Senior Policy Analyst at Ministry for Primary Industries, Wellington City

Mō tēnei tūranga mahi | About this role

Job Title: Senior Policy Analyst

Role Type: Permanent, Full Time

Location: Wellington City

Salary Band & range: D $100,934 to $129,804 depending on skills and experience

About the Role - Kōrero mō te Tūranga

As a Senior Policy Analyst in the Cost Recovery Directorate, you'll play a critical role in ensuring the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) can sustainably deliver services that protect New Zealand and support successful primary industries. Cost recovery policy ensures the right people pay the right price for the right service, and that MPI's price‑setting mechanisms are accurate, fair, and well regarded by industry and across the public service. Your work will help ensure MPI has sufficient funding to deliver essential services effectively and efficiently.

 

MPI's diverse portfolio means this role offers varied, interesting, and system‑wide work. You will lead key cost recovery policy workstreams across the organisation, working closely with a range of business units and stakeholders. This includes enabling cost recovery settings in new legislation, reviewing, and updating existing regulations, and identifying simplification opportunities.

 

You'll provide cost recovery advice and lead end‑to‑end policy processes. You'll also provide mentoring and coaching to analysts. You will look to develop innovative, cost effective, system‑level policy solutions that align with MPI's strategic direction and keep cost recovery settings fit for purpose.

 

In this role, you will:

• Lead priority cost recovery policy workstreams, including fundamental reviews, new initiatives, and frequent regulatory updates
• Apply fee and price‑setting expertise to develop principled, fit for purpose charging frameworks
• Provide cost recovery policy advice on a wide range of individual and system-level issues
• Lead regulatory policy changes
• Build trusted relationships across MPI and with a range of external stakeholders
• Coach, mentor and support analysts, providing thought leadership and quality assurance
• Develop internal guidance and advice to support consistent cost recovery practice
• Identify opportunities to simplify and improve MPI's cost recovery frameworks

 

About You - Mōu

You bring strong public sector experience and knowledge of regulatory policy processes, with the judgement and initiative required to lead complex work confidently. You are comfortable working with numbers and ideally bring practical fee and price‑setting experience.

 

You are a collaborative team member with excellent communication skills and a positive, can‑do attitude. You enjoy building and maintaining strong relationships across organisations, mentoring others, and contributing to a supportive team environment. You are confident operating in ambiguous settings, show good political awareness, and bring a strong interest in reviewing and improving regulatory cost recovery frameworks.

 

You will bring:

• Sound knowledge and experience in government and regulatory policy processes
• Strong critical thinking and analytical problem‑solving skills
• Experience providing clear, practical, and well‑reasoned policy advice
• Fee and price‑setting experience in a public sector context
• Proven ability to use data and insights to guide decision making
• Strong relationship‑building and stakeholder engagement skills
• Experience leading, coaching, or mentoring others to achieve outcomes

 

You do not need to meet all of the role requirements to apply. We offer a breadth of development and learning opportunities and will welcome an application if you think you could make a great fit.

 

About the Team - Mō tō mātou Rōpū

The Cost Recovery Policy and Performance team sits within MPI's Corporate Branch and works across the organisation to provide high‑quality cost recovery policy advice. We're responsible for setting, overseeing, and updating MPI's cost recovery policy and regulatory settings, ensuring they remain accurate, fair and fit for purpose across MPI's diverse regulatory and service delivery functions. Our work spans multiple business units, requiring strong relationships and a broad understanding of MPI's operations.

 

About MPI - Mō te Manatū Ahu Matua

We're a large organisation with massive scope from the frontline to policy development and beyond.

 

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

• Additional MPI leave days
• Ability to purchase extra annual leave
• Annual Wellness payment

 

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

We are committed to being a good partner under Te Tiriti o Waitangi which includes working closely with iwi, hapū, whānau 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 Ministry for Primary Industries a great place to work for all.

 

In your cover letter we'd like to know about you, your values; 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 11.59pm Thursday 28 May 2026

 

If you have any questions about the role, please email Sophie.Hallett@mpi.govt.nz 

 

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