Manager Engagement

Maritimenz; Wellington, Auckland; Hybrid; NZD 195,000 - 238,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Income protection

Life insurance

Women’s Network

Rainbow Network

Te Rōpū Māori engagement

Job summary

Maritime NZ is seeking a Manager Engagement on a fixed-term basis to lead the engagement strategy function, strengthening New Zealand’s maritime partnerships across the Pacific and overseeing the Pacific Maritime Safety Programme (PMSP).

You will drive a coordinated approach to stakeholder engagement across New Zealand, the Pacific region, and international maritime sectors, ensuring activities support regulatory, safety and harm prevention outcomes.

Qualifications

• Proven experience leading engagement strategy and delivery within a complex public sector, regulatory international development, or partnership focused environment.
• Proven success leading and developing high-performing teams.
• Experience building and sustaining trusted relationships with Pacific governments, regional organisations, development partners, or international stakeholders.
• Strong understanding of the Pacific operating environment and regional partnership initiatives.
• Experience providing strategic oversight of complex programmes or portfolios, ideally involving international partnerships or multi‑agency initiatives.
• Outstanding communication, consultation and relationship management skills.
• Strong strategic thinking and ability to translate strategy into practical engagement activity.
• Experience working across government, with iwi/Māori, industry groups, community stakeholders or international partners.
• Financial and commercial acumen, including budget oversight and value for money across programmes.

Responsibilities

• Lead Maritime NZ's engagement strategy function with a focus on strengthening Pacific maritime partnerships and overseeing the PMSP.
• Drive a coordinated engagement approach across New Zealand, the Pacific, and international maritime sectors to deliver regulatory and safety outcomes.
• Provide strategic leadership to a team of engagement professionals and align activities with organisational priorities.
• Build trusted relationships and influence positive change across the maritime system.
• Support regional capability-building initiatives and ensure PMSP delivers meaningful outcomes for Pacific maritime safety.

Skills

Engagement strategy

Team leadership

Relationship management

Strategic thinking

Public sector/regulatory experience

Budget oversight

Job description

Our Vision: Preventing Harm. Saving Lives. Securing our Future

We play a key role in the guardianship of New Zealand waterways. We’re bringing together our aroha, work and skills to achieve our outcomes of sustainable supply chains and sectors, safe people and operations, secure ports and ships, and clean seas and waterways.

Our values are about who we are as individuals and the behaviours we expect from each other at Maritime NZ.

Care | Kia Tika - We care for each other and do the right thing

Courage | Kia Māia - We are brave, capable and confident

The Partnerships and Engagement group provides organisation-wide leadership for stakeholder engagement, partnerships, communications, education and sector relationships. It works to ensure engagement activities are aligned to regulatory and harm prevention outcomes.

Within this, the Engagement team leads Maritime NZ’s strategic engagement across New Zealand and the Pacific, including oversight of the Pacific Maritime Safety Programme (PMSP). Working closely with industry, government agencies, iwi, Pacific partners, and international stakeholders to build trusted relationships, coordinate engagement activity and support positive change across the maritime sector.

Te tūnga | The role

This is a fixed-term opportunity covering parental leave. As Manager Engagement, you will lead Maritime New Zealand's engagement strategy function, with a significant focus on strengthening New Zealand’s maritime partnerships across the Pacific and providing strategic oversight of the Pacific Maritime Safety Programme (PMSP). You will drive a coordinated approach to stakeholder engagement across New Zealand, the Pacific region, and international maritime sectors, ensuring engagement activity supports Maritime NZ's regulatory, safety, harm prevention and stewardship objectives.

Reporting to the Deputy Chief Executive Partnerships and Engagement, you'll provide strategic leadership to a team of engagement professionals, ensuring engagement activities are aligned to organisational priorities and deliver meaningful regulatory, safety and harm prevention outcomes. You will play a key role in continuing Maritime NZ's Pacific engagement approach, supporting regional capability‑building initiatives, and ensuring the PMSP remains effective in delivering meaningful outcomes for Pacific maritime safety and resilience.

This role combines strategic planning, programme oversight, stakeholder leadership and people management, with a strong focus on building trusted relationships and influencing positive change across the maritime system.

To be successful in this role you will have:

• Demonstrated experience leading engagement strategy and delivery within a complex public sector, regulatory international development, or partnership focused environment.


• Proven success leading and developing high-performing teams.


• Significant experience building and sustaining trusted relationships with Pacific governments, regional organisations, development partners, or international stakeholders.


• Strong understanding of the Pacific operating environment, including the opportunities and challenges associated with regional partnership and capacity‑building initiatives.


• Experience in providing strategic oversight of complex programmes or portfolios, ideally involving international partnerships, donor-funded programmes, or multi-agency initiatives.


• Outstanding communication, consultation and relationship management skills.


• Strong strategic thinking coupled with the ability to translate strategy into practical engagement activity.


• Experience working across government, with iwi/Māori, industry groups, community stakeholders or international partners.


• Financial and commercial acumen, including budget oversight performance management, and ensuring value for money across programmes and initiatives.


• Sound judgement, political awareness and the confidence to navigate complex, sensitive and cross-cultural environments.


• A commitment to Te Ao Māori, Te Tiriti o Waitangi principles and inclusive engagement practices.

Maritime NZ recognises and respects te Tiriti o Waitangi and we are committed to working with Māori to build strong, meaningful and enduring relationships to achieve mutually beneficial outcomes.

We aim to be a workplace where everyone feels valued, supported with a sense of belonging. We encourage our people to actively contribute to our workplace culture where we all thrive and authentically live our MNZ values.

Upon joining us you’ll receive a full range of benefits including Income Protection & Life Insurance. We also have two employee led networks; Women’s Network or Rainbow Network, along with staff engagement groups such as Te Rōpū Māori that you may want to join. Check out our full range on our careers page to find out more about why we love working here.

Salary range

$194,796 to $238,085 depending on skills and experience + superannuation.

Applications for this role close midnight Thursday 15 October. Please also note that you must have the legal right to live and work in New Zealand to be considered for this role.