Job Title: Veterinarian (VTS2 Circuit)

Role type: Permanent Full-Time

Location: Palmerston North

Salary range: Range from $91,412 to $114,265 per annum plus additional benefits.

Kōrero mō te Tūranga - About the Role

The purpose of this role within New Zealand Food Safety Verification Services is to provide a range of food safety, animal welfare and biosecurity verification and certification services.

This role provides an opportunity for a registered veterinarian to carry out quality assurance verification activities in accordance with current legislation and overseas market access requirements.

As a veterinarian with the Circuit team, your role will include the inspection of animals and documentation to support imports and exports. You will be based in Palmerston North and will travel to businesses around the lower north island to assess their operating processes against regulatory requirements.

This position provides lot of variety, with no two days the same. You will be responsible for your own work schedule with flexibility.  

Typically, in this role you would:

• Carry out quality assurance audits, and inspections of food and export industry business operations
• Certify food business compliance with overseas market access requirements
• Write quality assurance audit reports
• Inspect live animals for diseases
• Organise your workload autonomously in collaboration with the team

In addition, the nature of this work offers the following benefits:

• The opportunity to develop positive relationships with a wide range of different local businesses
• The ability to work flexibly (e.g., working from home)
• Work-life balance (work hours typically within normal business hours Monday-Friday, )
• Good growth opportunities
• Working independently but also within a supportive team

We are looking for someone who would enjoy getting exposure to a range of different businesses and is looking for work-life balance.

Mō tō mātou rōpū - About our team

Reporting to the Team Leader Circuit, you will work amongst a team of 6 verifiers who are based across the Manawatu-Wanganui region.

New Zealand Food Safety - Verification Services' (VS) core purpose is to deliver independent, cost effective and high-quality verification, certification, and inspection programmes that meet all regulatory requirements. Our people deliver a world-class, efficient, and cost-effective service to a broad range of industries and sectors. Facilitating not only food safety, but biosecurity and market access for animals and animal product exports.

These include:

• Verification and certification services to at least 2000 processing companies. This not only includes food primary and secondary food producers but also storage and transport.
• Verifying containment and transitional facilities to ensure they are meeting the standards around unwanted and new organisms.
• Inspection and certification of live animals for import and export.
• The export meat sector accounts for 80% of Verification Service's activities.

VS plays a key role in the Primary Sector industry and the Circuit team delivers verification, certification, and inspection services nationally. This role is focused Manawatu - Whanganui regions and will involve travel to other regions within the local team. This role may also include some infrequently travel nationally.

Mōu - About You

We are looking for someone who is adaptable and can thrive in a complex and sometimes ambiguous environment. The ideal person will be able to think creatively, prioritise work, and is excited to learn new skills. 

To be successful in this role you will need:

• Be a New Zealand registered Veterinarian (Or be able to obtain registration with VCNZ)
• Have experience communicating effectively with a range of different stakeholders
• Have experience working in an environment where organisational skills are essential
• Have verbal and written skills, and analytical reasoning skills
• Demonstrate integrity and trust, ethics and values, resilience, adaptability, and openness
• Have computer literacy - can operate standard and customised software to an acceptable standard e.g., word-processing, excel, internet, email

It is advantageous if you have knowledge of basic food technology, HACCP/Quality Assurance systems

Mō te Manatū Ahu Matua - About MPI

• The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) partners with New Zealand's food and fibre sector to be the world's most sustainable provider of high-value food and primary products.

Ngā hua o te mahi i te Manatū Ahu Matua - Benefits of working at MPI

• Additional MPI leave days
• Annual Wellness payment
• Reduced premiums for Group Healthcare Scheme

See the benefits of working at MPI

Whakamātau Whakapōauau me te Waipiro - Drug and Alcohol Screening

Please note, given this position is safety sensitive the preferred applicant/s for the position will be required to undergo a drug and alcohol pre-employment screening test. Further information on this process can be found on our careers site under the application process, on pre-employment checks page.

Kua rite koe mō tēnei mahi whaitake? - Are you ready to make a difference?

We are committed to being a good partner under Te Tiriti o Waitangi which includes working closely with iwi, hapū, whanau and hāpori.

We aspire to reflect the diverse communities we serve, so we welcome applications from individuals of all backgrounds, and identities. As an organisation, we are committed to making Manatū Ahu Matua a great place to work for all.

In your cover letter we'd like to know about you, your values, your whakapapa; your interest and motivations for this role; the abilities, strengths, personal attributes and diverse perspectives you will bring to the role and this organisation, which may have also been gained outside of the workforce.

To view the position description and/or apply online, please click "APPLY FOR THIS JOB" or visit the MPI Careers Site. To apply, you must hold the right to work in New Zealand or be eligible to obtain it - click here to find out more about work visa eligibility and options.

Applications close at midnight on Thursday 13th July.

If you have any questions about the role, please contact our Talent Acquisition team by emailing Louise.Devine@mpi.govt.nz 

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