Senior Adaptation Advisor

Selwyn District Council; Rolleston; On-site; NZD 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible working

Life insurance

Career coaching

Wellbeing leave

Paid volunteer leave

Additional paid leave days

Paid Partners Leave

Sick leave from day one

Discounts with businesses

Job summary

Selwyn District Council is seeking a talented individual to lead their climate response and adaptation planning initiatives. This role is permanent and full-time, focusing on driving climate risk assessments and engaging with communities affected by climate hazards.

You will translate complex climate science into actionable advice for leaders and the public, ensuring adaptation measures are integrated into strategic plans.

Qualifications

• Strong experience in climate change adaptation, natural hazards, resource management, or public policy.
• Sound understanding of climate science and climate risk.
• Ability to communicate technical material clearly.

Responsibilities

• Lead Council's climate response and adaptation work programme.
• Complete district-wide climate risk assessments.
• Provide evidence-based advice on adaptation options.
• Facilitate workshops and public meetings.

Skills

Climate change adaptation

Stakeholder relationship building

Communication of technical material

Adaptive planning techniques

Judgement and priorities management

Job description

See more about the role below, including the responsibilities and skills we are looking for.

Rolleston, New Zealand

Reference: 6934058

• Lead Council's climate response and adaptation work programme from the ground up.
• Complex, high-stakes work with communities across a fast-growing district.
• Competitive salary + life insurance + flexible working

About the role

Selwyn is building its climate response and adaptation approach, and this role leads that work. You'll sit within the Strategic Policy and Insights team and work closely with colleagues across strategic planning and design, environment, asset management, emergency management, and water engineering.

The work spans climate risk and hazard assessment, adaptation planning with the communities most exposed to those hazards, and the policy and strategy settings that sit behind both. You'll apply adaptive pathways planning and nationally accepted good practice, and help Council work through the options, trade-offs and timing involved.

You'll translate climate science, hazard modelling and economic analysis into advice that elected members, leadership and the public can act on, and make sure adaptation is built into the Long-Term Plan, Infrastructure Strategy, District Plan and asset management plans.

This is a permanent, full-time role of 40 hours a week.

Key areas of focus include:

• Leading Council's climate response and adaptation work programme and keeping it aligned to strategic priorities.
• Completing and maintaining district-wide climate risk assessments covering Council assets, services and communities.
• Leading community adaptation planning for at-risk locations, using adaptive pathways planning and nationally accepted good practice.
• Providing expert, evidence-based advice to governance and leadership on adaptation options, costs, trade-offs and timing.
• Building enduring relationships with mana whenua so their values and mātauranga Māori inform adaptation decisions.
• Facilitating workshops and public meetings with communities affected by climate hazards.
• Commissioning and managing external technical work, and representing Council in regional and national adaptation forums.

About You

You'll be an adaptation, hazards or policy specialist who is comfortable with technical complexity and just as comfortable explaining it in a community hall. This is an emergent field, so you'll enjoy shaping an approach rather than following a settled one.

You'll bring:

• Strong experience in climate change adaptation, natural hazards, resource management or public policy, with a track record of delivering complex work.
• Sound understanding of climate science and climate risk, and of the central and local government policy settings that shape adaptation.
• Working knowledge of adaptive planning techniques, including adaptive pathways planning and trade-off assessment.
• The ability to communicate technical material clearly to leaders, elected members and the public.
• Experience building stakeholder relationships and facilitating engagement on contested or sensitive issues.
• Confidence working autonomously, exercising sound judgement and managing competing priorities.
• Curiosity and a willingness to keep developing your expertise, research and influence.

Experience in local or central government would be advantageous, as would project management experience, knowledge of te ao Māori and mātauranga Māori, and confidence working with spatial and hazard data.

What we can offer:

• Great work-life balance with flexibility
• Career coaching and development
• Life insurance
• Wellbeing and volunteer leave
• Three additional paid leave days each year
• Two weeks paid Partners Leave
• Sick leave from day one
• Discounts with local and national businesses

About us:

Selwyn is New Zealand's fastest growing district. We have a fantastic quality of life, great communities, and a thriving economy. Our Council works actively with residents to provide the services and facilities that help our communities to thrive and grow.

Our head office is based in Rolleston (only 25km from Christchurch), which offers an enviable family lifestyle, outstanding local facilities and an easy drive to the ski fields, rivers and hills that make up Canterbury's stunning landscape.

Our values are important to us and represent the way we work:

• Be a good human
• Be brave - Think differently
• Better together - Make it happen for Selwyn

We honour Te Tiriti o Waitangi and we are committed to working with our Treaty partner to deliver on our obligations under Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

Contact

Want to talk to us about joining the team? Get in touch.

Selwyn is the best place to live, work and play.

This Is Selwyn

Our values are important to all of us and represent the way we work. They underpin our friendly and innovative culture.