Commercial Lead

Ministry for Primary Industries NZ; Wellington; On-site; NZD 122,000 - 142,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

MPI leave days

Wellness payment

Career development

Job summary

The Ministry for Primary Industries NZ, Wellington, seeks a Senior Commercial Lead to advise on strategic commercial delivery for Biosecurity New Zealand. You will translate policy into practical contracts, manage risks, and lead supplier relationships across a diverse programme portfolio.

As a senior contributor, you will coach others, elevate commercial practices, and partner with leaders to improve performance and support delivery of key Biosecurity initiatives.

Qualifications

• Bachelor-level or higher qualification in a related field.
• Strong commercial expertise with supplier management and negotiation.
• Ability to translate policy and requirements into practical contracts and delivery.
• Proven capacity to mentor and raise commercial capability.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic commercial advice aligning with organisational priorities.
• Lead commercial thinking and best practices across Biosecurity NZ.
• Support major programmes across Biosecurity NZ's Plant Health portfolio.
• Build trusted relationships and provide informed advice to leaders.

Skills

Strategic leadership

Supplier relationships

Contract management

Risk oversight

Business delivery

Education

Tertiary qualification in business/commercial/law/finanace

Job description

Ministry for Primary Industries NZ – Wellington Central, North Island

Salary band & range: General Salary Range C: $121,764 to $142,494 depending on skills and experience

As Commercial Lead, you'll be a trusted strategic adviser supporting Biosecurity New Zealand's commercial and operational outcomes. Working across a diverse portfolio of programmes and services, you'll provide expert commercial leadership, identify and manage strategic risks, and help translate policy, compliance and business requirements into practical contractual and operational solutions.

This is a senior individual contributor role where you'll lead through influence, build commercial capability across the organisation, and work closely with leaders to improve performance, strengthen commercial practices and support delivery of key Biosecurity initiatives.

In this role, you will:

• Provide strategic commercial advice that supports organisational priorities and operational delivery.
• Lead commercial thinking, capability uplift and best practice across Biosecurity New Zealand.
• Support major programmes, including work across Biosecurity New Zealand's Plant Health portfolio.
• Build trusted relationships across the business and provide advice that informs decisions and outcomes.

Key responsibilities include:

• Lead strategic supplier relationships and commercial outcomes across a diverse contract portfolio.
• Translate policy, compliance and business requirements into practical commercial and operational solutions.
• Identify, assess and elevate commercial and operational risks, providing assurance and oversight to leaders.
• Coach and mentor others, drive process improvement, and strengthen commercial practice across Biosecurity New Zealand.

You’ll bring strong commercial judgement and the ability to connect strategy with delivery. You’ll be comfortable working with leaders, navigating complexity, and providing advice that supports sound decision making.

You may be working, or have worked, in a commercial, procurement, contract management, operational delivery, or advisory role within government, the wider public sector, or another complex organisation.

To be successful in this role, you’ll bring:

• A tertiary qualification in business, commerce, law, finance, or equivalent relevant experience.
• Strong commercial expertise, including supplier relationships, contract management and negotiation, risk oversight, and delivery of business outcomes.
• The ability to translate policy, compliance, and business requirements into practical solutions that support operational delivery.
• Confidence building trusted relationships with suppliers, strategic partners and stakeholders, and providing constructive challenge to support better decisions.
• A collaborative approach, strong self‑awareness, and a passion for lifting capability through coaching, mentoring, and knowledge sharing.
• Experience coaching and mentoring, and the ability to inspire and motivate team members and create a positive work culture.
• Strategic thinking skills, with the ability to navigate complex issues, influence senior decision-makers, and provide trusted advice in a large and dynamic environment.
• Understanding of government procurement requirements, commercial frameworks, and contract management across the full lifecycle.

The Biosecurity Commercial Management team is a small, high‑performing team of four, comprising a Commercial Lead, Principal Adviser and two Senior Advisers. Based in Wellington, we work closely together and partner with teams across Biosecurity New Zealand and MPI to deliver commercial outcomes that support New Zealand's biosecurity system. We value collaboration, knowledge sharing, continuous improvement and strong relationships, and take pride in supporting each other to deliver meaningful results.

This team's work helps Biosecurity New Zealand manage commercial risk, strengthen supplier performance, and support delivery of key strategic priorities. You will work across and support the Biosecurity NZ business unit as well as working closely with the central MPI Procurement Teams in the Corporate Services directorate.

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. 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.

• 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.

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