Manager Stakeholder Engagement

Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI); Wellington; On-site; NZD 142,000 - 166,000; Full time

Job summary

The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) seeks a Manager, Stakeholder Engagement in Wellington to lead a small team within New Zealand Food Safety. The role focuses on developing and delivering engagement strategies with industry partners to strengthen the food system and consumer confidence.

You will work across NZFS and MPI, collaborating with senior leaders to guide engagement programmes in a dynamic regulatory environment and deliver impact for NZ’s food sector.

Qualifications

• Experience in strategic engagement, public relations, and corporate communications.
• Ability to navigate central and local government complexities.
• Collaborative leadership and relationship building.

Responsibilities

• Manage a small engagement team across NZ Food Safety and MPI.
• Develop and deliver an engagement strategy and annual work programme.
• Support staff to engage with a broad range of stakeholders.
• Collaborate with senior leadership and Deputy Director-General NZ Food Safety.

Skills

Strategic engagement

Public relations

Corporate communications

Leadership

Government navigation

Job description

Job Description

Job Title: Manager, Stakeholder Engagement

Role type: Fixed-Term, Full-time (Until June 2027)

Location: Wellington City

Salary band and Range: General Salary Range B - $141,717 - $165,970 depending on skills and experience

About the Role - Kōrero mō te Tūranga

New Zealand Food Safety leads the development, implementation and oversight of the regulatory and compliance system that underpins our impressive food economy.

Ensuring producers and growers have the best opportunities to thrive and grow their business leads through to having consumers have the knowledge that the food in front of them is safe and suitable and the best product for them, their whānau and friends.

Day to day, the role will manage a small team, and work across MPI to develop, support and coordinate its engagement activities. There are opportunities to use your strategic engagement experience to help prevent foodborne illness and support New Zealand's important primary sector. You'll stay aware of emerging issues and ensure a collaborative approach that leverages all knowledge and channels across the Food Safety system.

No two days are the same, with an interesting variety of work including designing toolkits for MPI to help our people engage with industry stakeholders or designing a visitor programme for senior leaders or the Minister.

This unique opportunity will continue to build a recently established stakeholder engagement team within NZFS to help us build our profile, relationships and reach everyone who we need to work with.

• Develop and deliver an engagement strategy and annual work programme based on the needs of New Zealand Food Safety
• Lead an engagement team who works collaboratively across New Zealand Food Safety, and wider Ministry for Primary Industries.
• Support our people to engage across a broad range of stakeholders and partners.
• Work closely alongside senior leadership teams and the Deputy Director-General New Zealand Food Safety

About You - Mōu

We are seeking an ambitious and adaptable leader with experience in strategic engagement, public relations, and corporate communications. You'll need to be confident navigating the complexities of central and local government. You may be looking for your next career jump into a manager role.

You will need to be agile and able to thrive in a complex environment. Our ideal candidate has a collaborative working style and develops strong relationships and systems.

To join us, you will need:

• Experience in public relations, corporate communications, and a track record of successfully developing, managing and leading engagement strategies and programmes.
• Use your organisational and political nous to assess and advise on complexities within NZFS
• Advanced communication skills, written and verbal with the ability to communicate complex issues to a range of stakeholders and audiences.
• A cooperative and collaborative working style and strong relationship building skills
• A high level of organisational skills, the ability to deliver on time and solve problems as they arise.
• Strategic outlook and strong attention to detail.

You do not need to meet all of the role requirements to apply. We offer a breadth of development and learning opportunities and will welcome an application if you think you could make a great fit.

About the Team - Mō tō mātou Rōpū

This role will be part of a recently established team within New Zealand Food Safety, leading a team of 4 to deliver on work programmes within the business but to also add value to work that has a direct impact for NZ and consumers. The team is part of the Regulatory Support & Performance Directorate which provides support to the leadership of New Zealand Food Safety to ensure a strategic focus, integrated stakeholder and partner engagement, strong governance, and the effective implementation of critical programme and projects. We are based in Wellington and work in a complex and fast-moving environment.

About MPI - Mō Te Manatū Ahu Matua

The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) partners with New Zealand's food and fibre sector to be the world's most sustainable provider of high-value food and primary products.

Are you ready to make a difference? - Kua rite koe mō tēnei mahi whaitake?

We are committed to being a good partner under Te Tiriti o Waitangi which includes working closely with iwi, hapū, whānau and hāpori.

We aspire to reflect the diverse communities we serve, so we welcome applications from individuals of all backgrounds, and identities. As an organisation, we are committed to making Manatū Ahu Matua Ministry for Primary Industries a great place to work for all.

In your cover letter we'd like to know about you, your values, your whakapapa; your interest and motivations for this role; the abilities, strengths, personal attributes and diverse perspectives you will bring to the role and this organisation, which may have also been gained outside of the workforce.

If you have any questions about the role, please email [e-mail]

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Applications close at midnight on Thursday 15th October 2026