Officers are the leaders of the New Zealand Army. They are the managers and strategists. Their decision-making skills and problem-solving abilities enable them to plan and execute tasks in wide-ranging conditions. It is their job to earn trust and respect, and to display the strength of character to inspire their soldiers in potentially difficult situations.

After completing Officer training, you will join a corps, specialising in combat, engineering, intelligence, communications or logistics.

JOB ON CAMP

As a General List Officer you are the frontline leader of the Army, to begin with, as a junior officer, you will be expected to;

    •    Organise and conduct training.

    •    Budget and managing of resources assigned to you.

    •    Work alongside the troops you lead, participating in training and exercises.

    •    Take on an instructional role, passing on knowledge to your troops.

    •    Manage and coordinate field exercises.

JOB ON DEPLOYMENT

Officers are deployed all around the world, including UN missions (e.g. as an observer in Lebanon or Syria) and Afghanistan as part of our Provisional Reconstruction Team. Officers
 also have the opportunity to be chosen for exchange postings or conduct professional training and development overseas.

CAREER PROGRESSION

As you continue in the organisation, you will move between your primary specialty and into areas such as capability, project management (procurement of Army equipment), Human
Resource Management and Training and Development

The minimum remuneration you will be paid from enlistment is $35,694. On completion of your Initial Officer Training this will increase to $38,586 and when you graduate from your Officer  Commissioning Course this will increase again to $48,000. Your remuneration will then continue to increase throughout your career based on promotion and seniority.

• You must be at least 17.5 years of age when you apply or older (on completion of Officer training you must be at least 19 years old).

• You must be a NZ citizen (some exceptions apply).

• You must be of good character – assessed by a study of testimonials and a police record check.

• You should be self-motivated and display leadership potential.

• While we accept school leavers, we would prefer people who may have a bit of life experience and possibly some tertiary education. There are some tertiary scholarship opportunities for school leavers who have achieved well at school and are interested in engineering. All Officers will have the opportunity to pursue further study as you progress through your career.

• You must have completed a minimum of 50 credits NCEA at Level 2 with at least 12 credits in Level 2 English

• For General List Officers, it is preferred that you are degree qualified or part way through completion of a degree.

• You must meet the academic requirements for your chosen scheme.

• You must be medically fit for service.

• There is a 15 year offer of service.

Officers are needed wherever the New Zealand Army operates. Within New Zealand, we have major camps at Linton, Burnham, Trentham, Wellington, Papakura and Waiouru.