The New Zealand Institute of Surveyors (NZIS) recently announced that Jeffrey Alan Needham has taken over the Presidency of the Institute from 29 August 2013. Jeff takes over from Andrew Stirling who has held the post the last two years.
Jeff first joined NZIS in 1994 and is someone who is passionate about the profession; he sees opportunities for surveyors as advocates for the land, for the people and for the future of NZ.
Jeff brings a wealth of experience to the presidency. He was first appointed to the council in 2007, where he took on responsibility for the Membership Services Committee and has served on Boards of Enquiry. He was voted as the president-elect in 2012, during his tenure as vice president. In 1996, Jeff was awarded the Percy Dyett Prize for Best Engineering Plans in Registration Examinations.
Jeff’s early professional experience comes from employment with the Lands and Survey Department (later becoming the Dept. of Survey and Land Information (DoSLI)), Murray North Ltd, and Natural Gas Ltd in the Waikato. It was during this time that he gained his NZ Certificate in Land Surveying and, later, a Bachelor in Surveying.
After university, Jeff held various positions throughout the North Island during which he gained the experience necessary to become a Registered Surveyor in 1997.
In 1999, Jeff moved south to Wellington, taking up a role of NZIS Stakeholder Representative on the LINZ Landonline project. He was subsequently appointed Customer Strategy Manager in 2002. During this time of significant change and challenge for the profession, Jeff had the opportunity to travel the country, talking to surveyors about what was needed in Landonline, and ensured that the profession was represented in the implementation of this world-first automated land survey and titles registration system.
In 2002, Jeff presented a paper entitled The Benefits of Stakeholder Involvement, based on his experience within the Landonline project to the FIG XXII International Congress, in Washington USA.
Since returning to professional consulting in 2005, Jeff has held positions as principal with Tse Group in Wellington, subsequently becoming Spiire NZ Ltd, and, more recently following a stint assisting in the expansion of a national radio backbone for TeamTalk Ltd, Jeff has taken on the role of Land Development Manager at Harrison Grierson in Wellington.
Jeff lives in Wellington with his wife Carleen and two daughters.
He sees the next two years as an opportunity to broaden the NZIS to encompass all professionals working with land information and measurement science and promote the highest ideals of the profession for the benefit of the members and New Zealand society.
New Zealand Institute of Surveyors (NZIS) is the professional body for Surveyors and GIS/Spatial Professionals in New Zealand. It is a national organisation with a National Office based in Wellington.
The Institute promotes ethical and professional conduct amongst members, aims to raise public awareness of the knowledge, skills and importance of the profession, whilst representing the interests of members and the community.
