Senior Adviser (Food Act Operations)

Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI); Christchurch; On-site; NZD 100,000 - 119,000; Full time

Job summary

A government agency in New Zealand is seeking a Senior Adviser to join their Food Act Operations team in Christchurch. This permanent, full-time role focuses on enhancing the country's food safety framework through strategic collaboration with stakeholders. The ideal candidate will have proven experience in regulatory environments and excellent communication skills. This role offers a competitive salary range of $100,934 to $118,005 and the opportunity to contribute to meaningful change in food safety systems.

Qualifications

• Proven experience working with recognized agencies or territorial authorities.
• Demonstrated ability to build and maintain collaborative relationships.
• Experience in regulatory environments, food safety, or food processing.

Responsibilities

• Establishing and maintaining effective communication with stakeholders.
• Providing oversight of co-regulators and monitoring performance.
• Collaborating with stakeholders to promote innovative regulatory approaches.
• Providing expert technical advice on food safety standards.
• Leading food safety related projects and initiatives.
• Building networks with key stakeholders.
• Providing coaching and mentoring to colleagues.
• Participating in food safety incident management and emergency response.

Skills

Strategic thinking

Excellent problem-solving

Organizational skills

Ability to communicate complex ideas

Education

Understanding of New Zealand's Food Safety legislative and regulatory environment

Job description

Job Description

Senior Adviser (Food Act Operations)

Role type: Permanent, full-time

Location: Christchurch

Salary band & range: General Salary Range D: $100,934 to $118,005 depending on skills and experience

About the Role - Kōrero mō te Tūranga

As a Senior Adviser in the Food Act Operations team, you'll help us support the systems and services that underpin and enhance New Zealand's food safety framework. You will be a key player in a small group focussed on building and maintaining strong collaborative relationships with recognised agencies, territorial authorities, third-party service providers, and other key stakeholders to ensure consistent and effective application of domestic food regulatory requirements across the country.

This is a dynamic and proactive role that requires adaptability, strategic thinking, communication and a commitment to continuous improvement. You'll be part of a team that's focused on finding and delivering smarter, more effective ways to regulate a diverse and evolving food sector. If you're a proven thinker, communicator and relationship builder who thrives in a fast-paced environment and enjoys tackling complex challenges, we'd love to hear from you.

Key Responsibilities

• Establishing and maintaining effective communication and engagement with Territorial Authorities and third-party agencies to ensure consistent and practical application of domestic food regulation.
• Providing oversight of our co-regulators by monitoring and reporting on their performance, and establishing national performance standards where appropriate.
• Collaborating with internal and external stakeholders to promote innovative regulatory approaches to reduce compliance costs, support exports growth and address emerging issues whilst maintaining high standards of food safety and suitability
• Providing expert technical advice on food safety standards, programmes and tools to support regulatory integrity and uphold the safety and reputation of New Zealand's food products.
• Leading and contributing to food safety related projects and initiatives ensuring alignment with strategic objectives and regulatory priorities.
• Building and maintaining effective networks with key stakeholders including government agencies and industry partners to support collaboration and regulatory consistency.
• Providing coaching and mentoring to colleagues to support capability development and foster a collaborative, high-performing team environment.
• Actively participating in food safety incident management and emergency response activities as required.

About You – Mōu

To be successful in this role, you'll be a strategic thinker with a strong technical foundation and a passion for improving New Zealand's food safety systems. You will bring experience working with recognised agencies or territorial authorities and a collaborative mindset with the ability to communicate complex ideas clearly, whether you're working with industry partners, regulators, or internal teams. Your experience in regulatory environments, food safety, or food processing gives you the confidence to navigate challenges and contribute to meaningful change.

Requirements

• Proven experience working with recognised agencies or territorial authorities.
• An in depth understanding of New Zealand's Food Safety legislative and regulatory environment, particularly the Food Act 2014.
• Demonstrated ability to build and maintain collaborative relationships with stakeholders.
• Excellent problem-solving, organisational skills, and the ability to communicate complex ideas clearly to a variety of audiences.

About the Team

The Food Act Operations team sits in the Food Risk Management directorate of New Zealand Food Safety (FZFS). Food Risk Management is responsible for setting standards for food production, processing, importing and exporting; identifying emerging food safety risks; and delivering an agile and evolving food compliance and response system.

The newly formed Food Act Operations team is a team of 10 people, that will be working to support councils, verifiers, evaluators, food business and other stakeholders with their requirements under the Food Act.

About MPI - Mō Te Manatū Ahu Matua

Our role includes seizing export opportunities for our food and fibre sector, improving sector productivity, ensuring the food we produce is safe, increasing sustainable resource use, and protecting New Zealand from biological risk.

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.

Applications close at 11:59pm on Sunday, 19 October.

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