Principal Adviser National Exercises

Principal Adviser National Exercises

Role type : Permanent full-time

Location : Wellington

Salary band & range : General Salary Range C - $119,376 to $160,026 depending on skills and experience

About the Role - Korero mo te Turanga

This Principal Adviser role will work within the Biosecurity Intelligence, Systems & Response (BISR) directorate reporting to the Assistant Commissioner Compliance & Response.

You will be responsible for leading, developing and delivering exercises across our Biosecurity system and providing subject matter expertise for all of MPI.

In the first year you will work with the team to deliver an all of government national exercise on Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD).

You will leverage from existing efforts of others within MPI and will guide a small team to successful delivery in 2026.

This will involve :

• Developing and managing relationships within MPI and across the government sector.
• Leading and coordinating arrangements for the national exercise with the National Resilience System.
• Thinking strategically to identify risks and opportunities, using a pragmatic customer-centric approach.
• Ensure implementation of the work programme is based on well-researched assessment and monitoring of MPI's capability and capacity to respond.

Following the successful delivery of the FMD exercise you will lead the debrief process and deliver a set of corrective actions for MPI to consider.

The experience gained from this work will reinforce our future exercise capability across MPI.

We have a culture of continuous improvement and the Principal Adviser National Exercises will be a leader in the way we socialise, train and exercise to be operationally ready.

About You - Mou

You will be adaptable and bring the ability to thrive in a complex and sometimes ambiguous environment.

Our ideal candidate will be team players who are resourceful, have initiative and a proven ability to deliver results.

You will be able to think creatively, work under pressure, and prioritise your work.

You will bring a high degree of enthusiasm and energy to the role.

Additionally, you will have :

About the Team - Mo to matou ropu

The Biosecurity, Intelligence, Systems and Response Directorate forms part of the Biosecurity New Zealand Branch and is responsible for bringing together critical capability to effectively prepare and manage responses, and to co-ordinate recovery and long-term management activities, as well as compensation resulting from actions taken to manage biosecurity incursions to those economically impacted.

As a directorate we work across biosecurity, food, primary production and trade systems.

About MPI - Mo te Manatu Ahu Matua

Our role includes seizing export opportunities for our food and fibre sector, improving sector productivity, ensuring the food we produce is safe, increasing sustainable resource use, and protecting New Zealand from biological risk.

Benefits of working at MPI - Nga hua o te Mahi i te Manatu Ahu Matua

Are you ready to make a difference?

We are committed to being a good partner under Te Tiriti o Waitangi which includes working closely with iwi, hapu, whanau and hapori.

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 Manatu 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.

To view the position description and / or apply online, please click "APPLY FOR THIS JOB" or visit the MPI Careers Site.

To apply, you must hold the right to work in New Zealand or be eligible to obtain it – click here to find out more about work visa eligibility and options.

Applications close at midnight on Monday 6 October 2025.

If you have any questions about the role, please email

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