Recruitment agency Christchurch: manufacturing and engineering recruiters for Canterbury

Canterbury makes things. From the industrial parks at Hornby, Sockburn and Wigram to the fast-growing Rolleston and Izone estates, Christchurch has the largest manufacturing base in the South Island and a depth of engineering talent that the rest of the country quietly envies. It is also a long way from Hamilton, so let us explain why Christchurch businesses work with us anyway.

Advanced manufacturing and technology

Fabrum, the Christchurch cryogenic and hydrogen technology company, is a client. That is a business with world-class engineering and very specific hiring needs, and it is the kind of client we are built for.

Engineering and fabrication

Structural steel, machinery, heavy fabrication, HVAC and the engineering consultancies that grew through the rebuild. Mechanical, electrical, automation and project engineers, and the managers who lead them, are the roles we see most.

Agri-tech and food processing

The Canterbury Plains support dairy, meat, grain and horticulture processing on a scale that rivals the Waikato, plus a cluster of agri-tech and irrigation firms. Production, quality and supply chain leadership in these sectors is squarely in our wheelhouse; it is the same work we do at home.

The wider South Island

Christchurch is our base for South Island searches generally. We placed the Head of Supply and Logistics at Escea in Dunedin, and Chief Operating Officer Donna Sherriff said the work “made a seemingly impossible task deceptively easy and in a shorter timeframe than planned.” Mauricio Iozzolino, who we placed into his role at Escea, said it “made the whole process feel seamless from the start.”

• Operations managers, plant managers, production managers and continuous improvement leads (see operations and manufacturing recruitment)
• Engineering managers; mechanical, electrical, automation, process and project engineers
• Supply chain and logistics managers, planners, procurement specialists and distribution leads
• Quality, technical, R&D and H&S managers
• Financial controllers, finance managers and manufacturing accountants
• Business development and sales managers for industrial and technology products

Current South Island roles are listed on our job search page.

Christchurch is a flight, not a drive, so we are organised about it.

The brief is done properly. For a new client or a senior role we fly down, visit the site, meet the team and understand the business before we search. For clients we already know, a detailed video brief can work well, and we say which we recommend rather than defaulting to the cheaper option.

The search is national. Christchurch has strong local engineering and manufacturing talent, but it is a market where everyone knows everyone, and the person you need may be in Auckland, the Waikato or Dunedin. We already have relationships in all of those places. We also see a steady flow of North Islanders wanting to move south for the lifestyle and the housing, and South Islanders open to a step-up role in the north.

Interviews are wherever they should be. We interview every shortlisted candidate personally, by video or in person depending on where they are. For final interviews we will be in the room in Christchurch if you want us there.

The process is the same everywhere. Brief, targeted search, screening and interviews, a written shortlist with our honest read on each person, offer management, and a post-placement follow-up. It is the process behind every permanent, contract and executive appointment we make.

If you are an engineer, operations leader, supply chain professional, technical manager or finance person in Canterbury, we recruit for the kinds of businesses you probably want to work for: product-led, engineering-led, owner-led companies that take their people seriously. Some of those roles are in Christchurch. Others are in the North Island with employers who would relocate the right person.

Submit your CV so we know you and what you want, or browse current roles. If you are employed and would rather talk privately first, book a confidential conversation.

Thinking of moving north? We are honest about it: Hamilton and Tauranga offer bigger roles in smaller companies, a warmer climate and, for now, a more affordable housing market than Auckland. We can tell you what the specific opportunities look like before you decide anything.

Christchurch has excellent local recruiters. What we offer is different: a specialist Hamilton-based agency that recruits only senior and intermediate operations, engineering, supply chain, technical, sales and finance roles, with a national network and a track record with Canterbury and South Island employers including Fabrum and Escea.

Brigitta Warren founded RecruitNet in 2020 after more than twenty years in recruitment, and she leads every search personally. Over that career she has filled more than 1,850 roles across New Zealand. If you have a hard-to-fill role in Christchurch, Rolleston, Ashburton or anywhere in the South Island, brief us and we will tell you honestly whether we are the right partner for it.