Senior Advisor Capability Development

Te whakapakari tahi i tō tātau Taiao - Enhancing our environment together.

Our vision is a healthy environment and a resilient and prosperous community.

**About The opportunity | Ko te āheinga**: Hawke’s Bay Civil Defence Emergency Management (HB CDEM) Group is undergoing significant transformation following Cyclone Gabrielle and in response to evolving challenges of climate change. Operating as a shared service on behalf of the region’s councils, the Hawke’s Bay Civil Defence Emergency Management (HB CDEM) team take a regional and strategic approach to building resilience across communities, mana whenua, and partners. With our community at the heart of our civil defence system, our mission is to build strong connections, empower local voices, and enhance collaboration across the region to create a safe, informed and resilient Hawke’s Bay that is prepared for, responds to, and recovers from emergencies and disasters well.

We are looking for a Senior Advisor - Capability Development to join the HB CDEM team. This role plays a key part in strengthening the readiness, response, and resilience by leading the design, coordination, and evaluation of regional Civil Defence Emergency Management (CDEM) training and exercising programmes that build capability across councils, partners, and volunteers. You will lead the development of regional training frameworks and exercise programmes, ensuring they are evidence-based, risk-informed, and aligned with national standards and best practice. This includes overseeing the full lifecycle of capability initiatives, from identifying regional needs and designing learning programs to coordinating and facilitating exercises, leading debriefs, evaluating outcomes, and embedding identified lessons.

Working collaboratively with councils, mana whenua, emergency services, partners, and volunteers, you will help ensure that Hawke’s Bay’s emergency management workforce remains confident, capable, and adaptable - ready to respond to future challenges.

This role also involves:

- Travel within the region and occasional travel elsewhere in Aotearoa New Zealand.
- Participating in the 24/7 duty team roster and performing emergency response and recovery functions as necessary during emergencies.

**About you | E pā ana ki a koe**: We are looking for someone who demonstrates strong skills in designing, developing, and delivering training programs ideally within the context of emergency management, and has experience working with local authorities, community groups or volunteers in an emergency management capacity. You will have excellent communication and facilitation skills to deliver training and exercises effectively to diverse audiences, combined with strong project management and organisational capabilities to coordinate multiple activities and manage timelines efficiently. Experience in building strong relationships with stakeholders and training providers will be key to success in this role as well as commitment to continuous improvement by integrating feedback, staying current with industry trends, and refining training and exercise delivery to reflect best practices.

You will also have:

- Relevant tertiary qualification in Emergency Management, Training & Development, or a related field.
- A strong understanding of emergency management principles and practices, particularly around response and recovery.
- Ability to adapt training and exercise delivery to meet the audience's specific needs and changing priorities.
- Valid driver’s licence required.

Other benefits of working for our team include:

- Flexible working options to support work/life balance
- 5 weeks annual leave after 3 years
- 4% superannuation after 3 years
- Life insurance and income protection
- Subsidised eye tests and lenses, flu vaccinations, and other well-being initiatives
- Strong commitment to developing and upskilling people within a supportive working environment.

See a full list of our staff benefits here

As an equal opportunity employer, we are dedicated to creating a welcoming and inclusive environment. We recognise that collaborative and innovative organisations depend on having a workforce made up from a diverse range of perspectives and experiences. We're all about excellence, and we encourage open communication - if you need any specific support, just let us know Our main goal is to empower each person to share their unique talents to contribute to the outcomes for our community. This commitment ensures that our workplace is a dynamic and progressive space where everyone can flourish.

HBRC is responsible for Civil Defence emergencies and as such, all staff may be called upon to support the response.

Applicants must have existing rights to work in New Zealand.

To view the job description please visit our website here

**About us | E pā ki a mātou**: At Hawke’s Bay Regional Council our purpose is to work with our community to protect and manage the region’s precious taonga of rivers, lake