Advisor, Communications and Engagement

Civil Defence Group; Wellington; Hybrid; NZD 78,000 - 89,000; Full time

Job summary

The Climate Change Commission in Wellington, New Zealand, is seeking an Advisor, Communications and Engagement to support end-to-end engagement and communications across climate policy workstreams. You will develop messages and materials, plan engagement activities, and help advance the Commission's emissions reduction and adaptation goals.

Ideal candidates will have at least one year in communications or engagement roles and a relevant tertiary qualification, with experience in climate change,

Qualifications

• Proven ability to build and maintain relationships.
• Strong critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
• Excellent written and verbal communication abilities.
• Experience in product design, publications, and/or digital communications.
• Highly effective planning and organisational skills in complex environments.
• Knowledge of machinery of government, public policy, and Te Tiriti o Waitangi / Treaty principles.
• Demonstrated integrity and professional ethics.

Responsibilities

• Develop and implement end-to-end engagement and communications plans for our work programme.
• Adapt messages and formats to diverse audiences to explain complex climate policy issues.
• Prepare messages, talking points, media materials and presentations for various project teams.
• Organise and run webinars and public engagement activities.
• Collaborate across teams to promote an inclusive, collaborative culture.
• Embed te ao Māori concepts into engagement processes and outputs.

Skills

Relationship-building

Critical thinking

Communication skills

Digital communications

Planning & organisation

Government policy knowledge

Integrity

Education

Tertiary qualification

Job description

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The Commission was established by the Climate Change Response (Zero Carbon) Amendment Act 2019 ('the Zero Carbon Act'), which amended the Climate Change Response Act 2002 (CCRA).

The Commission plays a key role in developing and implementing clear and stable climate change policies in Aotearoa New Zealand. We do this by providing independent, expert advice to the Government on both mitigating and adapting to the effects of climate change. We also monitor and review the Government's progress towards its emissions reduction and adaptation goals.

In the past six years we’ve provided advice on emissions budgets, emissions reduction plans, agricultural emissions pricing, NZ Emissions Trading Scheme settings, the 2050 target and whether to include international shipping and aviation emissions. We have delivered the country’s second national climate change risk assessment. We’ve monitored progress reducing emissions and adapting to the effects of climate change. More details about our work programme can be found here: Our upcoming work .

Recognising Te Ao Māori is a key priority for the Commission. This means we work with the Crown’s Treaty partner and grow our capability and capacity to accurately reflect Māori views and TeTiritio Waitangi in our work.

The Advisor, Communications and Engagement will support end-to-end engagement and communications processes to support the Commission’s work programme under the CCRA. This includes engagement and communications advice, planning, content development and supporting delivery of our engagement programme.

This role will be assigned to various project teams and will be required to provide organisation-wide support as required.

The likely appointment range for this role is between $78,000 to $89,000 per annum, depending on skills and experience.

Key parts of the role include:

• Using your engagement skills to help strengthen the Commission’s key relationships, support evidence gathering, and share our work.
• Communicating complex information in ways that are compelling and easy to understand, adapting communication styles, content, and formats to audience needs.
• Taking an audience-focused approach to developing and delivering engagement and communications plans.
• Preparingkey messages, talking points, media releases, presentations, social media content and other materials, and organising and running webinars in a clear and well-structured mannerrelated to specific projects.
• Supporting a culture of collaboration, coordination, and inclusiveness in the team and across the organisation.
• Demonstrating that cultural responsiveness is valued, understood, and applied within the Commission by embedding te ao Māori (te reo Māori, tikanga, kawa, Te Tiriti o Waitangi) into the way we do things.

This is a role for someone who can hit the ground running in a purpose-driven organisation that aims for its work to have impact.

You will have:

• Proven ability to build and maintain relationships
• Strong critical thinking
• Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal
• Experience in product design, publications, and/or digital communications
• Highly effective planning and organisational skills, including time management and prioritising work in a complex work environment
• Knowledge of the machinery of government, the political environment and government policies, and the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi/Treaty of Waitangi and Te Ao Māori
• Demonstrated high levels of integrity

Our ideal candidate has at least one year of experience in a communications, engagement or media role, and a relevant tertiary qualification. Experience working on climate change issues, experience in science communication, or a background in journalism would be an advantage.

We embrace diversity and inclusion and are committed to equality and equity. We actively encourage applications from all backgrounds.