Senior Advisor | Wellington City

Job Description

Senior Adviser

Role type: Permanent, full-time

Location: Wellington

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

About the Role - Kōrero mō te Tūranga

Are you ready to help prepare New Zealand to respond against high priority biosecurity incursions?

This role will require you to work with, lead, enable, and guide a wide range of stakeholders, both within MPI and externally, to take a systemic and connected approach to preparing for and tackling biosecurity threats. This will be perfect for you if you love variety and a fast-paced working environment.

You will be working on complex topics that people care about and are important to protecting the prosperity of New Zealand. You will use your great time management skills and your knowledge of the machinery of government to provide regular updates to senior leadership teams, ministers, and report to governance groups and various sub committees.

About You - Mōu

You can navigate through complex systems, have policy experience (or equivalent thereof), and/or experience leading pieces of work that involve multiple stakeholders and are complex.

 You will have:

• working knowledge of the different components of the machinery of government
• strong problem-solving and time management skills
• analytical skills to absorb, interpret and utilise information
• strong verbal and written communication skills to gather a wide range of information from subject matter experts
• policy experience and be comfortable bridging the gap between high level strategic thinking and operational planning
• the ability to engage with people to work out a way forward, identify priority issues, flag risks, and work independently
• comfort in ambiguity, changing dynamics and fast-changing expectations

You don't need a technical background in biosecurity or science, but some working knowledge of the biosecurity system 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  

You will join a small but high-profile team within Biosecurity New Zealand, consisting of two Principal Advisers, one other Senior Adviser, a Programme Lead Stakeholder Engagement and your manager. The team is Wellington based. You will be given visibility, raising your profile with Senior Leadership, and the ability to try new things.

About MPI - Mō te Manatū Ahu Matua

Our role includes seizing export opportunities for our food and fibre sector, improving sector productivity, ensuring the food we produce is safe, increasing sustainable resource use, and protecting New Zealand from biological risk.

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

• Additional MPI leave days
• Annual Wellness payment
• Career development and internal opportunities across the branch and organisation

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 click “APPLY FOR THIS JOB” 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 11:59 Sunday 14 September 2025

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

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