About 300 foreign policy officers are employed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT).

MFAT runs an annual foreign policy officer recruitment round, usually in March. It receives between 450 and 470 applications each year, and competition for positions is intense. The number of applicants recruited varies each year, but usually falls between 20 and 25.

Major funding increase for MFAT

• increase by more than 100 the number of foreign policy officers and support staff working overseas during the next five years – a lift of more than 50%
• boost Wellington-based staff levels in several high-priority divisions, such as those looking after New Zealand's interests in Asia, the Pacific, Latin America, trade, and the environment.

All foreign policy officers are employed by MFAT.

Wellington is the only New Zealand base for foreign policy officers, but after two to four years you will be offered a posting to an overseas country. About a third of the 300 foreign policy officers are posted overseas at any time.

The trend towards globalisation and the breakdown of international trade barriers has increased the amount of trade-related work undertaken by MFAT. For this reason, MFAT is especially interested in recruiting:

• law graduates to work on the legal aspects of foreign policy and trade policy
• economics graduates to focus on international trade negotiation and economic issues.