About

Governance in rural and regional New Zealand is closer to the community it serves than almost anywhere else.

That proximity is a strength. It also asks more of the people at the table. Boards here navigate primary sector accountability, infrastructure stewardship, community representation, and environmental obligation, in tight-knit communities where conflicts of interest are ever-present and harder to manage.

Rural and Regional Governance New Zealand exists for that reality. We curate resources, surface opportunities, and connect practitioners, across local government, Māori governance, primary sector boards, environmental governance, and community organisations throughout the regions.

We support the work of the Institute of Directors, Chartered Governance Institute New Zealand, and Community Governance Aotearoa. Our focus is the geography and the sectors they do not always reach.

See Rural and Regional Governance New Zealand covered in Rural News here.

Who's behind Rural and Regional Governance New Zealand?

I'm Stefan Speller, based in Manawatū-Whanganui. I care about how our regions are governed, the development pipeline, and promoting a strong regional identity.

I've spent nearly fifteen years in governance across the regions, board and committee roles spanning charitable trusts, community service organisations, statutory and advisory bodies, and sector institutes. Right now that includes board roles with Te Aroha Noa Community Services and Hāpai Public – Institute of Public Professionals, serving as deputy chair of the Fire and Emergency New Zealand Manawatū-Whanganui Local Advisory Committee, and sitting on the Institute of Directors' Manawatū-Whanganui branch committee and Young Directors Network steering group. I also write and speak on local government and governance. It's this range, from community trusts to statutory bodies, that shaped how I see the gap this platform fills.

I started Rural and Regional Governance New Zealand because the regions are full of people who would govern well if someone simply pointed them to the seat. Finding the seat shouldn't be the hard part.

Connect with me on LinkedIn

How we work

Rural and Regional Governance New Zealand is a free resource that brings board, trustee and committee opportunities from across regional and rural New Zealand into one place. This page explains how we operate, so you know what to expect and can trust what you find here.

What we are

  • We are an independent, free resource. We gather governance opportunities and point people toward them.
  • We are not a membership body, a recruiter, or a training provider. We work alongside the governance sector and compete with none of it.

How we find and share roles

  • We actively seek out governance opportunities across the regions, including many that are otherwise scattered and hard to find.
  • Wherever possible, we link you directly to the listing organisation's own website, so you reach the original and current source.
  • Where a role is not on an organisation's own site, we point to open, freely accessible listings so you can find it without a login or a fee.
  • We only carry a role directly when it appears nowhere else that is easy to reach.

What we list, and what we don't

  • We share governance roles: board director, trustee, committee and advisory positions, both elected and appointed.
  • We do not list staff or employee jobs. A paid position that supports a board, rather than sitting on it, is a staff role, and it is not for us.
  • We do not reproduce roles held behind a paid membership or a paywall. Where those exist, we point you to the organisation so you can access them directly.

Accuracy

  • We check a role against its own current listing before we share it. If we cannot confirm it, we point you to where you can.
  • Things change quickly. Always confirm the details, and the closing date, with the listing organisation before you apply.
  • If you spot something out of date, tell us and we will fix it.

Staying neutral and independent

  • We are not aligned to any organisation.
  • We point people toward the training providers, membership bodies and programmes that help them govern well.
  • Our aim is to make opportunities visible, not to hold anyone to us.

Our use of AI

  • We use AI as a tool to help find and gather opportunities and information, and draft content. It never makes the final call.
  • A person reviews and approves everything before it is published. There is a human in the loop at every stage.

Your privacy

  • You do not need to register, log in, or give us any personal information to use this site.
  • Our website records basic, anonymous statistics, such as page views and general location, to help us improve the resource. We do not identify individual visitors.
  • We do not sell or share your information, and we will not send you unsolicited messages.

Accessibility

  • We want this resource to be usable by everyone, wherever they are and however they reach it.
  • We are always working to improve, and we welcome feedback on how we can make it more accessible.

Cost

  • Rural and Regional Governance New Zealand is free to everyone. No membership, no paywall. It is free for the people who use it, and it will stay that way.

This is a living resource, and it gets better with your help. If you find an error, know of a role we have missed, or have an idea to improve it, please get in touch.