Event Sustainability Manager

Nonstop Solutions; Wellington; On-site; NZD 33,181,000 - 41,033,000; Part time

Job summary

Nonstop Solutions – Rongotai, North Island is seeking an Event Sustainability Manager for the 2026/27 season. This part-time, hands-on role will lead on-site waste minimisation at diverse events across Aotearoa, with travel as required and a focus on practical delivery.

You’ll supervise crews, coordinate with event organisers, suppliers and venue teams, and ensure systems run smoothly while you get your hands dirty on binned waste, sorting and data collection.

Qualifications

• Leads teams and takes responsibility to get things done.
• Decisions made on-site with calm, practical judgment.
• Comfortable in busy, physical, outdoor work environments.
• Organised with ability to track multiple moving parts.
• Clear communicator with event staff to senior organisers.
• Reliable, follows through on commitments.

Responsibilities

• Lead Nonstop teams onsite across events of varying sizes and complexity.
• Start by leading smaller events and teams, with growth to larger events.
• Work directly onsite with event organisers, venues, suppliers and other stakeholders.
• Deliver waste management and minimisation systems onsite.
• Monitor waste streams, bin stations, sorting HQs and contamination.
• Get hands-on with waste; this is an operational role.
• Troubleshoot issues quickly and make practical decisions onsite.
• Coordinate staff, equipment, collections and other sustainability requirements.
• Collect and analyse waste and sustainability data.
• Support development and delivery of Waste Management and Minimisation Plans.
• Contribute to post-event reporting and client debriefs.
• Identify ways to improve our systems and delivery from event to event.

Skills

Leadership

Decision making

Hands-on

Organisation

Communication

Reliability

Flexibility

Stakeholder coordination

Job description

Nonstop Solutions – Rongotai, North Island

Event Sustainability Manager - Part Time

Approximately 16 hours per week
October - April
Wellington + travel

Nonstop Solutions works with events across Aotearoa to reduce and divert waste from landfill and improve how resources are managed.
We work across a huge range of events from small community events and local festivals through to large‑scale events with thousands of attendees, multiple waste streams, large onsite teams and complex operations.
We’re looking for an Event Sustainability Manager to join our team for the 2026/27 event season.
This is an onsite, operational role. You’ll be responsible for making sure our waste minimisation systems actually work when an event is underway, leading our crews, managing waste, solving problems and working directly with event organisers, suppliers and venue teams.
And you must be comfortable getting your hands dirty.
Regardless of the size or type of event, waste is a core part of the job. You’ll be working around bins, often outdoors in all elements and hand sorting waste. You’ll need to be comfortable getting stuck in when required, rather than expecting to manage from the sidelines.

The role

You’ll work across Nonstop’s event calendar, taking responsibility for the onsite delivery of waste minimisation and sustainability systems.
The scale of your responsibility will vary significantly depending on the event.
You might start the season leading a small event with a team of 2-3 people, coordinating the waste operation and working directly with the event organiser.
At our largest events, an Event Sustainability Manager may oversee a much larger operation, with multiple Team Leaders responsible for different zones or areas of the site, alongside larger teams and more complex waste and sustainability systems. You will be fully supported with training and great people onsite.
The expectation is that you can grow with the responsibility.

You’ll need to be equally comfortable:

• Leading a small team and doing much of the physical work yourself
• Managing a team or zone across a large event site
• Talking to an event organiser one minute and dealing with an overflowing bin on a busy street the next
• Making decisions when things don't go to plan
• Getting involved in the detail while keeping sight of the bigger picture

The events

No two weeks will necessarily look the same. You could be working at a small local event one weekend and a major festival the next. Our work takes us across the Greater Wellington region and, at times, around the North Island.
You may be required to travel to events outside Wellington, including trips within New Zealand, overnight stays and multi day events. You must be willing to go where the work is needed as well.
This role requires someone who is genuinely flexible about location over summer and comfortable getting in a vehicle, travelling to an event and setting up wherever the job takes you.

What you'll do

• Lead Nonstop teams onsite across events of varying sizes and complexity
• Start by leading smaller events and teams, with opportunities to take on larger and more complex events as your capability develops
• Work directly onsite with event organisers, venues, suppliers, contractors and other stakeholders where required
• Deliver waste management and minimisation systems onsite
• Monitor waste streams, bin stations, sorting HQ’s and contamination
• Get hands‑on with waste when required, this is an operational role, not a desk job
• Troubleshoot issues quickly and make practical decisions onsite
• Coordinate staff, equipment, collections and other event sustainability requirements
• Collect and be across the collection of waste and sustainability data
• Support the development and delivery of Waste Management and Minimisation Plans
• Contribute to post‑event reporting and client debriefs
• Identify ways to improve our systems and delivery from event to event

Who we're looking for

We're looking for strong operators and leaders.
You might come from events, hospitality, operations, waste, sustainability, logistics or another fast‑paced environment. What matters most is that you're someone who can take responsibility, lead people and get things done.

You will need to be:

• A confident leader who can direct people clearly and fairly
• Comfortable taking responsibility for an operation and making decisions independently
• Calm and practical when things go wrong
• Comfortable working in a busy, physical and messy environment
• Willing to get involved in the physical work rather than standing back from it
• Organised and able to keep track of multiple moving parts
• A clear communicator who can work with everyone from casual event staff to senior event organisers
• Reliable and able to follow through on what you say you'll do
• Flexible about where the work takes you
• Interested in building genuine experience and a career in event sustainability, waste minimisation or event operations

You must have

• A full New Zealand driver's licence
• Comfortability driving larger class 1 vehicles (such as our work vans)
• The willingness and ability to travel throughout the Greater Wellington region and, when required, to events elsewhere in New Zealand
• Availability for weekend, early morning and evening event work throughout the October - April season
• The ability to work independently and make decisions onsite

The practical details

• Part time: Approximately 16 hours per week
• Season: October-April
• Location: Wellington, with work across the Greater Wellington region and elsewhere in New Zealand
• Hours: Variable depending on the event calendar. Some weeks will be quieter and others will involve significant event delivery hours, including weekends, early mornings and evenings.
• Travel: Travel requirements will vary depending on the event calendar. Some events may require driving outside the Wellington region or overnight travel.
• Pay: $28.95 - $35.80 per hour depending on experience

This is a role where you will start by learning the operation from the ground up, including the waste streams. From there, the opportunity is to take on larger events, larger teams and more responsibility as your skills develop.
If you’re a strong leader, a good operator and want to build real experience in event sustainability, we want to hear from you.