Group Planning Manager

Greater Wellington; Wellington; On-site; NZD 99,000 - 149,000; Full time

Job summary

A regional emergency management agency in Wellington is seeking an experienced Group Planning Manager to lead the planning efforts for emergency responses. This permanent position involves providing strategic leadership, enhancing planning capabilities, and ensuring effective coordination during emergencies. Candidates should have a strong background in emergency management, with proven leadership skills and an ability to drive improvements across planning practices.

Benefits

Flexible working policy

Learning and development opportunities

Medical and trauma insurance support

Generous annual and sick leave

Friendly and inclusive culture

Qualifications

• Proven experience in emergency management or operational planning roles.
• Strong technical knowledge in response planning.
• Ability to establish practices across dispersed teams.

Responsibilities

• Lead development of planning capacity across the region.
• Drive improvements in planning practices and frameworks.
• Support local Emergency Operations Centres.

Skills

Emergency management experience

Operational planning

Leadership experience

Analytical skills

Problem-solving ability

Team motivation

Job description

We're looking for an experienced emergency planning professional and people leader to join our team as Group Planning Manager. This key role sits within WREMO's Operational Readiness and Response team and reports to the Team Leader, Regional Incident Management Team.

This is a permanent, full-time position based at our Thorndon office in Wellington.

About the role:

As the Group Planning Manager in the Regional Incident Management Team (RIMT), you'll lead the development and enhancement of planning capability and capacity across the region. You'll provide strategic leadership and expert advice to ensure local and regional response planning is robust, aligned, and ready for activation when needed.

In readiness, you'll drive improvements across the planning workforce, practices, processes, and frameworks to strengthen the region's response planning arrangements. In response, you'll lead the Planning function in the Emergency Coordination Centre (ECC) or support local Emergency Operations Centres (EOCs), ensuring clear, actionable and effective planning delivers a coordinated response.

Skills and experience required:

You're an experienced emergency management or operational planning leader who thrives under pressure, brings structure to complexity, and builds strong relationships across diverse agencies and communities.

You will have:

• Proven experience in emergency management, response, or related operational planning roles.
• Strong technical knowledge and leadership experience in response planning within complex, multiagency environments.
• Ability to motivate and support high-performing teams in both readiness and response settings.
• Experience establishing consistent practices and frameworks across dispersed teams.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, and decision-making skills.
• Willingness to be part of an on-call roster and respond to emergencies when required.
• Understanding of local government systems and the emergency management sector.
• A collaborative, inclusive leadership style and commitment to continuous improvement.
• Understanding of, or willingness to develop, capability in te reo Māori and te ao Māori, in line with Greater Wellington's Māori Capability Framework.

What we offer:

• Work to suit your life and whānau with our flexible working policy.
• We'll encourage you to grow and prosper with a range of learning and development opportunities, internal secondments and career progression.
• Your wellbeing is our priority - we'll provide medical and trauma insurance support through our employee assistance programme, including Rongoā Māori partner providers, generous annual and sick leave, along with Tangihanga leave and support.
• We want you to have a sense of belonging, where you can reflect your personal and cultural identity in the way that you work.
• Social clubs, staff networks and a friendly and inclusive culture.

We are an equal opportunities employer and welcome applications from all qualified candidates. We are committed to providing a workplace that is free from discrimination and where everyone feels included and valued.

The remuneration for this position, inclusive of all benefits, is $99,271 to $148,907, with a midpoint of $124,089. Starting remuneration will depend on the skills and experience of the successful applicant.