Senior Food Assurance Advisor

Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI); Wellington; On-site; NZD 89,000 - 104,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Additional MPI leave days

Annual Wellness payment

Bi-annual paid eye test and costs of眼?

Job summary

The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) is seeking a Senior Adviser Food Assurance in Wellington to lead the ongoing development and improvement of export assurance frameworks and certification systems for animal products and food. You will provide technical advice and work with industry, verifiers, and government partners to ensure compliance with domestic and international requirements.

This senior advisory role demands strong judgement, stakeholder management, and the ability to respond

Qualifications

• A relevant tertiary qualification in science, food technology, food science, microbiology, public policy, or a related discipline.
• Experience working within a regulatory, assurance, certification, food safety, or export-related environment.
• Strong customer and stakeholder relationship management skills, with credibility with industry and government partners.
• Excellent written communication for clear, concise, and influential advice and regulatory documents.
• Well-developed judgement and decision-making skills for evaluating risks and making timely decisions.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities to identify practical solutions and improve systems.
• Dairy processing experience would be highly advantageous.

Responsibilities

• Developing and improving export assurance frameworks, certification requirements, and supporting regulatory settings.
• Providing technical advice, interpretation, and guidance on export assurance, certification, and verification requirements.
• Managing assurance and certification issues, including non-conforming dairy products and urgent requests from exporters.
• Building strong relationships with industry, verifiers, and other stakeholders to ensure assurance systems remain practical, effective, and fit for purpose.
• Partnering with stakeholders to identify opportunities to modernise assurance systems and support emerging trade and market access needs.

Education

Tertiary qualification in science or related discipline

Job description

The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) is seeking a Senior Adviser Food Assurance in Wellington to lead the ongoing development and improvement of export assurance frameworks and certification systems for animal products and food. You will provide technical advice and work with industry, verifiers, and government partners to ensure compliance with domestic and international requirements.

This senior advisory role demands strong judgement, stakeholder management, and the ability to respond