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Help shape the future of our district by ensuring our rating services are accurate, fair, and delivered with genuine community care.

Kaikoura District Council is looking for an experienced Rates Officer to lead the day-to-day rating function and be a trusted expert for both our internal teams and our ratepayers. This is a key role within our Finance Team where accuracy, empathy, and
problem-solving all come together.

If you enjoy detail, thrive under competing deadlines, and care about doing things right for your community, we’d love to hear from you.

Why join us?

• Work in one of Aotearoa’s most stunning coastal communities
• Supportive, collaborative Finance team
• Varied and meaningful work that directly impacts our community
• Opportunities to grow your expertise in local government, data quality, and revenue systems

About the role

As our Rates Officer, you will:

• Lead the annual rates setting and quarterly billing cycle
• Ensure rating activities comply with the Local Government (Rating) Act 2002
• Maintain high levels of data quality for rating, valuation, ownership, and subdivision changes
• Provide advice on rating policies and interpret legislation for non-standard or complex scenarios
• Oversee arrears management, including segmentation, payment plans, and escalation
• Be the escalation point for sensitive or complex ratepayer enquiries
• Liaise with QV, LINZ, lawyers, auditors, and debt collection partners
• Produce monthly reporting and insights on billing accuracy and arrears trends
• Support bank reconciliations, daily receipting, and month-end processes
• Coach colleagues and Front of House on rating processes
• Deliver excellent customer service by helping ratepayers understand their rates and payment options

This is a customer-facing role and includes email, phone, and in-person engagement with the public.

What you’ll bring

Essential skills and attributes:

• Calm, helpful, and clear communication (written and verbal)
• Strong computer skills, especially in Microsoft O?ce
• High accuracy and comfort working with ?nancial systems or databases
• Ability to juggle multiple tasks and maintain quality under pressure
• Strong interpersonal skills and a collaborative approach
• Excellent attention to detail
• Ability to interpret and reconcile numerical data

Desirable:

Experience in rates or rating functions

• Previous experience in local government
• Familiarity with systems such as Datascape (advantageous but not essential)

You’ll thrive in this role if you:

• Enjoy analytical work and solving complex problems
• Value accuracy and process improvement
• Can stay calm and professional in challenging customer situations
• Want to contribute to a small, high-performing team that supports its community

About Kaikoura District Council

We are a small council with a big heart. Everything we do supports the wellbeing, resilience, and growth of our district. When you join KDC, you become part of a tight-knit team
committed to doing meaningful work for our people.

For a full position description please visit our website: www.kaikoura.govt.nz

Apply now

If you’re ready to bring your skills to a role with real purpose, we would love to hear from you, please send your cover letter and CV to: HR@kaikoura.govt.nz

Applicants must be a New Zealand citizen, resident or have a valid