The Department of Conservation (DoC) is the government agency responsible for conserving Aotearoa New Zealand’s natural and historic heritage, including stewardship of about 8.6 million hectares of public conservation land, 44 marine reserves and 8 marine mammal sanctuaries. As a core pillar of the country’s environmental, social, cultural, and economic wellbeing, DoC partners with iwi and Māori organisations, central and local government, NGOs, business and communities to protect, restore and enhance biodiversity across Aotearoa.
The Director-General of Conservation and Chief Executive (the Director‑General) plays a pivotal leadership role in the conservation system, ensuring the protection, restoration and sustainable use of biodiversity, enabling high quality recreation and tourism, authorising and regulating commercial activity on conservation lands and waters, and upholding the Crown’s responsibilities to iwi and Māori under the Treaty of Waitangi. The Director-General leads a workforce of around 2,400 people across 100 locations and is accountable for the effective management of an annual appropriation of approximately $600 million.
We are seeking a leader with exceptional judgement, strategic foresight, and the ability to work authentically with government agencies, businesses, iwi and Māori, and communities to deliver enduring conservation, economic and social outcomes. The Director-General will bring strong commercial acumen and understand the economic drivers within the conservation, tourism and natural resource sectors. They will champion future‑focused policy, climate resilience, and conservation innovation, while uplifting organisational performance, leading positive cultural change, and modernising systems and processes.
We are seeking an inspiring and astute system leader who has proficiency in the following areas:
System Leadership: Ability to influence policy and strategy across the public service, build strong cross sector partnerships, and apply strategic foresight to position the conservation system for long term sustainability.
Organisational Leadership: Experience in leading large and complex organisations, strengthening health and safety and risk management, strengthening governance and financial stewardship, driving agility and continuous improvement, and inspiring a unified, high-performing workforce that is connected to communities across New Zealand.
Context Management: Skilled in managing significant natural and historic assets, balancing conservation, commercial and regulatory responsibilities, and navigating complex political, social and environmental contexts.
Sector Experience: Brings deep conservation, biodiversity or resource management expertise, understands the commercial and economic drivers influencing conservation outcomes, and works effectively with iwi and Māori as Treaty partners.
Personal Leadership: Demonstrates courage, integrity and resilience, provides free and frank advice, and inspires trust and collaboration across teams, partners and stakeholders.
More information on the key leadership dimensions of this role can be found in the position description.
If you think you are the right person for this role, an application pack can be downloaded here.
Taumata.co.nz: Director-General of Conservation and Chief Executive
For further information or a confidential discussion about this position, please contact John Bell on 021 599586 or johnb@taumata.co.nz
Completed applications must be submitted to applications@taumata.co.nz quoting vacancy reference “Director-General of Conservation” by Sunday, 22 February 2026 at 11:59pm.
