Social Scientist

DairyNZ; Otago; Hybrid; NZD 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible working arrangements

Job summary

DairyNZ is seeking a Social Scientist to understand how people make decisions and to use evidence to drive positive change in New Zealand dairy farming. You’ll work with farmers, researchers, developers, extension teams and industry stakeholders to translate insights into practical recommendations.

The role focuses on designing and delivering mixed-methods research, applying behavioural science, and evaluating impact across programmes and services. Flexible working arrangements are available.

Qualifications

• Experience in social science research and evaluation.
• Ability to turn complex insights into practical recommendations.
• Strong communication and relationship-building skills.
• Interest in agriculture or rural communities is valuable.

Responsibilities

• Design and deliver high-quality qualitative, quantitative and mixed-methods research.
• Engage directly with farmers and rural communities across New Zealand.
• Apply behavioural science and adoption frameworks to complex industry challenges.
• Develop monitoring, evaluation and learning approaches that demonstrate impact.
• Translate research findings into practical, actionable recommendations.
• Contribute to strategic projects that influence sector outcomes.
• Help build DairyNZ’s capability in social science, behavioural science and evaluation.

Job description

Understand what drives change and help shape what comes next

What motivates farmers to adapt their practices? How can science create greater impact on-farm? What drives the adoption of new ideas, technologies and practices?

At DairyNZ, these are some of the questions we're working to answer.

We're looking for a Social Scientist who is passionate about understanding people, applying evidence to real-world challenges, and helping create a positive future for New Zealand dairy farming.

This is an opportunity to do research that matters. Your work won’t sit on a shelf. It will directly inform the programmes, services and decisions that support farmers, contribute to stronger social, environmental and economic outcomes for New Zealand, and help shape the future of the dairy sector.

You’ll join a collaborative team of scientists and sector experts, working at the intersection of social science, behavioural science, systems thinking, evaluation and farmer engagement.

What you’ll be doing

No two days will look the same. You’ll work alongside farmers, researchers, developers, extension teams and industry stakeholders to understand how people make decisions and how we can support meaningful change.

You’ll:

• Design and deliver high-quality qualitative, quantitative and mixed-methods research
• Engage directly with farmers and rural communities across New Zealand
• Apply behavioural science and adoption frameworks to complex industry challenges
• Develop monitoring, evaluation and learning approaches that demonstrate impact
• Translate research findings into practical, actionable recommendations
• Contribute to strategic projects that influence sector outcomes
• Help build DairyNZ’s capability in social science, behavioural science and evaluation

About you

You might be an experienced Social Scientist, Behavioural Scientist, Researcher, Evaluator, Human Factors Specialist, Psychologist, Sociologist or someone with a closely related background.

Most importantly, you’re curious about people and passionate about using research to create positive change.

You’ll bring:

• Strong qualitative and/or quantitative research skills
• Experience designing and delivering research projects
• The ability to turn complex insights into practical recommendations
• Excellent communication and relationship-building skills
• A collaborative mindset and enjoyment of working across disciplines
• Initiative, curiosity and a desire to make a meaningful impact
• Experience in agriculture, primary industries or rural communities would be valuable, but isn’t essential.

Why DairyNZ?

At DairyNZ, you’ll have the opportunity to work on issues that genuinely matter to New Zealand's farmers, environment and economy.

When you join us, you’ll enjoy:

• Meaningful work with real-world impact
• The opportunity to influence change at a national level
• Collaboration with leading scientists, researchers and sector experts
• Flexible working arrangements
• Professional development and career growth opportunities
• A supportive and inclusive team environment
• A values-led culture built on Courage, Credibility, Connectedness and Curiosity

Don’t tick every box?

That’s okay.

Applications close Sunday 27 September 2026 at 11:55pm.