Biology and chemistry

How to become a natural sciences manager

Official title: Natural sciences manager

Also called: Laboratory manager, Environmental issues manager, Environmental manager, Hazard substances manager, Natural and physical science manager, Natural resources manager, Research and development manager

Natural sciences managers supervise and direct research and development in life sciences, physical sciences, mathematics and statistics for a research institute or university.

Main tasks

Manage research projects for organisations
Lead and support research teams
Manage staff performance
Hire and train science workers
Plan and improve research methods
Analyse data to make decisions
Create and update research plans
Write reports on research progress

How to become one

You need experience and a qualification to become a natural sciences manager. You need NCEA Level 3 to do the study or training for this job. Required: experience in similar work; a relevant tertiary qualification in biological sciences, physics and astronomy studies, chemical sciences, mathematical sciences, earth sciences or similar area.

See the full Tahatū profile

Ways in

University: Science degrees, Offered by 6 universities in New Zealand
University: Mathematics & Statistics degrees

Pay · Past change · AI and this job

Most common pay: $79,000 to $144,000 a year (median $104,000), a TEC estimate before tax.
Lower: $60,000 a year · Upper: $192,000 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.
Change in the number of people doing this job between the 2018 and 2023 Censuses: Decrease (TEC). This is past change, not a forecast.
People employed in the group Research and Development Managers: 2,007 at the 2018 Census and 2,256 at the 2023 Census (+12.4%). Past change, not a forecast.
Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.

Who does this work

About 1,500 people did this job at the 2023 Census (TEC).
In the group Research and Development Managers, 52% of workers are female (sex at birth, 2023 Census).
Where people in the group Research and Development Managers work (2023 Census): Auckland 35.4%, Wellington 16.2%, and Canterbury 12.6%.

Questions people ask

How do I become a natural sciences manager?

How much does a natural sciences manager earn in New Zealand?

The Tertiary Education Commission estimates median pay at $104,000 a year, before tax. Most common pay is $79,000 to $144,000 a year.

Has the number of people working as a natural sciences manager grown in New Zealand?

It has shrunk: TEC records a decrease in the number of people doing this job between the 2018 and 2023 Censuses. This is past change, not a forecast.

Will AI change the work of a natural sciences manager?

Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.

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
Stats NZ (via Figure.NZ): Census totals by topic for individuals 2013, 2018, 2023 (CEN23_TBT_004): employed by occupation, ANZSCO V1.3, summed to unit group (2023 Census (CEN23_TBT_004)), CC BY 4.0 (Stats NZ), CC BY 3.0 NZ (Figure.NZ), retrieved 4 October 2026
Stats NZ (via Figure.NZ): Census 2023: employed by regional council, occupation (ANZSCO V1.3 unit group) and sex at birth (2023 Census), CC BY 4.0 (Stats NZ), CC BY 3.0 NZ (Figure.NZ), retrieved 4 October 2026
International Labour Organization, Generative AI and Jobs: A Refined Global Index of Occupational Exposure (ILO Working Paper 140, Gmyrek et al.) (ILO Working Paper 140, May 2025, Annex Table A1), 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