Environmental Officer Or Senior Environmental Officer

At the Otago Regional Council (ORC), our mission is to protect and enhance the environment and enable our communities to do the same. To be sure we can deliver on our responsibilities, we are evolving as an organisation, and we're not overstating when we say we have some really big targets to reach. We need the right people, in the right roles, to help us to get there.

We think Otago's a pretty special place. It covers a vast area - the third largest local government region in New Zealand. Those who call Otago home enjoy access to mountains, coastal lowlands, dramatic rivers and wild beaches. Our environment here is part of who we are, and at ORC, we work each day to look after it.

The Opportunity

We are looking for a Environmental Officer/Senior Environmental Officer to join our Compliance Monitoring team on a full time, permanent basis based from our busy Dunedin office or from our Balclutha office. We welcome all skill levels, both with entry level experience and senior experience, with details covered below for what the team is after and attached in the position description.

The purpose of the role is to provide professional, legally and technically sound services for the Council. The role focuses on Environmental Regulatory Monitoring under the Resource Management Act and other legislation the Otago Regional Council is responsible for. This role has a mixture of work in the field and office-based tasks.

As an Environmental Officer/Senior Environmental Officer, you will be responsible for:

• Undertaking auditing and assessing compliance with resource consents and permitted activities
• Promoting compliance through the provision of sound advice and information to the public
• Giving presentations to the public to aid in their understanding of, and compliance with, statutory responsibilities of the Council
• Responding to pollution complaints
• Collaborating with other Environmental staff to develop and maintain processes for quality assurance checking as required.
• Applicants applying for a Senior Environmental Officer role will also be tasked with providing support, coaching and process improvement for the regulatory team.

If you are interested in working to protect our environment in both proactive and meaningful ways, then this is the role for you!

About You

Our ideal candidate will have:

• Tertiary qualification in environmental sciences
• Regulatory or enforcement experience
• Risk management experience.
• Strong inter-personal skills and an ability to relate to a variety of people combined with a strong customer focus.
• Experience working in related industries such as forestry, water treatment, rural, contaminated land or earthworks.

What we offer

We recognise and celebrate diversity within Team ORC and are committed to providing a work environment that supports inclusion and equal opportunities. We actively encourage applications from anyone who will live our values of MANA- We influence with respect and integrity, TIKA- We do the right thing and do things right and AROHA- We show that that we care, alongside us, regardless of their background.

To support our diverse and capable team, we're pleased to offer enhanced benefits such as:

• Flexible work opportunities
• Personal development opportunities
• Life Insurance
• Superannuation
• An annual wellbeing programme
• Competitive remuneration packages
• Development opportunities

Environmental Officer from $69,352 to $84,591

Senior Environmental Officer from $86,851 to $102,177

How to Apply

If you meet the above criteria, we welcome your application, including your CV and cover letter outlining why you are the person for this role via the Apply button.

Please note. We don't always work to fixed closing dates and may start considering and interviewing candidates as their applications are received, so we encourage you to apply early.

All candidates require the right to work in New Zealand.

Applications close Sunday, 20 July 2025

For further information, please contact human.resources@orc.govt.nz