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Associate Director - HortNZ Board

HortNZ is seeking an Associate Director to serve and gain experience on its Board.

This is a development opportunity for a future industry leader to join the HortNZ Board and gain experience in governance, leadership, and strategy. This will build on the future leader’s current horticulture experience and prepare the successful applicant for governance roles in the horticulture sector. The role will give the Associate Director the opportunity to be mentored by experienced directors and undertake governance training.

This is a non-voting role however the Board seeks full participation in meetings and will welcome constructive contributions from the Associate Director in the workings of the Board.

Term
The term of appointment is 18-months (July 2025–December 2026), which provides an opportunity to settle in and actively participate in a full year of operations. 

Skills

• Active involvement in a horticultural enterprise giving an understanding of the issues and challenges that horticulture and growers face.
• Strategic thinker with the motivation to learn and develop the skills necessary for governance. The HortNZ Board upholds the Institute of Directors four pillars of governance, and this will be the platform that underpins the role – determining organizational purpose; ensuring an effective organisational culture; holding management to account and effective compliance.
• Ability to interpret reports – financial, operational and technical.

Attributes 

• Empathy for the interests of horticulture growers and their aspirations
• Analytical abilities with a pragmatic approach
• The ability to communicate with logic and be persuasive in debate, respectful and concise
• Able to argue effectively for their views but also accommodate the need for Board consensus
• Enquiring type of character who probes the facts and challenges assumptions
• The willingness to develop their skills
• Comfortable and happy to develop industry wide relationships for the betterment of the industry
• Be able to display sound judgement and common sense
• Conflicts of interests are declared and able to be managed
• Ability to discern sensitive information and maintain confidentiality
• The ability to manage their existing workload and deadlines to accommodate the board work
• A strong sense of ethics and what is right
• A belief in the activities that HortNZ is tasked with
• A desire to make a difference.

Other requirements 
Applicants must have the support of their employer (if not self-employed) before applying for this opportunity and will be required to sign a confidentiality agreement.

The recruitment process is being managed through BambooHR - applicants will be required to provide a CV and a covering letter that outlines the following:

• Reasons for applying for the role
• What you expect to gain from the opportunity including how it will contribute to your leadership goals
• How you might contribute to the Boards's skills, experience and perspectives.

Click here for the position description and to apply.

Any questions regarding the Associate Director role can be sent to Kate.Longman@hortnz.co.nz

Applications close Friday, 16 May 2025.

Senior Risk Policy Advisor (x2)

HortNZ are looking for two motivated and experienced Senior Risk Policy Advisors to join our high-performing Risk Policy team. 

About the team
At HortNZ, the Risk Policy team sits within the Strategy and Policy team. We work across sectors and with regulators to find practical solutions that support grower success while protecting our environment. We do this by:

• Gaining a deep understanding of current and emerging grower challenges and priorities
• Identifying risks from biosecurity, food safety, crop protection, and adverse events
• Ensuring national policies and regulations are practical for growers while addressing real risks
• Developing tools and frameworks to help growers manage these risks effectively
• Keeping growers and rural professionals up to date with new regulations, policies, and best practices

About the role

• Wellington-based, hands-on role
• Diverse, meaningful work supporting New Zealand growers
• Lead portfolios in biosecurity, crop protection, food safety and more
• Drive evidence-based advocacy in a purpose-driven sector

This is a senior-level role where you will use your expertise to advocate for growers, often in collaboration with other industry stakeholders.

Your focus will be on pan-sector risks — primarily in the areas of biosecurity, food safety, and crop protection — and you will lead one or more portfolios depending on your background and interests. You’ll build strong relationships across the sector, working with growers, product groups, regulators, and other stakeholders to ensure practical, evidence-based policy outcomes.

Who we are looking for
You’re someone who thrives in a fast-paced, purpose-led environment. You have strong policy or technical experience in a relevant area of the primary sector and enjoy applying strategic- and critical thinking to complex challenges. To succeed in this role, you will have:

• A relevant tertiary qualification
• Relevant experience in policy, technical, or scientific roles within the primary sector
• A strong understanding of biosecurity, food safety, crop protection, or other key risk areas
• Experience scoping and leading complex projects, often with competing priorities
• Excellent communication skills — both written and verbal
• The ability to explain technical and policy issues in plain language (and vice versa)
• Strong analytical and critical thinking skills
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively, and to manage multiple priorities
• Willingness to travel within New Zealand occasionally, including overnight.

We’d especially love to hear from you if you have experience in central government regulation or science-based policy development.

What we offer

• Competitive salary 
• 20 days annual leave plus your birthday off
• Full time 40 hours per week with flexible work arrangements, including one work-from-home day per week
• Excellent learning and development opportunities
• A supportive, passionate, and highly motivated team based in central Wellington.

To apply

Click here to view the position description for the role and here to apply.

Please note

• We will only accept applications through our internal application tracking system, BambooHR
• Applicants for this position should have New Zealand residency/citizenship or valid NZ work visa
•  We reserve the right to close the advertisement early if we receive enough applicants for the role.

If you require any further assistance or have any questions regarding the application process, please contact qinhua.shen@hortnz.co.nz.

Applications close midnight Tuesday, 6 May 2025.