and quality-check automated outputs, even if you haven't always done every step by hand
- Good Xero skills, or at least the ability to learn them
- You've held a lot of unrelated responsibilities at once without dropping any
- Some people leadership or supervisory experience, or you're clearly ready for it
- You communicate well, and enjoy dealing with people: you'll be dealing with clients, suppliers and crews
- You pick up new systems quickly
- Problem solver: you can identify and resolve problems, or find solutions that are based on sound decision making
- AI forward: you use it in your own life, and have some understanding (ideally experience) of how AI can be used in business
- Full NZ driver licence, entitled to work in NZ, and living in the Waikato

Construction, civil or trades experience is a real advantage, but we'd rather have the right person and teach them the industry than the reverse.

What we're looking for:

Someone energetic and outgoing who finishes things. When something gets handed to you, it's dealt with, and nobody has to chase it. Someone with pace: the owner moves fast and you'll need to keep up. Someone who wants to be stretched, because parts of this role will be new to you, and we'll invest in the training to close those gaps. Someone who is proactive and hungry for the business to develop and move forward. 

The offer:

$78,000 - $88,000 to start, with a documented review at six months tied to the responsibilities you're carrying by then. Professional development budget. 45 hour week. Mutual understanding that sometime there's more effort required to get the job done, othertimes it might be an early friday finish. 

To apply

Send your CV and a short cover letter telling us:
- About a time you took something off someone's plate completely, and what changed as a result.
- An example of a problem you've found and solved, that made a distinctive difference to the situation
- What opportunity you are looking for in a role like this