Principal Adviser - Poultry | Wellington City

Job Description

Job title: Principal Adviser - Poultry

Role Type: Permanent, full-time

Location: Wellington

Salary Band: General Salary Range C

About the Role - Kōrero mō te Tūranga

As Principal Adviser Poultry, your primary responsibility will be to provide strategic advice and thought leadership to Food Risk Management managers, the Director Food Risk Management, and other stakeholders. This will focus on the purpose, function, and impacts of the food safety system on food businesses, especially those regulated under the Animal Products Act 1999 in the poultry and egg sectors.

You will also need to develop close working relationships with members of New Zealand Food Safety and other key people at MPI to reflect the Directorate's priorities, obtain time-critical information, problem solve solutions, and triage information coming from across the organisation back to the Directorate for this sector.

Your key responsibilities will include:

• Providing expert advice and opinion on the effectiveness of regulatory interventions, risk management, and reputational protection mechanisms
• Supporting the Food Risk Management managers by providing technical leadership, sound analysis and advice, and recommendations that enable the team to carry out its mandates, drive improvement, and work collaboratively to ensure that the work is coherent, efficient and effective
• Leading and contributing to initiatives to reduce foodborne illness from Campylobacter and Salmonella
• Contributing strategic and innovative thinking to the Directorate's approach to ensuring food safety and suitability
• Providing input to strategic assessments and identification of risks and opportunities
• Providing quality assurance, review, and analysis on key documents including plans, models, frameworks, business cases, correspondence, reports, and Ministerial documents
• Partnering with stakeholders to facilitate innovative approaches, minimise compliance costs, enable growth of New Zealand's domestic and export trade, and addressing emerging issues
• Contributing to the alignment of standards with Australia and representing New Zealand at international standard setting bodies, such as Codex Alimentarius
• Building and maintaining strong relationships with key individuals and external organisations/stakeholders, promoting collaboration with and across the business unit and MPI to influence both MPI's development and the shape of outputs produced by others

About You - Mōu

To be successful in this role, you will have a trusting, direct, and attentive working style and be quick to understand priorities and drivers. Your experience will ideally include a qualification and/or work experience in Food Technology, Microbiology or Veterinarian, meat science or another science degree.

Specifically, your experience will include:

• Highly developed and expert technical knowledge of food safety - particularly HACCP and risk-based management systems - and experience with food regulation and in making decisions with health and/or financial impact
• In depth knowledge and understanding of the Food Safety Regulatory System, particularly the Animal Products Act and its relationship to other food legislation
• An understanding of egg and poultry production, processing, and sale practices
• Up-to-date knowledge of current trends in the international and domestic food safety regulatory environments, in particular, relevant to poultry and eggs
• A demonstrated ability to find common ground and solve problems
• Significant experience working with Senior Managers and working collaboratively across organisations and with people with different skills and experience from their own
• Domestic and/or international standing as a ‘recognised expert' in food safety and suitability systems relevant to poultry and eggs
• Experience in gathering, organising, and communicating information. This includes being able to quickly understand the nature of problems, identify a range of possible solutions (including their implications), form conclusions, and provide advice
• Know and understand the impact of regulation and be able to assess benefits, risks, and costs (including compliance costs) associated with technical standards for processing, production, and export requirements

Importantly, you will be an excellent communicator, both written and verbal, with strong presentation skills. You will have highly developed interpersonal skills with the ability to motivate and persuade at all levels e.g. key stakeholders and Ministers.  And you will also be highly conceptual and analytical, with the experience to develop and implement workable solutions to ambiguous and complex problems.

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 Dairy, Poultry, Eggs and Honey Team sits within the Food Risk Management directorate and plays a vital role in protecting New Zealand's food system.

This specialised team are responsible for developing, implementing, and maintaining regulatory requirements and guidelines, as well as providing expert technical advice across their respective areas.  The other team members are available to provide support and guidance, ensuring you're well-equipped to contribute effectively. Working closely with other teams across the directorate, we take a collaborative, science-based approach to food safety and risk management.

This is a great opportunity to be part of meaningful work that supports food safety and the integrity of New Zealand's Primary Industries.

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.

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

• Up to 3 additional MPI leave days

• Reduced premiums for Group Healthcare Schemes

• 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, whanau 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 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 11.59pm on Sunday, 15 February 2026.

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

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