Senior Adviser (Food Act Businesses) | Auckland MPI Centre

Senior Adviser (Food Act Businesses)

Role type: Permanent, full-time

Location: Auckland

Salary band & range: General Salary Range D: $100,934 to $118,005 depending on skills and experience

About the Role - Kōrero mō te Tūranga

Are you an experienced food industry professional, with a knack for building strong business and stakeholder networks?

We are looking for a driven and vibrant Senior Adviser to kick-start our service offering targeted to food businesses operating under the Food Act. This exciting new chapter for the team is an opportunity for the right person to shape what comes next and leave a lasting impact in the domestic regulatory advice space.

The Senior Adviser will initially be accountable for assessing, building, and delivering a work programme that establishes new channels to deliver support and regulatory guidance to food businesses operating in the domestic market, with a particular focus on ‘one-to-many' advice channels. As the team develops, this role will also support the transition from an initial project phase to a growing team, into an established ‘BAU' service.

Key deliverables in the first year will include stakeholder mapping and building relationships with strategic stakeholders (such as wholesalers and distributors) in the domestic market, as well as identifying how these and other channels can be best used to efficiently deliver guidance and regulatory advice to small businesses from trusted and accessible sources.

Key responsibilities of the role will include:

• Building and maintaining relationships with key industry stakeholders and other sources of trusted advice for small food businesses
• Making information easier for food businesses to find, use and understand, and tailoring this for different market segments
• Developing relationships and contacts throughout MPI, and connecting and translating internal expert knowledge into accessible advice that is easy for businesses to understand and action

As this is a newly established role and part of the team, an element of adaptability and flexibility is required as the work develops.

About You – Mōu

To be successful in this role you will have:

• Excellent communication and listening skills – be able to understand technical issues and translate into simple, easily communicated information
• Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with a wide variety of people, including demonstrated success working across business groups in a collaborative manner using effective influencing skills
• Experience navigating food rules and/or working in the food sector (e.g. food manufacturing, auditing, consultancy etc.)
• A track record of leading and delivering results, including planning and organising work
• Experience understanding the needs of clients in diverse segments, identifying and managing their needs effectively
• Ability to navigate organisational dynamics and seek alignment on diverse priorities while maintaining a strong professional presence
• Confidence to prioritise and deliver on your work programme in a high visibility role that requires reporting and working with senior leaders and stakeholders
• A tertiary qualification (or minimum 3yrs equivalent experience)
• Food technology or food science knowledge would be an advantage

You do not need to meet all of the role requirements to apply. We offer a breadth of development and learning opportunities and will welcome an application if you think you could make a great fit. 

About the Team - Mō tō mātou Rōpū

The Regulatory Advice Service (RAS) is a key function within MPI that communicates on a day-to-day basis with businesses around New Zealand to support their growth and a thriving New Zealand economy. We support business by providing advice on the regulations that underpin New Zealand's food imports, domestic operations, and exports. We do this by providing guidance, webinars, and online tools, and answering direct queries.

The Imported and Domestic Food Regulatory Advice (IDFRA) team within RAS specifically focuses on supporting importers and domestic businesses operating under the Food Act. We are a collaborative and interactive team that enjoys working together to provide a customer- centric approach to our work.

While the team is mainly based in Wellington, the role will be based at MPI's Auckland office in Māngere.

About MPI - Mō te Manatū Ahu Matua

The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) partners with New Zealand's food and fibre sector to be the world's most trusted provider of high-value food and fibre products.

To find out more about the Ministry and what we do please click here.

Benefits of working at MPI - Ngā hua o te mahi i te Manatū Ahu Matua

• Additional MPI leave days
• Annual Wellness payment
• Bi-annual paid eye test and contribution to the costs of corrective lenses/frames

Are you ready to make a difference? - Kua rite koe mō tēnei mahi whaitake?

We are committed to being a good partner under Te Tiriti o Waitangi which includes working closely with iwi, hapū, whānau and hāpori.

We aspire to reflect the diverse communities we serve, so we welcome applications from individuals of all backgrounds, and identities. As an organisation, we are committed to making Manatū Ahu Matua Ministry for Primary Industries a great place to work for all.

In your cover letter we'd like to know about you, your values; your interest and motivations for this role; the abilities, strengths, personal attributes and diverse perspectives you will bring to the role and this organisation, which may have also been gained outside of the workforce.

To view the position description and/or apply online, please apply via this advert or visit the MPI Careers Site. To apply, you must hold the right to work in New Zealand or be eligible to obtain it – click here to find out more about work visa eligibility and options.

Applications close at 11:59pm on Wednesday 12 November.

If you have any questions about the role, please email james.brodey@mpi.govt.nz.  

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