Team Manager Assurance, Biosecurity, & Containment

Ministry for Primary Industries NZ; Upper Hutt; On-site; NZD 122,000 - 142,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Additional MPI leave days

Annual Wellness payment

Bi‑annual paid eye test and lens/frame

Security clearance support

Job summary

Ministry for Primary Industries NZ in Upper Hutt seeks an experienced Team Manager Assurance Biosafety, & Containment to lead biosafety, containment, and assurance frameworks across the Animal Health Laboratory. You will guide incident investigations, drive continuous improvement, and ensure regulatory compliance in high‑consequence environments.

You will provide strategic advice to senior leaders, manage budgets, and collaborate with internal and external partners to strengthen operational

Qualifications

• Post-graduate qualification in microbiology or relevant scientific discipline.
• At least three years' experience in, or supervising, a microbiology laboratory.
• Strong knowledge of biosafety risk management frameworks and practices.
• Proven ability to build and maintain effective relationships with a wide range of stakeholders.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Experience making sound decisions in high‑pressure situations with significant risks.
• Strong people leadership and team management capability.
• Budget and financial management experience.
• Experience in quality assurance and laboratory health and safety practices would be advantageous.
• Experience with biocontainment building systems, procurement processes, and contracted service providers would be desirable.
• Qualifications or experience related to animal infectious diseases would be beneficial.

Responsibilities

• Lead biosafety and risk management of AHL activities, ensuring safe and compliant work.
• Provide assurance and strategic advice to senior leaders on critical business systems.
• Manage and improve systems to ensure regulatory compliance.
• Oversee maintenance and reliability of containment facilities and equipment.
• Lead investigation, reporting, and follow‑up of incidents and breaches.
• Strengthen collaboration across teams and optimize ways of working.
• Drive continuous improvement through staff development and engagement with networks.
• Manage contracted laboratory services to ensure quality and value.
• Lead business continuity planning and emergency preparedness for biosecurity events.
• Provide effective leadership, coaching, and management of the team.

Skills

Biosafety risk management

Leadership

Stakeholder engagement

Communication skills

Strategic advisory

Decision making under pressure

Budget management

Quality assurance

Education

Post-graduate qualification in microbiology or related scientific discipline

Job description

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Team Manager Assurance, Biosecurity, & Containment

Ministry for Primary Industries NZ – Upper Hutt, North Island

Team Manager Assurance Biosafety, & Containment

Role type: Permanent, full-time

Salary band & range: General Salary Range C - $121,764 to $142,494 depending on skills and experience

As the Team Manager Assurance, Biosafety, & Containment, you will play a critical leadership role in ensuring the Animal Health Laboratory's (AHL) high‑containment facilities operate safely, securely, and in compliance with regulatory requirements. Leading a specialist team, you will oversee the systems, processes, and assurance frameworks that underpin biosafety, containment, quality assurance, health and safety, and laboratory operations. Your work will help maintain the confidence of staff, stakeholders, and the wider community, while supporting the laboratory's ability to deliver its vital functions.

This is a diverse and influential role that sits at the heart of New Zealand's preparedness and response capability for high-impact terrestrial and aquatic animal diseases. You will provide expert advice and assurance to senior leaders, drive continuous improvement across critical business systems, and ensure facilities, equipment, and services remain fit for purpose. Working collaboratively across the laboratory and with external partners, you will help strengthen operational resilience, enhance business continuity, and ensure AHL remains ready to respond when it matters most.

In this role, you will:

• Lead the biosafety and risk management of AHL activities, ensuring work is conducted safely, securely, and in accordance with regulatory requirements.
• Provide assurance and strategic advice to senior leaders on the effectiveness of critical business systems and controls.
• Manage and continuously improve systems and processes to ensure compliance with legislative, regulatory, and organisational requirements.
• Oversee the maintenance and reliability of containment facilities, infrastructure, and specialist equipment to support safe and effective operations.
• Lead the investigation, reporting, and follow‑up of incidents, including containment breaches and laboratory‑acquired infections.
• Strengthen collaboration across teams by identifying opportunities to improve alignment, reduce duplication, and enhance ways of working.
• Drive a culture of continuous improvement through staff development, innovation, research, and engagement with national and international networks.
• Manage contracted laboratory services and relationships to ensure quality outcomes and value for money.
• Lead business continuity planning, emergency preparedness activities, and response readiness for biosecurity and disease response events.
• Provide effective leadership, coaching, and management of the team, fostering a high‑performing, engaged, and capable workforce.
• Manage resources, budgets, planning, reporting, and operational performance to ensure successful delivery of team objectives.

You are an experienced leader with a strong background in laboratory operations, biosafety, and risk management. You bring the technical expertise and sound judgement needed to operate in a complex, high‑consequence environment, along with the ability to provide trusted advice and assurance to senior leaders. Whether leading critical programmes of work, strengthening business systems, or ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements, you are motivated by delivering high‑quality outcomes that support New Zealand's biosecurity readiness and response capability.

To be successful in this role, you will bring:

• A post‑graduate qualification in microbiology or another relevant scientific discipline.
• At least three years' experience working in, or supervising, a microbiology laboratory.
• Strong and demonstrable knowledge of biosafety risk management frameworks and practices.
• Proven ability to build and maintain effective relationships with a wide range of internal and external stakeholders.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to convey complex technical information to diverse audiences.
• Experience making sound decisions in high‑pressure situations involving significant risks and consequences.
• Strong people leadership and team management capability.
• Budget and financial management experience.
• Experience in quality assurance and laboratory health and safety practices would be advantageous.
• Experience working with biocontainment building systems, procurement processes, and contracted service providers would be desirable.
• Qualifications or experience related to animal infectious diseases would be beneficial.

Just as importantly, you are a collaborative and adaptable leader who thrives in an environment where priorities can shift and challenges can be complex. You bring strong critical thinking skills, a continuous improvement mindset, and the ability to balance competing demands while maintaining focus on organisational outcomes. You are comfortable working through ambiguity, fostering positive working relationships, and supporting the development of others to build a high‑performing and engaged team.

You do not need to meet all of the role requirements to apply. We offer a breadth of development and learning opportunities and will welcome an application if you think you could make a great fit.

The National Biocontainment Laboratory located in Upper Hutt is New Zealand's reference centre for exotic, new, and emerging terrestrial and aquatic animal diseases and contains both PC2 and PC3+ laboratory facilities. The Assurance, Biosafety, and Containment Team is a multi‑disciplinary team responsible for a range of operational systems that ensure a safe operating environment and compliance to the required regulations and standards.

We're a large organisation with massive scope from the frontline to policy development and beyond.

• Additional MPI leave days
• Annual Wellness payment
• Bi‑annual paid eye test and contribution to the costs of corrective lenses/frames

Security checks - NgāTakiWhakahaumaru

This roles require a New Zealand national security clearance. To be considered for this role, you must meet the eligibility criteria set out below.

SECRET national security clearance

• You must be a NewZealand citizen, or hold a NewZealand residence‑class visa (including permanent residence).
• You must have a minimum ten (10)‑year background history that can be verified and assessed by the NewZealand Security Intelligence Service (NZSIS) to determine your suitability for a SECRET or TOP SECRET national security clearance (as applicable).

Find out more about the national security vetting process here and access the eligibility self‑check toolhere.

If you do not meet these minimum criteria, we will not be able to accept your application.

Please note, given this position is identified as carrying financial risk, the preferred candidate(s) will be required to satisfactorily pass a credit check.

Please note, given this position is safety sensitive the preferred candidate(s) for the position will be required to undergo a drug and alcohol pre‑employment screening test. Further information on this process can be found on our careers site, here.

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.

In your cover letter we'd like to know about you, your values; your interest and motivations for this role; the abilities, strengths, personal attributes and diverse perspectives you will bring to the role and this organisation, which may have also been gained outside of the workforce.

If you have any questions about the role, please email ***********@mpi.govt.nz

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Applications close at 11:59pm on Sunday, 16 September.