• Welcoming and friendly community
• Advance your career, make your mark
• Beautiful Westland, a world class tourist destination

About The Role: 

The Westland District Council is proud of their vision – ‘By investing in our people, caring for the environment, respecting the Mana Whenua cultural heritage, and enabling investment, growth, and development we will enrich our district and the people that reside here’.

The Mayor and Councillors are looking to appoint an inspirational Chief Executive to lead this vision, with a passion to do the absolute best for the region’s communities and economy.

Key areas of focus:

Working together, enabling strong engagement with the community, developing regional partnerships with neighbouring councils and other key stakeholders;

• Innovative thinking and an open mind to change the way some things are done;
• Building an engaged and collaborative culture of one team;
• Team consolidation and leadership, building internal capability and succession;
• Leading the LTP, guiding strategy and implementation for the next 10 years;
• Key projects including 3 waters, wastewater treatment plant, Hokitika Racecourse development.

Council has an appetite for a fresh way of thinking – so here’s your opportunity to lead the next chapter of this much-loved district, supported by the talented, dedicated and passionate team. 

About the Person: 

This is a highly attractive opportunity for an existing CE or a high-potential executive ready to step up to the challenge of Chief Executive leadership.  Candidates of interest will point to a strong track record of successful leadership, will be community/customer focussed and may come from local government.

Excellent communication skills and a close working relationship with the Mayor and Council will be an essential requirement. The successful candidate will see the bigger picture, be confident and resilient, have an energetic and enabling approach, and will understand the challenges ratepayers face.

Ideally you will:

• Be known for your collaborative leadership style, acting with openness, honesty, integrity and trust, taking ownership of problems and demonstrating Westland District Council values;
• Be a strategic thinker with business acumen, skilled with developing and presenting Business Cases to Councils or Boards; with the ability to implement and get things done;
• Be a ‘people person’ with strong relationship management skills and can point to examples of building a strong and engaged culture with your people;
• Have a track record of proactively engaging with community groups and stakeholders, developing strong and trusted partnerships;
• Have good project management skills, experienced with oversight of capital projects, known for having a proactive delivery focus, and a track record of coming in on time and budget;
• Have a good cultural awareness, as well as continuing the positive relationship with mana whenua.

This role requires a person who can demonstrate a commitment to the District, becoming part of the community, and acting in the best interests of the Council, with the well-being and engagement of the communities at the heart of any decisions.

About the Company:

The Westland District Council is based in a vibrant and beautiful world class tourist destination with excellent dairy farming, forestry, gold mining and pounamu industries.  Located on the spectacular West Coast, the industries that support the local community are principally focused on the primary sector and include farming and horticulture; forestry; gold mining; tourism and hospitality; retail; and conservation.

Westland District aspires to lead through innovation and development of our natural resources and rich cultural history.

• The area has a number of large scenic reserves, which the Department of Conservation manages.  The whitebait season attracts visitors from all around New Zealand.
• The District is also home to Hokitika Airport and enjoys a reputation as the birthplace of the internationally renowned ‘Wildfoods’ Festival.  The iconic ‘Coast to Coast’ event attracts multi-national multi-sport athletes every year to Kumara beach just out of Hokitika.
• The Capital of Westland is the ‘cool little town’ of Hokitika which aims to be a world-class tourist destination, with views of Aoraki/Mount Cook and sits at the northern gateway to the world famous South Westland World Heritage Area, from Franz Josef down to Haast.  More recently, Hokitika and the West Coast have hosted the highest proportion of “staycation” visitors than any other tourist mecca in the country.
• Within the Westland district, the Council has been involved in leading several high profile initiatives, including the renowned ‘West Coast Wilderness Trail’, which is part of the Ngā Haerenga New Zealand Cycle Trail.

Our aspirations, values and role

• Active leadership
  • Council works with integrity and honesty building the respect and confidence of the community.
• Togetherness
  • Building strong relationships and partnerships with stakeholders, encouraging citizens to play an active role within their communities for success.
• Future proofing

Safeguarding our unique natural environment and cultural heritage to support communities’ resilience in the face of social, economic, and environmental challenges