Recovery Manager

Wellington City Council; Wellington; Hybrid; NZD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

5 weeks annual leave

Flexible working options

Health and wellbeing support

Staff discounts

Job summary

Wellington City Council seeks an experienced Recovery Manager to lead recovery readiness, governance and capability for New Zealand’s capital. You will shape how the city prepares for and coordinates recovery from emergencies, partnering across mana whenua, WREMO, NEMA and government agencies.

You will own the governance framework, develop playbooks and transition processes, and drive capability through training and exercises while reporting to senior leaders and governance bodies.

Qualifications

• At least 10 years’ experience in senior leadership, emergency management, resilience, recovery or related roles.
• Strong knowledge of New Zealand’s emergency management framework and recovery arrangements.
• Experience developing and implementing recovery frameworks, plans, governance arrangements or comparable systems for complex disruption.
• Experience leading complex multi-agency programmes, recovery activity or work requiring coordination across organisational boundaries.
• Capability in organisational resilience, business continuity, programme management, assurance, performance reporting and risk management.
• Experience providing strategic advice to senior leaders, elected members or governance bodies.
• People-leadership experience, including building specialist capability and supporting performance and development.
• Strong relationship-management skills with mana whenua, iwi, communities and partners.
• Understanding of community-led recovery, equity and inclusion, and social, economic, cultural, built and natural environments of recovery.

Responsibilities

• Own and maintain the Council’s recovery readiness and governance framework.
• Develop and maintain recovery strategies, plans, playbooks, activation arrangements and transition processes.
• Keep recovery governance structures, decision-making frameworks and reporting mechanisms ready for activation.
• Support the transition from response into recovery during significant emergencies and disruptions.
• Lead or support recovery governance and coordinate planning across Council and partners.
• Integrate outcomes across social, economic, cultural, built and natural environments into recovery planning and delivery.
• Support community-led recovery that recognises local strengths and aspirations and reflects equity and wellbeing.
• Maintain awareness of impacts, risks, resources and emerging issues; provide clear reporting.
• Build recovery capability through training, exercises, testing, assurance and continuous improvement.
• Provide strategic advice to senior leaders and governance bodies.
• Build trusted relationships with mana whenua, iwi, communities and partners.
• Lead, coach and develop specialist staff and strengthen recovery capability.

Skills

Leadership

Emergency management

Resilience

Governance

stakeholder engagement

Strategic reporting

People management

Education

Relevant tertiary qualification in emergency management or related discipline

Significant equivalent professional experience

Tools

CIMS training

WREMO familiarity

Job description

Shape how Wellington prepares for and leads recovery.

Recovery does not begin when an emergency response ends. The foundations are built beforehand: clear governance, practical plans, capable people, trusted relationships and arrangements that can be activated under pressure.

Wellington City Council is seeking an experienced Recovery Manager to lead the Council’s recovery readiness, governance and capability. This is an opportunity to shape how New Zealand’s capital prepares for and coordinates recovery from emergencies and other significant disruption, with consequences for community wellbeing, city services, infrastructure, the economy, culture and the natural environment.

The City Resilience and Emergency Management unit provides integrated, end-to-end leadership across resilience, readiness, response and recovery. As a core member of its leadership team, the Recovery Manager owns the Council’s recovery governance framework and ensures recovery structures, decision-making arrangements, reporting mechanisms, plans and people are ready to activate.

You will work closely with the Emergency Management Lead. That role leads emergency response capability and response operations; the Recovery Manager prepares for recovery, supports the transition from response and leads or supports recovery governance and coordination during significant events. The roles operate as part of one connected system, with distinct accountabilities.

Recovery is neither quick nor controlled by one organisation. The role brings together people across Council, mana whenua, iwi, communities, WREMO, NEMA, infrastructure providers, government agencies and other partners to establish shared priorities and support coordinated, community-led recovery. You will lead specialist staff, with the position description indicating two to five direct reports, and build recovery capability across the wider organisation.

You will:

• Own and maintain the Council’s recovery readiness and governance framework.
• Develop and maintain recovery strategies, plans, playbooks, activation arrangements and transition processes.
• Keep recovery governance structures, decision-making frameworks and reporting mechanisms ready for activation.
• Support the transition from response into recovery during significant emergencies and disruptions.
• Lead or support recovery governance and coordinate recovery planning, priorities and activity across Council and partner organisations.
• Integrate social, economic, cultural, built-environment and natural-environment outcomes into recovery planning and delivery.
• Support community-led recovery that recognises local strengths and aspirations and reflects equity, inclusion and community wellbeing.
• Maintain awareness of recovery impacts, risks, resources and emerging issues, and provide clear performance and outcome reporting.
• Build recovery capability through training, exercises, testing, assurance, reviews and continuous improvement.
• Provide strategic advice and reporting to senior leaders, elected members and governance bodies.
• Build trusted working relationships with mana whenua, iwi, communities, WREMO, NEMA, infrastructure providers, government agencies and other recovery partners.
• Lead, coach and develop specialist staff and strengthen recovery capability across Council.

Ngā tohu me ngā wheako | Qualifications and experience

We are looking for a senior leader who can design sound governance and readiness arrangements, bring diverse organisations and communities together, and lead effectively through uncertainty and significant disruption.

You will bring:

• At least 10 years’ experience in senior leadership, emergency management, resilience, recovery or related roles.
• Strong knowledge of New Zealand’s emergency management framework and recovery arrangements.
• Experience developing and implementing recovery frameworks, plans, governance arrangements or comparable systems for complex disruption.
• Experience leading complex multi-agency programmes, recovery activity or work requiring coordination across organisational boundaries.
• Capability in organisational resilience, business continuity, programme management, assurance, performance reporting and risk management.
• Experience providing strategic advice to senior leaders, elected members or governance bodies.
• People-leadership experience, including building specialist capability and supporting performance and development.
• Strong relationship-management skills and experience working with mana whenua, iwi, communities and a wide range of partner organisations.
• An understanding of community-led recovery, equity and inclusion, and the social, economic, cultural, built and natural environments of recovery.
• A relevant tertiary qualification in emergency management, disaster recovery, public administration, planning, resilience, business continuity or a related discipline. Significant equivalent professional experience will also be considered.

Relevant experience may have been gained through recovery, resilience, emergency management, business continuity, infrastructure, utilities, planning, public administration or complex multi-agency programme leadership.

Local-government experience, familiarity with WREMO arrangements, CIMS training, professional emergency management, recovery or resilience qualifications, and experience leading recovery following a significant event would be useful but are not essential. If your background gives you the core leadership, governance, partnership and delivery capabilities needed for the role, we encourage you to apply.

Nōu te rourou | What's in it for you

This is an opportunity to shape an enduring recovery capability for New Zealand’s capital. Your work will influence how Wellington prepares for disruption, makes decisions under pressure and supports communities, services, infrastructure, the economy and the environment through immediate, medium-term and long-term recovery.

The role combines strategic leadership, governance design, partnership building, activation readiness and delivery during significant events. You will lead a specialist team while working across Council and with regional and national partners to turn recovery plans into arrangements that can operate when they are needed.

You will join the City Resilience and Emergency Management unit, where recovery is connected with resilience, business continuity, readiness and response rather than treated as a standalone post-event function. If you can bring people together around shared outcomes and make complex arrangements practical, clear and ready to use, we would welcome your application.

Working for the Council offers you a range of benefits including 5 weeks annual leave, flexible working options, health and wellbeing support, Council staff discounts and a range of learning and development programmes and opportunities.

We want your application to enable you to portray the real you. Skills are gained across many areas of our life, not just formal employment. If you can demonstrate the skills listed in the advert through whānau life, community or mahi aroha (volunteering) we encourage you to apply and share your story with us in your cover letter.

We welcome applications from all people and like our workforce to reflect the diverse communities we serve.

Accessibility Support:

We want to make sure any accessibility requirements you may have, are well supported so the selection process is equitable for everyone. Please let us know if there are any adjustments or support, we can offer to make our process more accessible to you by emailing: [e-mail]

Applications close 18 October 2026. Please note that we may engage with applicants prior to the vacancy closing and/or close applications ahead of this date so we encourage you to submit your application as soon as possible.

All applications must be submitted online and must have the right to work in New Zealand – we will not accept emailed applications.

All employees must undergo a Criminal Conviction Check, the results of which will be held on your employee file if employed.

If you have questions, please contact Phil Becker, Manager City Resilience and Emergency Management, [e-mail]

Details

Location(s): Wellington CBD

Expertise: Community services, Compliance, consents, regulation and licencing, Democratic, electoral and governance services, Iwi/public engagement and relations, Legal, Risk management, audit and assurance