Senior Recreation & Parks Planner
Wellington City Council
Kia mahi ngātahi mō Pōneke mō tōna āpōpō - Working together for Wellington's future
We're looking for a strategic and community‑focused Senior Recreation and Parks Planner to help shape the future of Wellington's parks, open spaces and recreation network.
Ngā Taipitopito Tūranga - Role details
Working as the senior in a close‑knit and supportive team, you'll enjoy a varied role that balances strategic thinking with practical work. You'll provide expert planning, policy and engagement advice to improve open space and recreation outcomes across the city, ensuring these outcomes are embedded in Council strategy, policy and planning frameworks and delivered through investment decisions, services and projects.
This is a role that gets you out and about, spending time in Wellington's open spaces, working directly with communities, stakeholders and mana whenua, and seeing the impact of your work on the ground. Stakeholder engagement is central to the role and your work will support growth, climate resilience, biodiversity and community wellbeing, while reflecting Wellington's unique identity.
Āu ake mahi - What you'll do
You'll lead the development, review and implementation of open space and recreation strategies, policies and plans, including network plans, reserve management plans and Te Whai Oranga Pōneke - the Open Space and Recreation Strategy. This includes responding to legislative change, evolving Council direction and long‑term spatial and community transformation.
You will plan and deliver high‑quality community and stakeholder engagement, provide strategic advice, research and insights to support cross‑Council planning and investment programmes, and contribute to submissions and Council positions on policy and legislative change.
You will lead planning projects that address open space and recreation challenges and opportunities, manage the planning and consultation of significant projects, and oversee reserve land classification and open space naming programmes. You'll ensure projects are delivered on time and within budget, using Council project, procurement and contract management frameworks.
You'll build strong relationships across Council and with mana whenua, sector agencies, community groups and professional networks.
Ngā tohu me ngā wheako - Qualifications and experience
You'll have more than five years' experience in open space or recreation planning, or a closely related field, supported by a tertiary qualification in open space and recreation planning or policy, landscape planning, landscape architecture, or equivalent relevant experience.
You'll have proven experience in community and stakeholder engagement, including working in partnership with mana whenua, and a strong ability to collaborate within multidisciplinary teams across a wide range of programmes. A solid understanding of the open space and recreation sector and key legislation, including the Reserves Act, Wellington Town Belt Act, Local Government Act and Resource Management Act, is essential. A full, clean current driver licence is also essential for this role.
We are looking to appoint between $103,494 and $121,757 per annum, for this role, depending on relevant skills and experience.
Nōu te rourou - What's in it for you
Working for the Council offers youa range of benefits including five weeks annual leave, flexible working options, health and wellbeing support, Council staff discounts and a range of learning and development programmes and opportunities.
View our Employee Value Proposition Video to see what our employees say about working at WCC.
Diversity:
We want your application to enable you to portray the real you. Skills are gained across many areas of our life, not just formal employment. If you can demonstrate the skills listed in the advert through whānau life, community or mahi aroha (volunteering) we encourage you to apply and share your story with us in your cover letter.
We welcome applications from all people and like our workforce to reflect the diverse communities we serve.
Accessibility Support:
We want to make sure any accessibility requirements you may have, are well supported so the selection process is equitable for everyone. Please let us know if there are any adjustments or support, we can offer to make our process more accessible to you by emailing: recruitment@wcc.govt.nz
Applications close Friday, 1 May 2026. Please note that we may engage with applicants prior to the vacancy closing and/or close applications ahead of this date so we encourage you to submit your application as soon as possible.
All applications must be submitted online and must have the right to work in New Zealand - we will not accept emailed applications.
Pre-employment Checks: All employees must undergo a Criminal Conviction Check.
If you have questions, please contact Sherilyn Hinton, Manager Open Space and Recreation Planning, sherilyn.hinton@wcc.govt.nz
