River Engineering Officer – Southern

Environment Canterbury; Auckland; Hybrid; NZD 80,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Environment Canterbury is seeking a field‑based engineer to support the Rivers team across South Canterbury. You will inspect flood protection works, supervise contractors, and coordinate with partners to ensure timely delivery of river management projects.

The role requires an Engineering qualification, a full driver’s licence, and the ability to work in challenging field conditions. Based in South Canterbury with occasional travel across the region.

Qualifications

• Experience in managing contractors and budgets in field projects.
• Awareness of health and safety requirements in field operations.
• Knowledge of asset management and river engineering practices.

Responsibilities

• Conduct asset and field inspections for flood protection works.
• Organise and supervise contractors across South Canterbury sites.
• Liaise with partners and stakeholders; deploy during floods and emergencies.

Skills

Contractor management

Budget management

Technical proficiency

HSE awareness

Asset Management

River engineering

Local government knowledge

Education

Engineering qualification

Job description

• Work in outstanding locations within South Canterbury
• Support the future strategy of the rivers team
• Contribute to maintaining flood protection works

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).

In this role, you will use your experience and understanding of river environments, engineering, contractor management, and practical field skills to support the work of Environment Canterbury’s Rivers team.

As part of an area team, you will be responsible for the construction and maintenance of flood protection works, channel management, land drainage, fluvial gravel management, and flood response across the Canterbury region.

You will do this by undertaking asset and field inspections, organising, and supervising contractors, liaising with a range of partners and stakeholders, and being deployed during floods and other types of emergencies.

This role requires being based in South Canterbury.

You may already be working in a similar role and have engineering experience or strong transferable skills related to working in flood protection, river engineering, and drainage.

As our contracts contain multiple site locations across the various rivers within South Canterbury, you will have the ability to connect with our contractors to track the progress of works in person, and onsite, which will be key to maintaining our relationships and ensuring the quality of the delivered works.

You will have a relevant qualification in Engineering, and a full drivers licence.

To ensure your success, you will need:

• Contractor and budget management experience
• Proficiency with technology, applications, and tools
• An environmental and health and safety perspective in all aspects of work
• Experience or working knowledge of Asset Management
• Work as part of a team as well as independently in the field
• Practical experience working with resource management, local government, and other legislation is preferable
• Site/Civil Construction experience is desirable
• Local knowledge of South Canterbury, including Mackenzie, Waimate, and Waitaki districts would be an advantage.

Although engineering experience is preferable, candidates with river knowledge or other relevant qualifications will be considered.

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.

For a confidential chat about this role, please contact Sam Kidner on 0800 324 636

Applications close on Wednesday, 23 September 2026. Applications will be reviewed as we receive them, and interviews may take place before the close date. We reserve the right to close advertising early.

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. If you're excited about this role but don't meet every qualification in the job description, we still encourage you to apply.