Land Management Advisor

Environment Canterbury; Auckland; Hybrid; NZD 70,000 - 95,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible working

Professional development

Job summary

Environment Canterbury seeks a Land Management Advisor in Water and Land to promote sustainable land use across Canterbury. You will work with landowners, rūnanga, community groups, industry organisations and government agencies to support Canterbury Water Management Strategy initiatives.

This highly collaborative role combines technical knowledge with relationship management and community engagement to drive environmental outcomes; travel across Canterbury is part of the role.

Qualifications

• Tertiary qualification in agriculture, resource management, environmental science or a related field.
• Up to three years' experience in farming, sustainability, biodiversity, ecology, resource management or a similar area.
• Strong relationship-building and stakeholder engagement skills.
• Experience working collaboratively to solve complex challenges.
• The ability to communicate technical and regulatory information clearly and effectively.

Responsibilities

• Support the delivery of place based collaborative implementation programmes
• Provide technical advice to farmers and landowners on good management practices
• Build strong relationships with rūnanga, industry groups and stakeholders
• Lead community engagement initiatives that encourage behaviour change
• Support the implementation of projects that protect land, water and biodiversity values

Skills

Relationship-building

Stakeholder engagement

Community engagement

Education

Agriculture/Env science degree

Job description

Job Category: Agriculture, Nature & Animal

• Support landowners to adopt sustainable land management practices
• Work alongside communities, rūnanga, other organisations and industry partners
• Flexible working and professional development opportunities

As a regional council, we are responsible for managing natural resources including air, soil, water and land. We work in partnership with mana whenua Ngāi Tahu to protect the health of our environment to ensure a sustainable and prosperous future for our region.

The region’s evolving environmental and political context means we will continue to be agile and adaptive, as we respond to regulatory and environmental changes.

Our mahi (work) is organised around the delivery of our three core services:

• Environmental Regulation and Protection
• Community Preparedness and Response to Hazards
• Public Transport

Council plays an important role in responding to national legislation and policy changes – this mahi is part of our operating environment and is embedded in our everyday mahi. The current proposals from central government are significant, and Council is working through the opportunities and implications. However, our mahi must continue to deliver our three core services for our partners, communities and te taiao (environment).

Environmental change happens through people, partnerships and place, requiring behaviour change, trusted relationships, and coordinated effort. ECAN's Water and Land exists to lead design, coordination, and oversight of place-based collaborative implementation.

As a Land Management Advisor in Water and Land, you'll work closely with landowners, rūnanga, community groups, industry organisations, and government agencies to promote sustainable land use and environmental stewardship across Canterbury. You'll help deliver regional programmes that support the Canterbury Water Management Strategy and encourage the adoption of best practice land management approaches.

This is a highly collaborative role where you'll combine your technical knowledge, relationship management skills, and community engagement experience to influence positive environmental outcomes.

Key responsibilities include:

• Support the delivery of place based collaborative implementation programmes
• Provide technical advice to farmers and landowners on good management practices
• Build strong relationships with rūnanga, industry groups and stakeholders
• Lead community engagement initiatives that encourage behaviour change
• Support the implementation of projects that protect land, water and biodiversity values

This role can be based in either Timaru or Twizel.

For more information on this role, please refer to the job description at the bottom of the advert.

You’ll be passionate about helping communities achieve environmental outcomes and comfortable working with a diverse range of stakeholders. You enjoy being out in the field, building relationships, and translating technical information into practical advice that landowners can easily apply.

Experience working with farmers, primary industry groups, community organisations or environmental programmes will be highly regarded, along with project delivery and facilitation experience. A current Class 1 driver's licence is required as regular travel throughout Canterbury forms part of the role.

Ideally, you’ll have a tertiary qualification in agriculture, resource management, environmental science or a related field along with:

• Up to three years' experience in farming, sustainability, biodiversity, ecology, resource management or a similar area
• Strong relationship-building and stakeholder engagement skills
• Experience working collaboratively to solve complex challenges
• The ability to communicate technical and regulatory information clearly and effectively

Our mahi is underpinned by our values:

We understand and embrace a diverse workforce; this diversity will enable us to better serve our people, our community, and our greatest taonga, the environment. We value everyone’s contribution, diverse thinking, and skills.

We're on a journey to become a treaty partner of excellence, including incorporating te ao Māori into our work. We offer supportive opportunities to develop capability in this area and encourage our people to use kaupapa Māori, mātauranga Māori, and te reo Māori in our daily work. We welcome you with an open heart & mind, wherever you are on your personal te ao Māori journey.

Short-listed candidates will be required to complete an interview process, reference checks, and a criminal check. Further background checking will be required when relevant to the role.

We are committed to creating a diverse, inclusive, and authentic workplace.