District Advice Officer

Horizons; Palmerston North; Hybrid; NZD 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Birthday off

Wellness day

Life insurance for permanent staff

Five weeks' leave after 2 years of IAN

Job summary

Horizons Regional Council is seeking a District Advice Officer to provide clear property advice, maps and information on natural hazards and One Plan requirements to the public and Territorial Authorities. You will support property and land-use decisions, LIMs, planning processes and Building Act duties, while working with councils, engineers and other specialists.

You will work across Horizons’ teams, engaging with Territorial Authorities and the public to inform better-informed decisions and

Qualifications

• Experience with natural hazards or hazard management.
• Ability to interpret geospatial information.
• Familiarity with LIMs, resource management, planning or the Building Act.
• Experience handling customer enquiries, service portals or electronic databases.

Responsibilities

• Provide natural hazard information to Territorial Authorities for LIMs.
• Collaborate across Horizons and with Territorial Authorities on urban growth planning and District Plan changes.
• Support Building Act duties and dam safety regulation administration.
• Work with technical mapping data and engage with councils, customers and engineers.

Skills

Organised

Customer-focused

Strong communication

Relationship-building

Analytical

Geospatial interpretation

Tools

ArcGIS Pro

Job description

As a District Advice Officer, you will help provide clear and accurate property advice, maps and information on natural hazards and Horizons’ One Plan requirements to members of the public and Territorial Authorities.

You will support a wide range of property and land-use decisions, including proposed developments, building and resource consents, subdivisions, property purchases and insurance enquiries.

A key part of the role is supporting the provision of natural hazard information to Territorial Authorities for inclusion in Land Information Memoranda (LIMs). You will also work across Horizons and with Territorial Authorities on urban growth planning, District Plan changes, and other statutory planning processes.

The role also supports Horizons’ responsibilities under the Building Act 2004, including large dam building consents and administration of the Building (Dam Safety) Regulations 2022.

This is a varied role where you will work with technical information, mapping and geospatial data, while building relationships with councils, customers, engineers and other specialists.

About you

We are looking for someone who is organised, customer-focused and confident working with technical and spatial information.

You will have strong communication and relationship-building skills and be comfortable interpreting information and explaining it clearly to a range of audiences.

Ideally, you will bring some experience or knowledge in one or more of the following areas:

• natural hazards or natural hazard management
• Geographic Information Systems (GIS), particularly ArcGIS Pro or other mapping platforms
• interpreting and communicating geospatial information
• LIMs, resource management, planning or the Building Act
• managing customer enquiries, service portals or electronic databases.

You don't necessarily need to be an expert in all these areas. If you have strong analytical and communication skills, enjoy working with maps and information, and are keen to learn, we'd be interested in hearing from you.

This role works across Horizons' teams, with the region's Territorial Authorities and directly with members of the public. It provides an opportunity to contribute to better-informed property and land-use decisions and help communities understand and respond to natural hazard risk.

If you enjoy making a difference and thrive in a busy, varied and collaborative environment, we'd love to hear from you.

When you join us, you can look forward to a rewarding career full of opportunities to develop a positive and supportive work environment. We do this through:

• Positive focus on employee health, wellness and wellbeing initiatives across the organisation including your birthday off, wellness day, life insurance for all permanent staff and 5 weeks leave after 2 years of service.
• Flexible family friendly work environment.
• Ongoing development and opportunities across the organisation to grow, specialiseor diversify your skills.
• Working together for a better environment across our region.
• A supportive and social work environment across the organisation.

About us

The Horizons region extends over 22,200km2 – from Ruapehu in the north and Horowhenua in the south, to Whanganui in the west and Tararua in the east. We work with and for our community in the use and protection of our environment, managing our precious resources of land, air and water; as well as public transport and a key role in emergency management. At Horizons Regional Council we work to make our region a healthy environment where people are thriving, including our staff.

Applications close at 5pm on Sunday 15 November 2026

Horizons are an equal opportunity employer and are committed to ensuring we have a diverse and inclusive workplace so our people reflect the diversity of our region.