Branch & Network Support Advisor (Parental Leave Cover)

Overview

Forest & Bird is Aotearoa New Zealand's leading independent conservation organisation. For more than a century, we have been advocating and speaking out for te taiao nature on land and in our seas, as well as coordinating community-based projects throughout Aotearoa New Zealand. The Branch and Network Support Team supports 44 active volunteer branches across the Motu and a growing number of networks.

We are seeking a perceptive team player to join our friendly, high-performing Growing Support team for a 12-month fixed-term role, covering parental leave. In this position, you will play a key part in delivering our volunteer support function and contributing to meaningful conservation outcomes.

We are looking for someone with proven experience of change and / or improvement project planning, management, and delivery, who can form positive and effective relationships, communicate and collaborate very well, and enable compliance with legislative standards & requirements. They need to be proactive and resourceful, committed to the shared vision of volunteering with F&B, and someone who uses initiative to solve problems and achieve results.

While creative and innovative, this person is also highly organised, self-motivated, and able to prioritise well. It’s important that they are confident using Microsoft 365 applications, and having challenging conversations, on occasion. This role will be core to work to grow our adult volunteering community, delivering the 2026 F&B AGM, our planned general election-focused Regional Hui across the motu, and Health & Safety priorities.

This is a fixed term role, full-time 37.5 hours per week, based at our Wellington Office in Te Aro (we will consider alternative locations for the right person)

The role will start January 2026, and finish after 12 months. We have a flexible work policy.

What you’ll bring :

This is a busy position best suited to a critical thinker who would thrive in an environment that affords them the opportunity to influence and own initiatives and provide support to volunteers directly.

The new colleague we are looking for will have / be :

• Energised by the opportunity to lead substantial, challenging work that will deliver meaningful and lasting impact.
• Proven experience with developing and implementing improvement projects, from start to finish, running organisationally important events (digitally and in-person), and growing participation and engagement in the community, ideally with volunteers.
• Proactive and resourceful, using initiative and data to solve problems and achieve results.
• Confident using a range of Microsoft 365 applications (including Teams and SharePoint) and comfortable working with communication platforms (like MailChimp), CRMs / Databases, and H&S systems.
• Able to support volunteer leaders to use a range of Microsoft 365 applications (including Teams and SharePoint) and H&S systems, answer questions and queries on a range of topics, and find the answer if required.
• A warm, inspiring, and professional telephone manner and written communication style, and the ability to build rapport with a wide range of people, over the phone, via email, and in person.
• Proficiency in spoken and written English (you will be encouraged and supported to develop confidence in the use of te reo Māori).
• A positive, resilient, and collaborative attitude.
• Experience within a membership organisation and / or knowledge of the NGO and volunteering sector would be advantageous.

We are looking for someone to start in this role from early / mid-January 2026.

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