Principal Advisor, Health, Safety and Risk

Type: Permanent
Location: Wellington
Application Closes: 5pm Monday 25th May 2026

Mō tēnei tūranga mahi | About this role

The Business and Performance Unit has a broad suite of responsibilities, including leading work on NEMA’s strategic direction, accountability requirements, enterprise risk management and health and safety, organisational planning and performance, and administrative support. There are two teams within the Business and Performance Unit: Strategy and Performance and Business Support. The Principal Advisor Risk, Health and Safety is also housed within this unit.

The Principal Advisor Risk, Health and Safety is a trusted advisor who provides thought leadership and specialist advice across NEMA in relation to enterprise risk management, as well as health and safety.  You will be responsible for leading the delivery of the risk, and health and safety work programmes, partnering across the organisation to embed best practice and lift organisational maturity. You will also be responsible for ensuring NEMA’s Business Continuity Plan is maintained.

The purpose of the Principal Advisor, Risk, Health and Safety is to:

• Provide expert, trusted advice and thought leadership on enterprise risk management and health and safety, supporting NEMA to meet its legislative, governance and due diligence obligations. 
• Lead the development, implementation and continuous improvement of NEMA’s risk and health and safety frameworks, strategies and systems, lifting organisational maturity and capability. 
• Partner with senior leaders and managers to identify, assess and proactively manage strategic, operational and workforce health and safety risks. 
• Embed a strong risk and health and safety culture across NEMA by promoting best practice, enabling informed decision‑making, and supporting safe, resilient ways of working. 
• Provide assurance through robust monitoring, reporting and analysis to enable leaders to understand risk exposure, performance trends and opportunities for improvement.

Ko wai koe | About you

Essential skills / experience

• Extensive experience delivering risk and H & S programmes in a government or operational organisation;
• The ability to assess complex health & safety issues, consider options, risk, benefits and mitigation strategies and make informed decisions;
• Experience and proven track record of implementing and monitoring H & S strategies;
• Understanding of the latest thinking on wellness and psychosocial risks
• Excellent written capability, including the ability to present complex ideas and information in a way that it can be easily understood

Desirable skills

• Experience in emergency services sector
• Formal qualification in Workplace Health and Safety (Level 6 or higher) or Risk Management
• Formal qualification and/or at least 3 years’ experience of auditing and verification techniques
• Professional Membership Registration to Professional Level (NZISM) or equivalent body and actively undertaking a Continual Professional Development Plan (CPD)
• BCI Membership or experience with Business Continuity Planning

Ko wai mātou | About us

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) provides national leadership to New Zealand's distributed emergency management system. NEMA's primary focus is on the performance and capability of the emergency management system as a whole, across all hazards and all risks and the 4 Rs of risk: reduction, readiness, response and recovery. 

NEMA values diversity and inclusion. We want our workforce to reflect the diversity of our communities. We value and respect the contributions of our people with diverse backgrounds, experiences, skills and perspectives. 

We are committed to doing our part to deliver on the Crown's commitments to Māori under Te Tiriti o Waitangi. We strive to actively build te Ao Māori perspectives and capability into our day to day work, values and practices.

As NEMA is an operational agency, there may be a requirement to respond to emergency activations in the event of a national emergency response.  This may include potentially long hours and challenging working conditions, e.g. an emergency could occur at any time of the day or night and may require working shifts and/or working weekends. NEMA provides thorough training prior to you being required to assist in a response. NEMA will do all in its power to support staff in meeting their work and family responsibilities during an emergency. The welfare and wellbeing of our staff is of utmost importance.

Due to the nature of our role in emergency management, NEMA has a very dynamic work environment and as a small agency, staff are often required to pivot and change focus on their work at short notice. Attributes of adaptability, agility, resilience and curiosity are all required on a daily basis, in and out of times of emergency response.

Ta matou e tuku | What we offer

We pride ourselves on the quality of our staff and understand the importance of fostering a working environment where excellence is recognised and where staff are encouraged to develop their own talents and potential. We welcome diversity, in all its forms and we believe it is a strength.

NEMA values staff health, safety and wellbeing, and a positive work life balance is encouraged.

The indicative BASE salary range for this role is $142,890 - $159,709.

NEMA offers other benefits such as Department leave, Wellbeing allowance, Vision allowances and more.

Whakaritenga Haumaru | Security Requirements

Due to the security requirements of this role, applicants must be a New Zealand citizen or New Zealand Permanent Resident. 

Me pehea te tono | How to apply

If you have any questions, contact us at NEMATalent@nema.govt.nz. We do not accept unsolicited approaches from agencies or 3rd parties.

To review the full job descri​ption, please click here. If you are unable to follow the link, please review the full job description on our careers website.

 

National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) is a departmental agency of the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA).  NEMA provides leadership in reducing risk, being ready for, responding to and recovering from emergencies.