SLSNZ - Community Education Lead

Surf Life Saving New Zealand; Christchurch; On-site; NZD 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Surf Life Saving New Zealand in Christchurch (Dunedin considered) seeks a Community Education Lead to drive safe, high-quality water-safety education across local communities. You’ll connect schools, clubs, iwi and partners with practical programmes and lead a seasonal team to deliver engaging experiences that save lives.

You’ll balance local delivery with national standards and use data and feedback to improve reach and impact, while prioritising underserved communities and maintaining strong

Qualifications

• Experience leading education, community, youth or public-facing programme delivery.
• Proven people leadership, coaching, seasonal workforce management or teaching experience.
• Strong relationship-building skills across schools, clubs, iwi, community organisations and diverse stakeholders.
• Sound operational planning, prioritisation, problem-solving and project-management capability.

Responsibilities

• Plan and lead Beach Education and other approved Community Education programmes.
• Build trusted relationships with schools, clubs, iwi and local partners.
• Identify opportunities to grow programme reach, especially underserved communities.
• Recruit, induct, coaching and supporting seasonal instructors for engaging, culturally responsive delivery.
• Make sound local decisions about staffing, venues, equipment, programme changes and safe delivery.
• Lead local health and safety, safeguarding, emergency preparedness and incident-management arrangements.
• Use programme data, feedback and local insight to strengthen delivery quality and community impact.
• Contribute practical expertise to national planning, programme development and continuous improvement.

Skills

Leadership

Education programme delivery

Stakeholder engagement

Project management

Job description

SLSNZ - Community Education Lead

Grow Water-Safety Knowledge | Build Community Confidence | Help Prevent Drowning

Full-time | Location - Christchurch (Dunedin will also be considered)

Why This Role Matters

Every person who gains the knowledge and confidence to make safer decisions around water helps create a safer Aotearoa New Zealand. We’re looking for a Community Education Lead to lead the safe, high-quality and locally responsive delivery of Surf Life Saving New Zealand’s Community Education programmes. You’ll connect schools, clubs, iwi and community partners with practical water-safety education, while building a capable seasonal team that delivers engaging experiences where they can make the greatest difference.

What You’ll Be Doing

You’ll take ownership of Community Education delivery in your allocated area, working as part of one nationally connected team. You’ll balance strong local relationships and sound operational judgement with consistent national standards.

This includes:

• Planning and leading Beach Education and other approved Community Education programmes in response to local drowning risk and community need
• Building trusted relationships with schools, clubs, iwi, community organisations and local delivery partners
• Identifying opportunities to grow programme reach, particularly for priority and underserved communities
• Recruiting, inducting, coaching and supporting seasonal instructors to deliver engaging, culturally responsive programmes
• Making sound local decisions about staffing, venues, equipment, programme changes and safe delivery
• Leading local health and safety, safeguarding, emergency preparedness and incident-management arrangements
• Using programme data, feedback and local insight to strengthen delivery quality and community impact
• Contributing practical expertise to national planning, programme development and continuous improvement

At its core, this role is about ensuring more people can access meaningful water-safety education, delivered safely, consistently and with a genuine understanding of the communities we serve.

What You’ll Bring

You’re a confident people and programme leader who enjoys turning plans into high-quality delivery. You build trust easily, make balanced decisions and can bring together seasonal teams, community partners and colleagues around a shared purpose.

• Experience leading education, community, youth or public-facing programme delivery
• Proven people leadership, coaching, seasonal workforce management or teaching experience
• Strong relationship-building skills across schools, clubs, iwi, community organisations and diverse stakeholders
• Sound operational planning, prioritisation, problem-solving and project-management capability