Senior Shepherd - Rangitaiki Station

Pāmu Farms of New Zealand; Waikato; On-site; NZD 80,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading farming organization in New Zealand is seeking a Senior Shepherd to manage livestock and support a high-performing team. The ideal candidate will have shepherding experience, strong stock handling skills, and an understanding of animal welfare. This role offers competitive compensation with benefits like housing, health insurance, and professional development opportunities.

Benefits

Competitive salary package

Health and life insurance

Enhanced parental leave benefits

Extra leave over Christmas

Ongoing training and development

Qualifications

• Several years of shepherding experience preferred.
• Comfortable using farm technology or willing to learn.
• A full, current New Zealand driver’s licence.

Responsibilities

• Manage livestock and animal health care.
• Work on feed budgeting with the leadership team.
• Conduct general farm maintenance and fencing.
• Support junior staff and lead by example.
• Maintain records and ensure compliance.

Skills

Stock handling skills

Problem-solving abilities

Team-focused attitude

Animal health understanding

Clear communication skills

Job description

Opportunity

Looking for more than just a job? Join a team where your passion for farming matters.

The Opportunity

Are you an experienced and motivated Senior Shepherd looking to step into a key role on a high-performing, supportive and experienced team? Working alongside a skilled Farm Leadership team who is committed to your growth, this is a great opportunity to build your confidence, broaden your experience, and contribute to a high-performing team. You’ll also become familiar with Pāmu systems and processes, learning to record data in FarmIQ.

Your Work Will Be Hands-on And Varied, Including

• Livestock management and animal health care
• Feed budgeting – working closely with the farm leadership team
• General farm maintenance and fencing
• Supporting junior staff and leading by example
• Maintaining records and ensuring environmental compliance

The Farm

Rangitaiki Station is Pāmu’s second-largest farm and New Zealand’s third-largest, covering 8,317 ha and running a diverse mix of sheep, beef and deer. The scale and complexity of the station provides unique opportunities for professional development and large-scale impact.

The Sheep, Beef And Deer System Includes

• 8,800 breeding ewes (plus progeny) + lamb trading
• Large-scale cattle trading operation with R1 bulls and steers + R2 Steers
• Deer breeding velvet operation – 1,000 MA stags and 800 hinds

The Wider Station Includes

• Specialist bull finishing operation with R2 Bulls

Located near Taupō, the station features flat to rolling terrain at 650–900m ASL. Winters are long, but explosive spring growth offers great pasture potential. The full team includes 22 skilled and passionate staff working collaboratively across farm systems.

About You

You’ll bring a strong set of stock handling skills, practical problem-solving abilities, and a team-focused attitude. This role is well-suited to someone with a few years of shepherding experience who’s ready to take on more responsibility and grow within Pāmu.

You Will Also Have

• A team of well-controlled working dogs
• Be comfortable keeping accurate records and using farm technology (or keen to learn)
• A good understanding of animal health and welfare
• Clear and open communication skills
• A high standard of personal responsibility and initiative
• A full, current New Zealand driver’s licence
• Communicate clearly and work well as part of a team

Benefits

We offer a competitive salary package, including health and life insurance, enhanced parental leave benefits, and up to 4% KiwiSaver matching. You'll also receive an extra day of leave over Christmas, plus ongoing training and development.

This opportunity comes with a warm three-bedroom home or a 2-bedroom cottage with power included.

Apply Now

Applications close on Sunday 12 October 2025, we will be speaking with candidates as and when they apply.

Please contact Farm Operations Manager – Braden Eades on 027 297 8964 or Cody Marshall – Stock Manager (Deer) on 027 301 0315 if you have any questions about this opportunity.

To be eligible for this role, you must be available for an in-person interview and have unrestricted legal rights to work in New Zealand. We are unable to accept applicants on temporary work visas for permanent opportunities.

Pāmu provides a safe workplace and the successful applicant will be required to pass a drug and alcohol test and undergo a criminal background check prior to being appointed.

Our values are core to who we are at Pāmu and the way that we all work together. We are Grounded, Genuine, Bold, and Shoulder-to-Shoulder. To read more, click on this link to see them on our website. To see what it's like to work in our Dairy team, click on this link to see A Day In The Life of a Dairy Assistant at Pāmu, or to learn about what our Livestock team is all about, click on this link to see A Day In The Life of a Shepherd at Pāmu.

Pāmu is the brand name for Landcorp Farming Limited, and successful applicants will be employed by Landcorp Farming Limited.