Adviser - Food Compliance Services | Wellington City

Job Description

Adviser Food Compliance Service

Role type: Permanent

Location: Wellington

Salary band & range: General Salary Range F: $76,463 to $89,215 depending on skills and experience.

About the Role - Kōrero mō te Tūranga

The role is pivotal in supporting Food Compliance Services within the Food Risk Management directorate at New Zealand Food Safety (NZFS). You'll be responsible for monitoring and managing unregistered food businesses, triaging incoming reports of food safety issues, and supporting operational responses and investigations. Your work will support improvements in compliance outcomes through data analysis, stakeholder engagement, and effective communication—helping to protect public health and strengthen the integrity of our food system.

As an Adviser you'll contribute to the development of compliance strategies and analyse national performance data to identify trends and areas for improvement. You'll engage with stakeholders to understand the root causes of non-compliance, input into the development of communication tools, and ensure timely and accurate documentation of food sector reports. This role also involves coordinating food recalls, resolving complaints, and supporting cross-agency collaboration.

About You – Mōu

Ideally you will be a proactive and collaborative individual with a foundation in food safety. You'll ideally hold a relevant tertiary qualification such as a Bachelor of Science or Postgraduate Diploma, and a HACCP qualification would be a valuable asset.

To thrive in this role, you'll be an excellent communicator with strong documentation and time management skills. You'll be confident engaging with the public, and internal and external stakeholders, and skilled at building and maintaining positive relationships. You'll be self-motivated, detail-oriented, and collaborative, with sound judgement and a commitment to protecting public health. Strong computer literacy, especially in Microsoft Office and database systems, is essential, along with the ability to work calmly and professionally in a fast-paced environment.

You'll bring experience in data analysis and reporting, with the ability to extract meaningful insights from datasets to inform decision-making. Your operational database skills and ability to manage information across formats will be key to supporting effective compliance and response activities.

About the Team - Mō tō mātou Rōpū

Food Compliance Services has a reputation as a high performing team, with a variety of technical skills and experience. A nationwide team, dedicated to food safety and strengthening the integrity of the food safety system and contributing towards improving New Zealand's public health.

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 click “Apply” 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 midnight on Sunday 28 September 2025.

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

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