Ecology Team Manager – Nelson & Wellington

SLR Consulting New Zealand Limited; Nelson; On-site; NZD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

SLR Consulting New Zealand Limited is seeking a rare Team Manager in Nelson to lead our Ecology & Biodiversity team across Nelson and Wellington. You will inspire and coach senior staff, drive business development and ensure high-quality, timely project delivery for a growing client base.

You will lead technical excellence, manage commercial risk, and nurture client relationships while promoting safety and professional growth within the team.

Qualifications

• A degree in Ecology, Marine Science or a related field.
• 12-15+ years consulting in Ecology or Marine Science; expert technical ability in marine ecology.
• Experience leading and winning projects.
• Strong network or client base to bring in new work.
• Experience preparing impact and environmental risk assessments.
• Knowledge of NZ environmental legislation and guidelines.
• Strong health and safety focus, especially in fieldwork.
• Ability to build long-lasting, trusted relationships.
• Consistently achieves targets and supports professional development.
• NZ citizenship or rights to work in NZ.
• Excellent driving history and a current license.

Responsibilities

• Manage and lead 13 direct reports across Nelson and Wellington Ecology & Biodiversity team.
• Provide technical leadership, training and coaching to the local team.
• Lead the delivery of projects to time and budget.
• Identify and engage with new and emerging clients to promote SLR Ecology & Marine services.
• Grow and develop the Ecology & Marine Practice aligned with SLR’s purpose and values.
• Inspire and motivate peers and staff to achieve financial and strategic goals.
• Approve expense claims and timesheets, ensuring good timesheet behaviours.
• Manage SLR’s commercial risk through review of project work and maintaining standards.

Skills

Leadership

Project management

Business development

Client network

Team coaching

Education

Ecology or Marine Sci degree

Job description

About the business and the role

Do you believe you can make the world a better place? SLR’s purpose is Making Sustainability Happen, which we achieve by having a team of experts who partner with our clients to tackle some of the world’s most complex sustainability Challenges. SLR is an international environmental consultancy with a globally recognised reputation for providing high quality tailored services. With close to 200 staff spanning the length of Aotearoa and an additional 800+ staff across Asia Pacific, we provide consultancy advice and support on a wide range of strategic and site-specific issues to a diverse and growing base of business, regulatory and governmental clients. We celebrate a ‘One Team Culture’, where bringing together diversity of thought and expression is key to building the best team to deliver excellent results.

A rare Team Manager opportunity has come up within our Ecology & Biodiversity team in Aotearoa.

Based in Nelson, this role will see you provide inspirational and empowering leadership to our people in both our Nelson and Wellington offices. Key focuses will be the development and coaching of senior employees, leadership of our high performing team, business development to ensure our business and team continue to grow and thrive, as well as technical excellence to ensure our team delivers technically excellent work to our clients.

Responsibilities

• Manage and lead 13 direct reports across our Nelson and Wellington Ecology & Biodiversity team
• Provide technical leadership, training and actively coach the local team
• Lead the delivery of projects to time and budget
• Proactively identify and engage with new and emerging clients to promote SLR Ecology & Marine services
• Contribute to the growth and development of the Ecology & Marine Practice in line with SLR’S purpose and values
• Be a “person of the people”; engage, inspire and motivate peers and staff to achieve financial and strategic goals
• Approve expense claims and timesheets, ensuring good timesheet behaviours within the team
• Manage SLR’s commercial risk through review of project work and maintaining standards of excellence

Skills and experience

• A degree in Ecology, Marine Science or a related field
• Demonstrated consulting experience with 12-15+ years in Ecology or Marine Science and ideally as an expert who has exceptional technical ability in marine ecology
• Demonstrated experience winning, leading and managing projects
• A good network or client base to bring new clients and work into the business
• Experience in preparing impact assessments and environmental risk assessments
• Working knowledge of New Zealand environmental legislation and policies, standards and guidelines
• A strong focus on health and safety, particularly in relation to fieldwork
• Ability to build long lasting, trusted relationships
• Consistently achieves targets and supports professional development
• New Zealand Citizenship or rights to work in New Zealand
• Excellent driving history and hold a current driver's license

Benefits

We are proud of our unique culture where we work together to collaborate on projects to get the best possible outcome for our clients. Whether you’re working in the office, from home or a mix of the two, we recognise that every person is different, and our benefits aim to ensure that we cater for all. You can find a comprehensive list here.

Interview Process

Please note that interviews are conducted with gender diverse interview panels to the best of our ability. Unsolicited resumes from recruitment consultants will not be accepted. You must be part of the preferred supplier agreement list which is coordinated through our Talent Acquisition team. #LI-JP1.

About Us

We’re Making Sustainability Happen. We don’t have all the answers to the complex sustainability challenges faced by humanity today. But we’re working on it. We are a consultancy with 4,500+ employees, working on projects in over 125 countries around the world. When you join SLR, you’ll work alongside some of the world’s leading advisors and technicians on projects of global importance in the environmental space. We know sustainability starts from within. And no matter how good we are today, we can always do better. We continually work on our internal ethics to set the standard for organisations and reflect the advice we give to clients.