Monitoring and Enforcement Officer

About the role

An opportunity is now available in our monitoring and compliance team. The Monitoring and Enforcement Officer will work with our community to ensure compliance with environmental policies.

Having the largest land area to manage of any territorial authority and some of the most beautiful landscapes in the world (including Stewart Island, Milford and the Catlins), Southland District Council are passionate about making sure that these jewels are protected.

Visit https://vacancies.southlanddc.govt.nz/ for more information on working at Southland District Council.

Tasks include:

• researching, investigating and implementing necessary compliance or enforcement actions to ensure positive outcomes in response to potential breaches of the District Plan or the Resource Management Act
• completing investigations to an evidentiary standard and representing Council In Hearings and the Environment Court if required
• educating and informing landowners and consent holders on their requirement to comply with the District Plan and consent conditions

Our ideal candidate will have:

• ideally experience in a monitoring and enforcement context
• the ability to adapt to new systems and manage complex investigations
• a solid understanding of the Resource Management Act (RMA) and related compliance principles
• strong ability to investigate, research, and prepare clear, comprehensive reports
• excellent communication skills, including negotiation and relationship management
• the ability to build positive connections and educate others to drive meaningful change

What's in it for you?

• use and develop your analytical and problem-solving skills
• work independently and have the autonomy and flexibility to plan your own day
• a mixture of office based and site visits - the opportunity to get out and about in the district

We recognise that staff are our most valuable asset. We believe in supporting them in their training and development, having competitive remuneration packages which are benchmarked against market rates, and an environment which enables personal growth.

About Council

With assets including Fiordland National Park and Stewart Island, Council not only encompasses the management and improvement of physical assets such as roads, bridges, water supply, cemeteries and parks but also the Southland communities' social, economic, cultural and environmental wellbeing.

Our 200+ staff are diverse in their backgrounds, skillset and location, spread across three Invercargill offices (Forth Street, 20 and 42 Don Street) and seven area offices situated at Riverton, Otautau, Te Anau, Winton, Oban, Lumsden and Wyndham.

Southland District Council offers scope for a rewarding and interesting career in local government under excellent working conditions, in a part of the country which is ideally suited to family life and the pursuit of a wide variety of activities.

If this sounds like the role for you then don't delay, download the position description and apply online today.

Applications close 17 January 2026