Principal Climate Resilience Advisor | Kaitohutohu Matua Tū Pakari Āhuarangi

Porirua’s landscape is changing and we’re looking for people to help us prepare for the future and realise our aspirations for our city. We’re a diverse, well-connected and vibrant city with significant opportunities to reduce our impact on the environment and prepare for our changing climate. Join our team and help make our city a great place to live, work and raise a family.

About the role

That’s where you come in. Right now, we’re seeking a team member with strong experience in climate change adaptation planning to continue to deliver the climate change adaption programme that seeks to build a stronger Porirua City.

You will:

• Work with all parts of council, including the executive leadership team, elected representatives and programme managers to align the delivery of Council functions with the science, policy, and legislation relating to climate change and natural hazard risk management.
• Continue to deliver the approved adaptation programme, with the next steps being a framework for community engagement, and then delivering on this
• Collaborate and partner with mana whenua, our community, and local and central government organisations to reach mutually beneficial outcomes in adaptation to climate change
• Write internal policy and lead the delivery of key programmes to support adaptation actions
• Work with the Climate & Environmental Planning team to integrate our Climate Change Strategy Rautaki o Te Ao Hurihuri into all council activities and decisions.
• Guide and advise senior leadership and elected members through complex issues, supporting sound decision making.

About you

Armed with a strong understanding of climate change, resilience, adaptation and natural hazard management, a tertiary qualification and experience working in related fields, we know you’ll hit the ground running in this exciting role.

You’ll need to show us that you have:

• A tertiary qualification and significant experience working in a related field
• A solid understanding of natural hazard and climate change related science, policy, legislation, and regulatory requirements
• The ability to think strategically, to work with complexity and to consider intergenerational solutions
• Experience in leading community engagement on complex issues
• An understanding of the challenges of local government
• Solid project management experience, with the ability to manage complex projects with multiple stakeholders
• The ability to build strong and trusting relationships within and external to Council
• Strong written and verbal communication skills
• Excellent presentation and facilitation skills

What you need to do now

Come and join our Climate and Environmental Planning team and be part of our welcoming and engaging environment. Please contact Helen Oram on 0276294337for more information.

Porirua City embraces and values diversity and inclusion. We actively encourage applications from people of all backgrounds and are a member of Diversity Works. If you have any support or access requirements during our recruitment process, please let us know when you apply, and we’ll do our best to get you sorted.

You will need to apply via our careers centre: www.poriruacity.govt.nz/careers.

To find out more about working for Porirua City Watch this video

Applications close on Monday 7 April 2025.