HEALTH AND SAFETY ADVISOR
About The Role
This is a full-time position based in Gisborne, with regular travel to Pukekohe.
We’re establishing this Health & Safety Advisor role to bring dedicated capability into the business, lifting engagement, embedding consistent systems and behaviours, and proactively reducing injuries through stronger risk identification, monitoring, and support.
This role is about enabling leaders and teams, not replacing accountability. It plays an important part in strengthening our safety culture and improving outcomes across LeaderBrand.
Working across both farming and processing environments, the Health & Safety Advisor supports, facilitates, and verifies how health and safety is applied in practice. The focus is on helping leaders and teams understand risks, put effective controls in place, and follow through on actions, while ensuring accountability remains with those managing the work.
With a strong on-the-ground presence and practical, consistent engagement, the role helps drive participation, strengthen behaviours, and ensure controls are not just documented, but genuinely effective.
Overall, the position supports and verifies health and safety performance across the business. It does not own or replace leader accountability for safety outcomes.
About You
You can influence without taking over, supporting leaders while keeping accountability where it belongs. You’re confident reinforcing expectations and calling things out constructively.
You have a sharp eye for risk, using sound judgement to assess what’s working in practice and prioritise what matters. Your feedback is clear, balanced, and focused on improving outcomes.
You build strong relationships with both frontline teams and leaders, communicating simply and encouraging open conversations around health and safety.
You take a practical, hands-on approach, comfortable working across both farming and processing environments and tailoring your support to how work actually happens.
Well organised and proactive, you manage multiple priorities, follow through on actions, and bring energy to getting out in the field and driving improvement.
QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE
ESSENTIAL:
- 1–3+ years’ experience in a health and safety, compliance, or operational support role
- Strong communication skills and ability to engage with frontline teams
- Practical approach with the ability to work across different environments
- Full driver’s licence and willingness to travel between sites
PREFERRED:
- Relevant health and safety qualification (or working towards one)
- Experience in horticulture, farming, or food processing environments
- Experience using systems such as Mango or similar
About LeaderBrand
At LeaderBrand, we’re passionate about evolving fresh food for a healthier world. As a proud family-owned business, our goal is to be New Zealand’s most innovative and consistent fresh food producer. We farm across three key growing regions, process and pack in state-of-the-art post-harvest facilities, and are supported by a nationwide sales team delivering fresh produce to every corner of Aotearoa. Our 400+ people are central to our success. We’re always on the lookout for new talent with energy, passion, and a drive to learn – people excited to help shape the future of fresh food.
Gisborne is the heart of our business and the place where LeaderBrand was founded more than 50 years ago. Over that time, LeaderBrand has become integral to the story of our community, with the next generations of those who started with us returning to shape the future alongside us. We also have farms in Pukekohe and Chertsey.
We have a strong vision for the future of our business, our people, and our industry. We’re constantly pushing the boundaries of what’s possible. Our continuous improvement mindset grounds us as one of New Zealand’s leading horticultural businesses. We seek, harness, and develop the best people, technology, land, and machinery to shape the future of food.
