Early in Careers Foreign Policy Officers 2026

Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade

**Early in Careers Foreign Policy Officers 2026**
- Recruiting now for a start in early 2026
- Work for New Zealand on global issues
- Enjoy a broad and engaging career in New Zealand and overseas.
- Applications are now open for MFAT's 2026 Early in Careers Foreign Policy Programme_

**About the role**-** Korero mo te turanga**

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade - Manatu Aorere is recruiting for it's next cohort of Foreign Policy Officers.

Our Foreign Policy Officers are New Zealand's foreign policy, trade and development advisers, international legal advisers, and negotiators.

We offer you an engaging career, and the chance to work for New Zealand on current international issues. The roles are rotational, meaning every few years you will work in a new area of foreign policy and develop your experience across a range of specialisations.

As a Foreign Policy Officer, you may find yourself:

- Promoting and protecting New Zealand's interest overseas.
- Providing the Government with advice on foreign affairs, trade, and development policies.
- Engaging with a broad variety of stakeholders and partners including other government agencies, iwi, academia, business, and civil society.
- Organising visits to New Zealand by representatives from other governments and international organisations, supporting Ministry-led events.
- Responding to offshore natural disasters and international crises, supporting recovery efforts.
- Developing important people leadership skills.

To view an example of a position description, click here

The full salary for this role is $70,784 inclusive of our 3% KiwiSaver employer contribution.

**Who are we looking for?- Ma**wai te mahi nei?**

What matters most to us is that you are well-rounded, resilient, adaptable, and committed to promoting New Zealand's interests overseas and at home as a public servant.

We want to hear from you if you are:

- A New Zealand citizen
- Able to obtain and maintain New Zealand National Security Clearance at Top Secret level.
- Tertiary qualified with a minimum bachelor's level qualification in any discipline, with a preference for conjoint, master's or additional post-graduate qualifications.
- Have **less than three years** of policy experience in a similar organisation.

Other skills that will help you thrive in your career as a Foreign Policy Officer include academic excellence, an interest in developing people leadership skills, achievement drive, Matauranga Maori, knowledge and understanding of other cultures and communities, and ability and/or interest in learning languages.

**Why MFAT?- Nga hua o te mahi i te Manatu Aorere**

We are committed to a focus on leadership, talent, training and development. Check out our benefits page to find out more about why we love working here.

**About us
- Mo matou**

Our people represent New Zealand on and offshore, and in doing so make New Zealanders safer and more prosperous. By building connections with and influencing other countries and international institutions, we advance New Zealand's interests and pursue New Zealand's values. We provide advice to the Government on the implications for New Zealand of what is happening in the world and what to do about it.

**To Apply/Interested?- Me pehea te tuku tono**

For more information visit our Early in Careers page: Early in careers - Foreign Policy Officer opportunities | New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade

To be considered for this position, you must be a current New Zealand Citizen **and** able to obtain and maintain a NZ Government National Security Clearance at Top Secret level. Please note these are two separate requirements.

You can use this online tool to self-check your eligibility for a Top-Secret security clearance. Please note that this tool is not part of the formal security clearance process:
Applications close at midnight on **Wednesday 13 August 2025