Principal Ranger | Tūtei Mātāmua Fixed Term/ Secondment

• Lead a dedicated team in protecting the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park and enhancing its marine health. 

• 12 month Fixed Term/ Secondment Opportunity

• Auckland, Warkworth or Whitianga based | Salary range - $92,912 - $117,570

Our vision: Nature is thriving in Aotearoa | Te Oranga o te Ao Tūroa

The Department of Conservation Te Papa Atawhai (DOC) serves to protect and restore nature across Aotearoa. When nature thrives, we all thrive.

Ko tā Te Papa Atawhai he tiaki, he whakarauora anō hoki i te taiao puta noa i Aotearoa. He oranga taiao, he oranga tangata.

Mō te tūranga | About the role

The Department of Conservation Te Papa Atawhai (DOC) works to protect and restore the natural spaces and species of Aotearoa. This role offers a unique opportunity to help safeguard the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park — Aotearoa’s first marine park and the only national park of the sea. Covering 1.4 million hectares, the Gulf is an internationally significant marine environment and a vital seabird and whale habitat, located alongside our most populous city.

You’ll contribute to the landmark Hauraki Gulf / Tīkapa Moana Marine Protection Act, part of the wider Revitalising the Gulf programme and the first legislation of its kind in Aotearoa.

Reporting to the Operations Manager, the Principal Ranger leads a distributed team of 10 marine protection rangers and additional contract and casual staff, including highly specialised skippers and divers. You’ll provide exceptional leadership, patience, and organisational skills as the team builds and maintains these complex operational capabilities.

The position will be focussed on:

• supervise and develop a newly forming high-performing team, ensuring their safety, wellbeing, and professional growth

• Identify, monitor and manage risk in a critical risk environment of diving, compliance and vessel operations.

• create and implement SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound) goals to provide direction and accountability, fostering a sense of accomplishment within the team

• focus development plans, recognising that team members will be at varying levels of expertise

• collect content for use across various platforms, including social media, web pages, and newsletters

• manage competing priorities, demands and identify solutions for critical pressures

• implement the planning, phasing, and tracking of work programmes on a monthly and 3 monthly basis.

• prioritise health and safety in all aspects of team operations

• Recruiting and onboarding staff and building a positive and collaborative team environment.

• Being part of the District Leadership Team and contributing to decisions around resources and priorities

This role involves travel, so you must be flexible to travel and work away from home for several days at a time as needed.  Staff are located in Whitianga, Bayswater and Warkworth

Click here for the Role Description

Ngā pūkenga me ngā wheako | Skills and experience

If you have some of the following, we are keen to hear from you:

• A skilled and experienced people leader who is skilled at empowering, motivating, and creating a positive team culture

• Excellent problem-solving skills with a can-do-solutions focussed mindset.

• comfortable in operational field delivery, preferably on water

• A strong and proactive communicator and collaborator, you build strong internal and external relationships with ease

• project and contract management experience

• ability to work alongside whānau, hapū, iwi collaboratively and effectively, as well as the community, businesses, and others.

• Experience with distributed teams and a commitment to health and safety, and experience of risk management.

Our Values

At The Department of Conservation, everyone’s journey is unique. Every purpose, personal. That’s why we believe your career should be more than a role… it should be a path that reflects who you are, what you value, and the difference you want to make.

Here, you’ll find more than a workplace. You’ll find a team united and guided by values that matter:

• Integrity, because trust and honesty are non-negotiable

• Empowerment, because when we lift each other, we all rise higher

• Connection, because collaboration sparks progress

• Achievement, because results mean more when they create real impact

This is a place where nature thrives because people do.

He aha ngā pāinga mōu? | What’s in it for you?

DOC places importance on developing a culture where everyone can participate, thrive, and grow.  We’re working towards being an organisation that is diverse, equitable and inclusive by default.  You can learn more about what we offer here.

Tonoa inaiānei | Apply now

Apply online with a CV and cover letter that highlights your relevant skills, experience and motivation for joining Te Papa Atawhai. Please note, due to the high volume of applications, we are unable to accept direct or emailed applications and provide feedback to those not shortlisted.

If you require any accommodations or adjustments during the recruitment process, please let us know.

The salary range for this position is $92,912 - $117,570 with the starting salary of the successful applicant being based on their relevant skills and experience.

Eligibility to work in New Zealand is mandatory – this includes holding a valid work visa that covers the whole period of employment.

Due to high volumes, we are not engaging with recruitment agencies for this role. 

Rā whakakapi | Applications close at 11:59 pm on Sunday 8th February

Me he pātai anō, whakapā mai | For further enquiries, please contact Leeza Young, Senior Recruitment Advisor, [email protected]