The Food & Beverage group within New Zealand Food Safety are responsible for leading improvements to New Zealand's Food Act System.  The group comprise of 18 staff with a range of skills and experience including food science, general science, food service, auditing, management, service design and visual design.  They are committed to delivering a system that understands its customers, including their challenges and pain points, experiences, needs, desires and behaviours.  They work hard to combine food science with behavioural science to create accessible, useable, and desirable products and services assisting operators to make and sell safe and suitable food.

The group are looking for a Service Designer who is passionate about sustainability and making complex legislation easy to understand; to join the crew to design and deliver new products and services. In return, you'll gain a wealth of knowledge and experience seeing regulations come to life as you develop tools to support our growers, producers, manufacturers and exporters.

The Service Designer will be responsible for supporting, driving and contributing to the delivery of projects across the Food & Beverage group and wider Food Regulation Directorate, including:

• Organics Project – development and implementation of the Organic Products Bill which is a new piece of legislation that aims to increase consumer confidence in purchasing organic products, increase certainty for businesses making claims that their products are organic, and facilitate international trade in organic products.

• Haumaru Kai Kete and a Te Ao Māori Verification Model – development and implementation of a food safety plan for marae; and development of a model for checking (verifying) Māori food businesses that includes an understanding of Tikanga.

Mōu - About You

To be successful for this role you will have:

• A recognised qualification in Service Design or UX.
• Recognised experience using design methodology to understand, test, and confirm customer needs.
• Sound understanding of design tools and techniques (e.g. user research, ethnographic interviewing, journey mapping, story-telling).
• Experience facilitating group discussions, and leading working groups to broker decisions.
• Proven track record in developing and maintaining effective working relationships and credibility with internal and external stakeholders.
• Proven track record of prioritising competing objectives and actively managing a range of stakeholders.

Ahurea - Culture

We are committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive culture. We are fair in our behaviour and our policies promote equal opportunity for all. We provide numerous training programmes and opportunities for people to continuously improve their skill sets and keep up to date with global best practices. MPI has a focus on career pathways so this is the first step in your career with us and we will help you grow.

To join a diverse and interesting organisation that offers a wide range of career opportunities click on our link below.

Me pēhea te tuku tono - How to Apply

To view the position description and/or apply for the role please click “APPLY FOR THIS JOB” or visit the MPI Careers Site. For tracking and reporting purposes, all applications must be submitted through our online careers portal.

To apply for this role 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.

The closing date is 8th February 2022

Please note: if you are applying for an internal secondment, please make sure that your manager is aware and supports your application.

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

The Ministry for Primary Industries is committed to providing a working environment that embraces and values inclusion and diversity. Your unique talents and experience will help us deliver exceptional services to our communities in Aotearoa. In return you'll enjoy an inclusive and flexible working environment in a diverse team of people while you're growing your career here in NZ and internationally. We actively encourage applications from all backgrounds. If you have any support or access requirements, we encourage you to tell us when you apply so that we can assist you through the recruitment process.