Careers | Hastings District Council

A career in local government is a fantastic way to serve your community, with council activities touching all corners of the district and facets of people’s lives.

At Hastings District Council we have more than 400 staff with a diverse range of skills and experience that make our district a great place to live, work and play.

Our people work to provide the essential services like roads and water, regulatory services such as parking and animal welfare, and community services such as community centres, libraries, aquatics and arts and culture facilities.

We also work with our rangatahi, we design and deliver community and social development initiatives, monitor and care for our environment and green spaces, plan for future growth … and much more.

Hawke’s Bay is growing and our council has an ambitious work programme to achieve our vision: Fertile land, Heretaunga whenua houkura, prosperous people, Heretaunga hapori ora.

If you want to be part of a dynamic, diverse organisation focused on delivering the best for our community, find out more about potential career paths at HDC below or view our current vacancies via the button below.

VIEW OUR CURRENT VACANCIES

Potential career paths at HDC

Administration and customer services

Love helping people? No two days are the same in our customer services teams where you can be greeting ratepayers, members of our community and visitors to Hastings District Council, and helping them in multiple different ways. It may be registering their dog, finding information on a property, helping find out what’s on at Toitoi, what time the pools open, or the Art Gallery’s latest exhibition details.

Building consents

Every building in our community must be safe and suitable for the purpose it was built. Our building consent team includes processing officers, building inspectors, building technicians and compliance officers. Staff receive dedicated training and development ensuring our team remains knowledgeable, and if you’re just starting out you will receive on-the-job training and support to complete a two- year diploma – all paid for!

Educational requirements may vary according to the role. If you are interested in this career path, training and practical industry experience in building, plumbing and drainage, building design, or building inspections is desirable.

Regulatory and enforcement

Regulations are set by Council to ensure that our communities are safe and enjoyable places to live.

Regulatory activities include town planning, and issuing building and resource consents, as well as day-to-day actions to look after our community such as liquor licensing and environmental health, animal welfare and parking control.

Community services

Every day our staff are working towards improving the wellbeing of our communities, supporting whānau, rangatahi, tamariki, migrants and community groups.

Educational requirements for these roles will vary but in general tertiary qualifications in fields such as social work, social policy/sociology are desirable for senior roles. Vocational (entry level) qualifications may include a certificate in social services, or youth work. Lived experiences are very desirable, such as youth work, social work, counselling, involvement in community groups and community development organisations.

Aquatics

Joining the team at Aquatics Hastings gives you the opportunity to earn a qualification and get paid at the same time. Council operates Clive and Flaxmere pools year-round, with Splash Planet, Havelock North Village and Frimley pools open for the Hawke’s Bay summer. We offer many programmes and facilities, so outstanding customer service is a must, with every Aquatics staff member taking responsibility to help create and maintain a welcoming and safe atmosphere.

Please note: Skill Active New Zealand, Lifeguard NZ qualification framework criteria stipulates that you must be at least 16 years old on the day you begin your lifeguard training.

Arts and culture

Rich with diversity, our Arts and Culture facilities and programmes offer the community plenty of opportunities to creatively experience, grow and learn. Whether it be our Libraries, Te Whare Toi o Heretaunga - Hastings City Art Gallery or Toitoi – Hawke’s Bay Arts & Events Centre.

Hastings District Council has long had a strong commitment to supporting the arts in the community, encouraging a culture of creativity and innovation to promote a sense of community, civic pride, and to express our unique identity. Art is an important way to celebrate the whakapapa and history of our cultural heritage and experience

Diversity and inclusion

“Mana Tangata - Respecting Others – we are inclusive”

Our people are the most valuable asset we have. The collective sum of the individual differences, life experiences, knowledge, inventiveness, innovation, self-expression, unique capabilities and talent that our employees invest in their work represents a significant part of not only our culture, but our reputation and organisation’s achievement as well. We are committed to fostering, cultivating and preserving a culture of diversity, equity and inclusion.

Your career development

Your growth, both personally and professionally is really important to us, depending on your career path there are plenty of opportunities and a genuine desire to help you reach your potential. We have dedicated staff within our People Experience Team to support Managers and Employees.