Funding & Sponsorship Advisor

JobsCloseBy Editorial Insights

Rotorua Lakes Council is seeking a proactive Funding & Sponsorship Advisor to lead our community funding, sponsorships and partnerships, including Creative Communities Fund and Community Matching Fund schemes. This fulltime onsite role blends relationship-building with governance and financial administration, ensuring transparent, inclusive processes aligned with Council goals for participation and resilience while actively growing external investment. You’ll work with community groups and iwi/Māori organisations to provide guidance, evaluate outcomes, monitor trends, and support funding panels and Council systems, plus contribute to Rural Community Board devolved funding and wider Community Programmes. To apply, highlight grants administration, policy application, stakeholder engagement, data reporting, digital-system proficiency, and tangible, measurable partnership successes that demonstrate equity and impact.

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Are you passionate about empowering local communities, iwi, and organisations through equitable and transparent access to funding, while also helping grow partnerships and sponsorships that amplify community impact? Rotorua Lakes Council is seeking a proactive and collaborative Funding & Sponsorship Advisor to join our Partnerships & Programmes team.

About the Role
As a Funding & Sponsorship Advisor, you will manage and administer Council’s community funding, sponsorship, partnerships and grants programmes, including schemes such as the Creative Communities Fund and Community Matching Fund. This role is key to ensuring our funding processes are transparent, inclusive, and strategically aligned with Council’s goals for community participation and resilience. The role will also pursue and foster sponsorship opportunities that deliver value for Council.

You’ll work closely with community groups, iwi/Māori organisations, and a wide range of stakeholders to provide accurate advice, manage funding applications, evaluate outcomes and leverage partnership and sponsorship opportunities. This is a dynamic role that blends relationship-building, policy application, and financial administration.

Key Responsibilities
In this role, you will lead Council’s community funding, sponsorship, and partnership activity, combining strong governance of public funding with a proactive approach to growing external investment. You will manage end-to-end funding processes, while actively identifying, developing, and managing sponsorships and partnerships that deliver mutual value and strengthen community outcomes.

You will work closely with community groups and iwi/Māori organisations to provide clear guidance, monitor and evaluate outcomes, and analyse trends to improve funding and sponsorship approaches. Partnering with internal experts, you will support robust, evidence-based recommendations, administer financial processes within Council systems, support funding panels, and maintain accurate data and reporting.

The role also contributes to Rural Community Board devolved funding processes and supports wider Community Programmes team delivery as required.

About You
We are looking for someone who enjoys engaging with people and building relationships across our diverse community. You will bring excellent communication skills, attention to detail, and the ability to assess and apply funding criteria fairly and consistently. Previous experience in community development, grant administration, or local government processes would be an advantage.

To succeed in this role, you will need strong stakeholder engagement skills and confidence in working across a range of internal and external partners. You will bring experience with financial or funding administration, an analytical approach to identifying trends and making recommendations, and accuracy in record-keeping and reporting. You should also have proficiency with digital systems and demonstrate a collaborative, flexible team approach.

Why Join Us
At Rotorua Lakes Council, we are committed to building a connected and resilient community where everyone has the opportunity to contribute and thrive. This role offers the chance to directly empower initiatives that make a difference in people’s lives while contributing to the long-term wellbeing of our district.

If you are passionate about equity, transparency, and supporting communities to access resources, we’d love to hear from you.

Click this link to view the position description