Principal Environmental Planner

What you will be doing

Auckland Airport stands proudly as the gateway to Aotearoa, welcoming travellers beginning their journeys, farewelling Kiwis to new destinations, connecting businesses and workers to new opportunities, and celebrating partners and investors who back us along the way. We have ambitions to be a global hub and a comprehensive programme of work to deliver this vision. We require an additional Principal Environmental Planner to join our growing team and help ensure we efficiently and effectively deliver the vision while exceeding relevant environmental requirements.

We can’t emphasise enough that this is not a typical client-side planning role. Auckland Airport is nationally significant infrastructure with more than 800 businesses operating across a site measuring approximately 1,500 hectares. It really is a big back yard!

Our programme of work is similarly extensive and presents opportunities to be involved in a wide variety of projects across the precinct, including helping us meet the requirements of the designation for the northern runway, advancing critical transport projects like the eastern access and eastern ring road, informing consenting strategies, and inputting to national and regional policy.

This work will provide you with wide exposure to a range of technical areas of work that you might not necessarily associate with the airport, including archaeology, ecology, coastal processes, stormwater, and natural hazards.

Many of our projects are interlinked and you will play a key part in helping us ensure our projects are delivered with this bigger picture in mind.

Your role will not stop with obtaining resource consents or submitting on policy but rather your work will help us implement the same and see your inputs come to fruition.

To suit your interests, expertise, and development, we anticipate the flexibility to enable you to identify key focus areas or to be involved in all manner of projects. We really do have a bit of everything on the go at any one time.

To fulfil these requirements, we anticipate you will have comprehensive knowledge of environmental regulatory obligations and experience applying this knowledge to complex planning policy and consenting matters. Aviation experience is not essential.

Your key responsibilities will be in relation to:

• Inputs to national and local environmental plans, policies, and legislation processes (including preparation of submissions and attendance at hearings) to ensure Auckland Airport maintains appropriate flexibility for its current and future operations.
• Strategic advice on the impact of changes in national and local environmental policy/legislation on Auckland Airport.
• Statutory processes associated with Auckland Airport’s Designation within the Auckland Unitary Plan including Notices of Requirement and Outline Plans and implementation of the noise mitigation programme.
• Statutory approvals and planning advice on specific projects.
• Preparing and overseeing resource consent applications for Auckland Airport’s business units.
• Supporting the implementation of resource consents and environmental compliance and monitoring across the Airport precinct.
• Conducting environmental training with key internal stakeholders to ensure statutory planning processes are well understood and executed.
• Identifying and managing any risks that could cause “reverse sensitivity” effects on the airport.
• Leading participation in third party proposals including engagement with developers.
• Driving process improvements within the planning team

What you’ll bring to the role:
At Auckland Airport, we are a busy hive of activity, and a lot of what we look for is how you would align with our AKL values All In | Tātou tatou – How we feel, Know How | Kōkiri Tahi – How we think and Let’s Go | Karawhiua – How we act.

To ensure your success in this role, you will need:

• A tertiary qualification in Resource Management Planning or similar.
• 10+ years’ experience in environmental policy and consenting, including significant New Zealand experience.
• Sound working knowledge of relevant statutory frameworks in New Zealand.
• A proven ability to influence and negotiate policy and/or consenting outcomes.
• A track record of sound strategic judgement and an ability to cope with business complexity.
• Well-developed skills as a team contributor, with demonstrated ability to collaborate effectively across functional lines.
• Sound business writing and verbal communication skills including well-developed presentation skills; and ability to consistently deliver in a high volume / change environment.

Apply today

It’s our collaboration and passion that keep everything together. This is what our culture and heritage have been built on. When you work with us, you’ll share our ambition to be a great New Zealand business, and one that’s making a strong contribution to the wellbeing of our communities and economy.

If this role sounds like you, we’d love to hear from you. Click the "Apply" button now.
Please apply with your Covering Letter and CV combined in one document.

Applications close: 12th December 2024
Please note that applications will be reviewed continuously throughout the recruitment period, and appointments may be made before the official closing date of the advert.

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