Deputy Harbourmaster

Motueka, New Zealand

Reference: 6783140

Location: Port Motueka

  • Are you passionate about Tasman's regional waterways?
  • Primarily water based work, based at Port Motueka
  • Base salary + benefits package + health insurance + birthday leave

Our region continues to grow at pace and Tasman District Council is committed to making Tasman a great place to live, visit, and do business. We have an exciting opportunity to join our experienced Harbourmaster Office team, to mentor and work alongside our Maritime Officers in a busy, varied and fun team environment.

As Deputy Harbourmaster, your summer days will primarily be spent on the water, engaging with our communities and carrying out hands-on tasks such as maintaining and installing aids to navigation.. You'll also be confident in providing professional advice to all water users—both recreational and commercial. This role requires flexibility, including working rostered weekends, late evenings, public holidays, and during peak periods like the summer months. These hours are recognised through our Time Off in Lieu policy.

In winter, your duties will be more ‘land' based; in the office assisting with mooring licenses, customer service requests and digital reporting or in the workshop doing maintenance.

There is also an element of leading the team through the day to day such as rostering, mentoring where needed and providing reports to the Harbourmaster. There may also be times when you are involved in oil spill response or other emergency type work.

You'll need extensive maritime craft handling in in all weather conditions, preferably within the Tasman region however applications will be considered from outside of the region. You'll also need a recognised Maritime qualification, such as Skipper Restricted Limits or equivalent alongside a full drivers license, be comfortable driving a 4x4 and towing, be actively qualified in first aid and have a restricted radio operators certificate.

While not essential, a background in a regulatory enforcement or compliance role would be useful / desirable.

The Tasman District is a great place to live and work. The climate, a beautiful coastline and plenty of opportunity to enjoy the great outdoors are the some of the main reasons why people choose to be here.

At Tasman District Council our work is the region that surrounds us. When you join our team, the results and success of your work are evident in every facet of our district. We work together every day to shape a community and create a community that we can be truly proud of.

Sound interested? Apply today!

Applications Close: 12 Aug 2025

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What to expect after you apply

Once the vacancy closes you'll be contacted within 7 days as to whether or not your application has been successful.  If you've been shortlisted for an interview, you'll be contacted by one of the People & Wellbeing team to arrange a time to come in and meet with some of the team. 

We typically only do one interview, however depending on the seniority of the role or the role itself, we sometimes require two interviews.  For mid-senior level and team leader/manager roles, you may also be required to undertake psychometric testing.

In your interview, there will be a member of the People & Wellbeing team, the Hiring Manager and either their Manager or one of the senior member's of their team.  Our interview questions are predominantly behavioural and skills-based.

Summer Student Internships

Every year we employ a number of Summer Students across the Council to work for a period of 12-16 weeks over the summer months (mid-November to February). This is a great opportunity to gain work experience in your field of study, advertising begins early July, All applications are to be sumbitted via our website in July.

We typically have vacancies in Engineering, Environmental Information (Hydrology, Resource Science and Biosecurity), Information Services and Regulatory (Compliance Monitoring).

If you're an Engineering student interested in a Rivers Engineering career/Summer Student position, check out this website for more information - Careers | Resilient River Communities - Careers | Resilient River Communities (resilientrivers.nz).