What's your job about?
Waka Kotahi is responsible for the development and maintenance of Aotearoa’s state highway network. We are focused on providing an integrated land transport system that helps people get the most out of life and supports business. Our customer promise is great journeys to keep New Zealand moving.
The grad programme at Waka Kotahi is called the Emerging Professionals Programme (EPP). We are in the programme for two years and spend roughly eight months with three different teams in the organisation. For my first rotation, I’m in the Environment and Sustainability team, providing communications support to my team who are releasing a significant new policy. This policy will help minimise the impact of Waka Kotahi projects on the environment, and ensure we are creating a sustainable land transport system.
I am working with our communications team to create a comms plan to educate Waka Kotahi and our external contractors about the new policy. I will be creating tailored content for the target audiences we’ve identified, writing articles for the Waka Kotahi intranet and attending presentations to record feedback. After the launch of the policy, I'll continue to identify opportunities to inform people about the new standard.
What's your background?
I grew up in Wellington and went to school at Wellington Girls’ College. I set my sights on becoming a journalist when I was in Year 10 following a school careers session, as I felt like it was a practical application for my love of writing. After I finished high school in 2015, I started off at Victoria University doing a Bachelor of Arts. However, I didn’t feel like this degree was giving me the practical experience I needed to pursue my journalism career, so I headed to Massey University in Palmerston North to do a Bachelor of Communication. In my final year, I had the opportunity to do an internship paper, so I interned at Stuff’s Palmerston North office. The stars aligned and someone left just as I was finishing my last papers and I managed to secure a permanent role. I spent a year as a reporter at Stuff - I loved the work, but it was very demanding.
I moved back to Wellington in 2020, with the aim of going overseas to travel. After those plans were put on hold by Covid, I started to reassess where I wanted my career to go. I worked a couple of comms-related roles in social media and technical writing before I came across the EPP. I applied for the EPP with the aim of gaining experience working in communications and was stoked when I found out I’d been successful! I’ve been here since February this year.
Could someone with a different background do your job?
Yes. I think having a degree in communications is an advantage, but it is a field where learning on the job is very possible and super valuable. The most important thing to possess is people skills – ultimately working in communications is about understanding what people need and the best way to communicate to different audiences. If you are personable and know how to communicate ideas effectively (whether this is through speaking, presentations or writing), then you would be able to work in this discipline.
What's the coolest thing about your job?
I am excited about the opportunity to do three rotations in the programme – it will be useful to get a taster of different teams in Waka Kotahi before we find our permanent role after two years as an Emerging Professional. It’s fun to be working in the environment and sustainability field, especially in the transport sector, as this is an industry where we can make a real difference in regards to New Zealand’s carbon emissions. It’s been exciting to get a better understanding of how the government is tackling climate change, and how I can contribute to our goals.
What are the limitations of your job?
Since we rotate to a new team every eight months, we only have a relatively short time to get to know the team and understand our responsibilities before we move on. From my experience in other jobs, it can take a year to get fully comfortable and confident in a role, so I am aware this is something I’ll have to be prepared for once I finish my first rotation. Some teams that I am interested in working in have most of the team members in other offices around the country, which means I wouldn’t have much face-to-face contact with them.
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