Team Leader - Rates

Richmond, New Zealand

Reference: 6913235

  • Lead a small team
  • Solve complex problems
  • Make an impact on your community

Rates are essential to everything Council delivers. From roads and water infrastructure to community facilities and services, rates help make it happen.

We're looking for an experienced and customer focused leader to oversee Council's rates administration function and lead a small, high-performing team of three. This is a varied role that combines people leadership, technical expertise, problem solving and customer service, ensuring our rating systems and processes are accurate, fair and compliant.

About the Role

You'll be responsible for the efficient and accurate administration of Council's rating activities, including rates invoicing, remissions, database maintenance, debt recovery and legislative compliance. You'll provide expert advice and support to staff, customers and stakeholders, while helping to high-impact or sensitive issues.

Reporting to the Business Services & Rates Manager, you'll play a key role in supporting the delivery of Council's rating functions, while providing guidance and acting as a 2IC for rates matters.

No two days are quite the same. One day you might be helping a customer navigate a rates remission application, the next you're interpreting legislation, improving business processes, addressing a challenging rating issue or coaching a team member through a new situation.

About You

You'll be confident and approachable and enjoy supporting others to succeed while maintaining high standards and delivering excellent service.

You may come from a finance, accounting, revenue management or local government background, but most importantly you'll bring a combination of technical expertise, leadership capability and sound judgement.

You'll have:

  • Experience leading, coaching and developing people
  • Strong analytical and problem-solving skills
  • The ability to interpret legislation, policy and financial information
  • Excellent communication and relationship-building skills
  • Confidence dealing with sensitive or challenging customer matters
  • Strong attention to detail and a commitment to accuracy
  • Well-developed digital skills, including Microsoft Excel and financial systems experience.

A role with challenge and purpose

This is a role with both challenge and purpose. You'll work with ratepayers who may be concerned about rising costs, experiencing financial hardship or facing complex circumstances. Having empathy, resilience and the ability to find practical solutions is important.

What makes the role rewarding is the opportunity to genuinely help people, whether that's supporting a customer through a difficult situation, helping someone understand their rates obligations, improving a process, or developing the people in your team. You'll play an important role in delivering fair and effective rating services that support our district and communities.

Why join us?

At Tasman District Council you'll join a collaborative and supportive organisation committed to delivering great outcomes for our communities.

We offer:

  • A positive team environment
  • Ongoing professional development opportunities
  • Health insurance
  • A paid day off on your birthday
  • A range of additional employee benefits

If you're looking for a team leader role where your expertise, judgement and people skills will genuinely make a difference, we'd love to hear from you.

Apply now!

For more information contact the People and Wellbeing Team on 03 543 8405.

Applications Close: 06 Aug 2026

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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 submitted 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).