Programme Specialist

Everyday our experienced team of 1,700+ people work alongside farmers, producers, and others throughout the food supply chain to help them uphold what Aotearoa stands for in food - a higher standard of quality and safety.

We are passionate about our shared role as Kaitiaki Kai, guardians of food, and have a deep responsibility to do the right thing for food and the environments it comes from.

We are committed to attracting, developing, and retaining great people, and supporting them to be the best they can be.  We know diverse teams are stronger teams and we believe in fairness and opportunity for all.

We’re looking for an organised, customer-focused Programme Specialist to join our Auditing Services team on a 13-month fixed-term contract or secondment.

This is a varied role where your ability to organise, prioritise, solve problems and build great customer relationships will be key. You’ll help keep assigned programmes running smoothly, ensuring our systems, processes and deliverables meet compliance and accreditation requirements.

You’ll work with customers, auditors, internal teams, regulatory bodies and standard holders, making this a great opportunity for someone who enjoys being at the centre of things and making sure the detail is right.

Ideally, you’ll be based in our Mt Wellington, Auckland or Burnside, Christchurch office three days a week, Monday to Wednesday. You can work from home on Thursdays and Fridays if you choose.

This is a 40-hour-per-week role, Monday to Friday, with flexibility to work your 8 hours per day anytime between 8am and 6pm.

Key Responsibilities:

• Coordinate the day-to-day delivery and support of assigned programmes, ensuring work is completed accurately and on time.
• Manage competing priorities and deadlines, keeping customers and stakeholders informed and providing a seamless service experience.
• Build strong relationships with customers, regulatory bodies and standard holders, acting as a key contact for day-to-day programme queries.
• Maintain accurate programme data, systems and records, ensuring processes and deliverables meet compliance and accreditation requirements.
• Investigate issues, identify risks and find practical solutions that maintain programme integrity and improve the customer experience.
• Identify and support continuous improvement initiatives that improve efficiency, service quality and ongoing accreditation.

• Strong organisation and prioritisation skills, with the ability to manage competing tasks, deadlines and changing priorities while maintaining accuracy.
• Excellent customer service and communication skills, with confidence engaging with customers by phone and email and building positive relationships with a range of stakeholders.
• Strong data and reporting capability, with high attention to detail and confidence working across multiple databases, systems and Microsoft Office.
• A solution-focused approach, with the ability to investigate issues, use sound judgement and find practical solutions rather than simply identifying problems.
• Resilience and adaptability, with the ability to remain calm, professional and focused when managing challenging situations, competing demands or customer queries.
• Relevant industry, quality, compliance or audit experience, with an understanding of regulatory requirements. Knowledge of organics and the Food Act would be highly regarded.

Key Benefits:

• 13-month fixed-term contract or secondment
• 40 hours per week, Monday to Friday
• Hybrid working – office based Monday to Wednesday, with the flexibility to work from home on Thursdays and Fridays
• Flexibility to work your 8 hours per day anytime between 8am and 6pm
• The opportunity to work for a large New Zealand organisation delivering meaningful services for Aotearoa
• Base salary + annual performance reviews
• The opportunity to work alongside experienced people across food assurance, auditing, quality and compliance