Senior Adviser

Job title: Senior Adviser - Animal & Aquatic Risk

Role type: Permanent, full-time preferred

Location: Wellington City

Salary band & range: GSR E/D $87,008 to $118,005 depending on skills and experience

About the Role - Kōrero mō te Tūranga

Are you ready for the next step in your animal health career, one that offers challenge, purpose, and genuine work-life balance? This role provides an opportunity to contribute directly to growing New Zealand's economy while safeguarding our unique biodiversity and way of life. We are seeking a Senior Adviser to join the Animal & Aquatic Risk team, with a strong focus on animal health and veterinary science expertise.

As a Senior Adviser in the Animal & Aquatic Risk team, you will deliver high-quality, evidence-based advice on biosecurity risks across import pathways and the wider biosecurity system. Your work will support decision-making that minimises the likelihood and impact of harmful animal diseases entering or spreading within New Zealand. You'll apply your knowledge of veterinary science, epidemiology, and animal disease risk to assess threats, shape risk management measures, and help enable safe trade.

Working alongside other advisers in a collaborative, multidisciplinary team, you'll contribute to a diverse and impactful work programme. This includes import risk analysis, response, and readiness activities, and providing advice on complex, real-world issues raised at the border and through trade negotiations. Your science-led insights will support decisions that protect New Zealand's animal health while enabling safe movement of goods and supporting international trade.

In this role, you will:

• Assess and communicate biosecurity risks to support safe import decisions
• Inform risk management to protect New Zealand's domestic animal health
• Provide science-based advice on animal, aquatic, and zoonotic diseases
• Develop and review risk assessments for imports and biosecurity incursions
• Analyse risks associated with animals and animal products across pathways
• Support readiness and response for animal disease incursions
• Collaborate across MPI and agencies such as Department of Conservation on complex biosecurity issues

About You – Mōu

You bring a passion for animal health and a strong desire to apply your expertise to work that makes a tangible difference to New Zealand's economy, trade, and way of life. Whether you're an experienced veterinarian seeking improved work-life balance, or someone with a background in animal or veterinary science, you're motivated by the opportunity to deepen your knowledge of animal diseases and contribute to science-based decision-making. You understand how pathogens behave in animals and animal products and are eager to continue learning in a supportive, multidisciplinary environment.

To be successful in this role, you will have:

• A tertiary qualification in veterinary science or related field
• Knowledge of animal diseases and how pathogens behave in animals and products
• Strong analytical, critical thinking, and evaluation skills
• Ability to interpret and communicate scientific information to varied audiences
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• A proactive approach to learning, with adaptability and curiosity
• Ideally, experience in research, fieldwork, or laboratory settings
• Exposure to regulatory or policy environments is beneficial but not essential

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.

About the Team -

Mō tō mātou Rōpū

The Animal & Aquatic Risk team sits within the Biosecurity Risk Advice Group, part of the Biosecurity Import and Export Standards Directorate at Biosecurity New Zealand. We provide fit-for-purpose scientific advice and risk assessments to support robust biosecurity decision-making. Our work spans animal, aquatic, and marine organisms, focusing on risks that could impact New Zealand's land, freshwater, and marine environments.

As part of a wider directorate responsible for setting and managing import and export standards, our team contributes to the rules that goods and craft must meet before entering New Zealand. We support activities such as market access, system audits of exporting countries, and standards for border facilities. This gives our team a unique vantage point across the biosecurity system, working closely with others to enable safe trade while protecting Aotearoa.

We are a diverse, multidisciplinary, and highly collaborative team with a strong team culture. Our backgrounds span veterinary, marine, and scientific disciplines, and we prioritise learning, development, and shared problem-solving. We work closely together reviewing each other's work, learning collectively, and supporting growth. We value connection as much as collaboration, regularly coming together as a team, sharing food, and enjoying a supportive, open-minded environment.

About MPI - Mō Te Manatū Ahu Matua

The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) partners with New Zealand's food and fibre sector to be the world's most trusted provider of high-value food and fibre products.

Benefits of working at MPI - Ngā hua o te mahi i te Manatū Ahu Matua

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

Are you ready to make a difference? - Kua rite koe mō tēnei mahi whaitake?

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.

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 11.59pm 25 July 2026

If you have any questions about the role, please email [email protected]

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