How to become an emergency management adviser
Official title: Emergency management adviser
Also called: Emergency management officer, Emergency management advisor, Emergency response trainer, Civil defence adviser, Earthquake response, National emergency response adviser, Natural disasters response manager
Emergency management advisers prepare plans and training programmes for responding to natural disasters like earthquakes, and emergencies such as hazardous spills.
Main tasks
- Plan for and respond to emergencies
- Prepare communities for disasters
- Create emergency response plans
- Train people to deal with emergencies
- Give advice on staying safe
- Set up and run emergency centres
- Research dangers to communities
- Test emergency plans with exercises
How to become one
You usually train on the job to become an emergency management adviser and experience and a qualification may be useful. You usually need NCEA Level 3 to do the study or training for this job. Required: to complete training courses by the National Emergency Management Agency; a driver licence; to pass a police check. Other requirements: to complete training courses by the National Emergency Management Agency; experience in similar work; a graduate certificate or diploma in emergency management; a Master of Emergency Management; a relevant tertiary qualification in civil defence, police force, emergency management or similar area.
Ways in
- University: Engineering degrees, Offered by 5 universities in New Zealand
Pay
- Most common pay: $57,000 to $95,000 a year (median $71,000), a TEC estimate before tax.
- Upper: $121,000 a year
- TEC's pay figures are estimates only. TEC says they must not be used to set pay, in pay negotiations or in visa applications.
Who does this work
- About 110 people did this job at the 2023 Census (TEC).
Related jobs
- Forensic specialist
- Fire investigator
- Forest fire inspector and prevention specialist
- Emergency dispatcher
- Air force aviator
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Questions people ask
How do I become an emergency management adviser?
You usually train on the job to become an emergency management adviser and experience and a qualification may be useful. You usually need NCEA Level 3 to do the study or training for this job. Required: to complete training courses by the National Emergency Management Agency; a driver licence; to pass a police check. Other requirements: to complete training courses by the National Emergency Management Agency; experience in similar work; a graduate certificate or diploma in emergency management; a Master of Emergency Management; a relevant tertiary qualification in civil defence, police force, emergency management or similar area.
How much does an emergency management adviser earn in New Zealand?
The Tertiary Education Commission estimates median pay at $71,000 a year, before tax. Most common pay is $57,000 to $95,000 a year.
Sources
- Tertiary Education Commission (Tahatu Career Navigator): Tahatu career ideas: descriptions, tasks, pay estimates, people employed, employment change 2018 to 2023, entry requirements, registration, interest scores (Site scrape 2026-10 (816 career ideas, sitemap lastmod 2026-10-01)), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 4 October 2026
This content is sourced from the Tertiary Education Commission through the Tahatū Career Navigator website (www.tahatu.govt.nz) and used under the CC BY 4.0 licence. All or some of the information has been modified by Peernovo. TEC has not approved, endorsed or tested these modifications. TEC will not be held accountable for any errors within this content.
Qualification information from NZQA, used under CC BY 3.0 NZ.
This work is based on/includes Stats NZ's data which are licensed by Stats NZ for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence. Census data via Figure.NZ.
Includes information from O*NET OnLine by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications.
Sources: Tertiary Education Commission, Tahatū Career Navigator (career ideas, pay estimates, entry requirements and study options, CC BY 4.0, modified by Peernovo); Stats NZ, 2023 Census (via Figure.NZ) and the National Occupation List (CC BY 4.0); NZQA qualification information (CC BY 3.0 NZ); O*NET interest scores (CC BY 4.0); ILO global generative AI exposure index (CC BY 4.0). Links between career ideas and ANZSCO groups, degree fields and broad job groups are Peernovo's.
These results are not official statistics. They have been created for research purposes from the Integrated Data Infrastructure (IDI), which is carefully managed by Stats NZ.
Graduate outcomes: these results are not official statistics. They have been created for research purposes from the Integrated Data Infrastructure (IDI), which is carefully managed by Stats NZ.
Updated 4 October 2026