Home  > All Mahi  >

New Paragraph

Business Development & Communications Advisor
Venture Taranaki Trust

New Plymouth, Taranaki, New Zealand

5 month fixed term position

Applications close:

10 Jun 2026

In this 5-month fixed-term, part-time position (20 hours per week), you’ll play a key role in supporting business development, customer engagement, communications, and stakeholder coordination activities across several future-focused workstreams. You’ll help transition projects from trial and development phases into stronger commercial engagement and market activation by building relationships, supporting communications strategies, and identifying market opportunities.


Overview

Ngā kawenga matua | Key responsibilities:


Hemp Workstream

  • Respond to enquiries and engage with individuals and organisations interested in hempcrete and hemp-based products.
  • Lead communications and customer engagement activities associated with approximately seven hemp house builds (2027 target) and hempcrete training initiatives.
  • Engage with prospective industry partners, manufacturers, builders, suppliers, and commercial stakeholders.
  • Assist in identifying scalable commercial opportunities linked to hemp processing and product development.
  • Lead communications and stakeholder engagement associated with the development of regional hemp processing capability and the proposed Hemp Hub, with support and oversight provided by the Communications and Marketing Manager.

Functional Botanicals Workstream

  • Lead sales and customer engagement activities for dried botanical material.
  • Assist with identifying and engaging prospective domestic buyers.
  • Engage with customers interested in utilising the toll drying facility and associated processing capability.
  • Lead the development and execution of a communications and visibility strategy for the Functional Botanicals Group.
  • Assist with development of market pathways and strategic customer relationships.
  • Coordinate communications, stakeholder updates, promotional content, and engagement activities across the workstream.
  • Support commercial engagement activities associated with scaling processing and drying capability.

Land Use Portal (LUP)

  • Support engagement with users of the Land Use Portal and associated enquiries.
  • Assist engagement with Economic Development Agencies (EDAs) and sector stakeholders.
  • Support communications and workshop facilitation activities linked to land use diversification opportunities.
  • Help support the positioning of the Land Use Portal as a practical tool for assessing crop and land use opportunities


Requirements

Ngā pūkenga me ngā wheako | Skills and experience:

  • You’ll bring strong communication and relationship management skills, along with the ability to work across multiple projects and stakeholders. Ideally, you will have:
  • Experience in business development, communications, stakeholder engagement, or sector coordination
  • Strong customer relationship and networking skills
  • Excellent written and verbal communication abilities
  • Experience developing communications or engagement strategies
  • The ability to work independently and collaboratively across emerging industry projects
  • Knowledge of primary industries, manufacturing, value-added products, or regional economic development would be an advantage


What we can offer you


Who we are

 

If you’re motivated to contribute to the growth and success of the Taranaki region and bring the skills and experience we’re looking for, we welcome your application. Please click on the Apply button to submit your CV and a cover letter.


Applications close 5pm, Wednesday 10 June. We reserve the right to close this advertisement early if a suitable candidate is identified.