Principal Adviser

at  NZ Ministry for Primary Industries

Job Title: Principal Adviser, Accelerating New Mitigations
Role type: Permanent, full-time
Location: Wellington City
General Salary Range B: $136,214 - $182,836 depending on skills and experience.
(Salary midpoint for this position is $159,525 per annum)

KŌRERO MŌ TE TŪRANGA - ABOUT THE ROLE

We are seeking a Principal Adviser, Accelerating New Mitigations to join our Programmes and Planning directorate which sits within Policy & Trade business unit. This directorate is home to MPI’s key agriculture and climate change investment and implementation programmes, including the Accelerating New Mitigations (ANM) Programme.. The Accelerating New Mitigations (ANM) Programme is established to accelerate research, development, and commercialisation of tools for farmers to reduce their methane and nitrous oxide emissions.
This is a unique opportunity to lead the Crowns involvement in AgriZeroNZ which is a world-first public-private partnership helping farmers reduce emissions while maintaining profitability and productivity. The Principal Adviser will also provide Business Unit-wide intellectual leadership in research & development investment, regulatory, policy, science, and commercialisation levers to deliver effective Green House Gas (GHG) mitigation tools for NZ farmers.

As part of this role, you will:

• Provide expert advice on investment, regulatory, policy, science and commercialisation levers to deliver effective GHG mitigation tools for farmers.
• Provide strategic advice to ensure that overall outcomes and financial objectives are being met at the fund level and improve the impact and optimisation of the ANM programme investment portfolio.
• Lead the Crowns involvement in AgriZeroNZ, a catalyst and investment industry: crown joint venture company. This includes supporting AgriZeroNZ shareholding Ministers, the effective functioning of AgriZeroNZ from a Crown perspective and monitoring AgriZeroNZ performance.
• Manage a specified portfolio of other large or high-profile investments and commercial arrangements.
• Work closely with Māori Partnerships and Investment to support the Māori specialist programmes.
• Support the Head of Programme to look at the long-term sequencing, planning and interconnection across Accelerating New Mitigation to ensure successful delivery.

To be successful in this role, you will be able to demonstrate:

• Relevant experience in a highly similar working environment; or extensive experience with commercial business and/or government agencies at domestic and international level;
• Strategic and cross-Government policy development for the primary sector;
• Strong financial budgeting and contracts management skills, which may include grant or investment funds or administration;
• Ability to build and maintain effective relationships across a range of groups and individuals with potentially conflicting interests;
• Sound understanding of the world trade environment, and the constraints and opportunities for NZ primary products;
• Very strong analytical ability; a capacity to quickly identify and clearly express core elements of an issue or proposal;
• Ability to work in an agile and changing environment