New Zealand Standards Approval Board Secretary

Tēnei tūranga – About the role

The New Zealand Standards Approval Board (the Board) is an independent statutory board, appointed by the Minister for Commerce and Consumer Affairs, set up under the Standards and Accreditation Act 2015.  For further information on the board, its functions and membership refer to the New Zealand Standards Approval Board(external link)

They are senior professionals who meet monthly and commit to a multi-year term. Rather than a traditional governance role, board members support Standards New Zealand’s standards development process with independent decision-making and checks and balances. Their functions include the appointment of standards development committee chairs and members, ensuring skills, knowledge, experience and sector representation, and avoiding conflicts of interest. They also ensure due process has been followed in the development, revision or adoption of standards and ultimately approve the publication of new, revised or adopted standards, for the New Zealand market.

The board members’ function provides one of the fundamental benefits of standards produced by Standards New Zealand, in ensuring standards are consensus built, avoid bias, undue commercial or vested interests or monopolies, have balanced representation on development committees, have undergone adequate consultation, and work for all those who use them.
Board members also bring their industry knowledge, expertise, networks and relationships to their role, to champion the value of standards and their contribution within New Zealand’s standards and conformance quality infrastructure and wider economy.

The New Zealand Standards Approval Board Secretary, is a critical conduit between Standards New Zealand, including the New Zealand Standards Executive, and the New Zealand Standards Approval Board. The Board Secretary is a Ministry employee residing within Standards New Zealand. Whilst reporting to the National Manager of Standards New Zealand, operationally they have a close working relationship with the Manager of Standards Development, and several senior advisors within Standards New Zealand, along with the Board Chair.

Board meetings are held every month, with some occasional and additional out of session meetings to manage urgent work. Approximately 50% of Board meeting are held remotely currently, via Microsoft Teams.

Takohanga tuhinga o mua – Key accountabilities and deliverables

The role is responsible for the delivery of:

Statutory compliance and procedural advice

• Helping ensure the Board operates in accordance with the Standards and Accreditation Act’s legal mandate, roles and responsibilities.
• Advise the Chair and Board members on statutory responsibilities and established practices.
• Ensure compliance with statutory requirements, organisational service level agreements, documented policies and procedures.
• Maintain strong applied knowledge of legislative obligations as they relate to the Board.

Board meeting administration support

• Co-ordinate Board meeting schedules.
• Prepare and distribute meeting agendas in consultation with the Board Chair, Standards Development Manager and other senior advisors within Standards New Zealand.
• Compile, review, and circulate Board papers in a timely and accurate manner, meeting service level agreement requirements.
• Ensure the quality, completeness, and consistency of all Board information.
• Support effective meeting processes and decision-making.
• Attend all Board meetings.
• Record accurate minutes, including decisions, resolutions, and key discussion points, utilising AI and other digital tools to do so. CoPilot and Sharepoint are widely used in this role.
• Process Board invoices for payment.
• Track action items and follow up with responsible parties.
• Maintain official records of decisions and approvals.
• Ensure proper meeting procedures are followed.
• Organize Board’s travel arrangements, meeting catering and other logistics as necessary.
• Facilitate onboarding and induction activities of new Board members.
• Provide ongoing guidance to Board members on statutory obligations, processes and responsibilities.
• Any other administrative duties sought by the Manager Standards Development or National Manager of Standards New Zealand in relation to standards development and administration.

Board documentation and records management

• Maintain statutory registers (e.g. conflict or interests, and commercial interests registers).
• Manage secure storage and accessibility of Board documents and records.
• Ensure proper version control and document governance.
• Oversee retention of Board documents and decision records.

Stakeholder and communication coordination

• Act as a central point of contact between Board, management, and external stakeholders.
• Coordinate communication between the Chair, external stakeholders and Standards NZ management team.
• Liaise with and organise external stakeholder guest attendance at Board meetings.

Continuous Improvement

• Continually review and improve Board processes, templates, reporting, documentation and practices.
• Recommend enhancements to Board effectiveness and efficiency.

Reports to: National Manager Standards New Zealand 

Location: Wellington location required. (Some flexible working arrangements possible). 

Ngā herenga – Requirements to be successful in this role

Personal specifications, core competencies and attributes 

Board secretary expertise and experience  

• Experience and understanding of corporate or statutory board principles, frameworks, and best practice.
• A degree of applied knowledge of legislation, regulatory requirements, or compliance obligations from previous roles.
• Ability to apply statutory obligations in a practical context.
• Understanding of Board roles, responsibilities, and dynamics.
• Sound judgement and discretion in sensitive or complex matters.
• Ability to provide balanced, impartial advice to the Board, Chair and Standards NZ management.

Communication and interpersonal skills

• Excellent written communication, particularly in preparing clear, concise Board papers and minutes (technology literacy skills needed here as AI tool use expected).
• Strong verbal communication and ability to engage effectively with Board members and executives.
• High level of diplomacy, tact, and influencing skills.
• Ability to manage relationships across Board members, senior leadership, and external stakeholders.

Organisation and attention to detail

• Exceptional organisational and time-management skills.
• High level of accuracy, quality control and attention to detail in documentation, records, scheduling etc.
• Ability to manage multiple deadlines and priorities concurrently.
• Strong coordination capability across complex meeting and reporting cycles.

Confidentiality and integrity

• Absolute discretion in handling confidential and sensitive information.
• High ethical standards and personal integrity.
• Ability to maintain independence and neutrality in governance matters.
• Trusted advisor to the Chair and Standards NZ management.

Analytical and critical thinking

• Strong analytical capability to review Board materials and identify gaps or risks, and liaise with primary paper authors to resolve.
• Critical thinking to challenge constructively and support robust Board discussion.

Stakeholder management

• Ability to build effective working relationships with Board members and senior executives.
• Skilled in managing competing interests and expectations.
• Confidence to engage at senior levels.

Process and continuous improvement orientation

• Ability to design, implement, and improve Board processes, templates, practices and systems.
• Commitment to continuous improvement of Board effectiveness.
• Familiarity with governance tools (e.g., Board paper portals, document management systems, AI minute taking and transcription tools).

Professionalism and personal attributes

• Highly professional, credible, and composed under pressure.
• Proactive, self-motivated, and solution-oriented.
• Resilient and adaptable in a dynamic environment.
• Strong sense of accountability and ownership.
• Open mindedness and adaptability.

Technical and administrative capability

• Proficiency in document management and Board reporting practices and systems.
• Strong minute-taking and documentation skills – including utilising AI LLM tools.
• Ability to manage statutory registers and compliance filings (where applicable).
• Digital technology literacy across office, large language model (AI) tools and governance, meetings and records management and financial platforms.

Tō tūranga i roto i te Manatū – Your place in the Ministry

Established in 1932, Standards New Zealand has been a business unit within the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) since 2016, pursuant to the Standards and Accreditation Act 2015.

For a brief overview video of Standards NZ, who we are and what we do visit Who we are :: Standards New Zealand(external link)

Information on the New Zealand Standards Approval Board can be found here: Standards Approval Board :: Standards New Zealand(external link)

More information about MBIE’s structure

To mātou aronga – What we do for Aotearoa New Zealand

Hīkina Whakatutuki is the te reo Māori name for the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment. Hīkina means to uplift. Whakatutuki means to move forward, to make successful. Our name speaks to our purpose – Grow New Zealand for All.

To Grow New Zealand for All, we put people at the heart of our mahi (work). Based on the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi / The Treaty of Waitangi, we are committed to upholding authentic partnerships with Māori.

• As agile public service leaders, we use our breadth and experience to navigate the ever-changing world.
• We are service providers, policy makers, investors and regulators. We engage with diverse communities, businesses and regions. Our work touches on the daily lives of New Zealanders.
• We grow opportunities (Puāwai), guard and protect (Kaihāpai) and innovate and navigate towards a better future (Auaha).

Ngā matatau – Our competencies

Cultivates innovation We create new and better ways for the organisation to be successful by challenging the status quo generating new and creative ideas and translating them into workable solutions.

Nimble learning We are curious and actively learn through experimentation when tackling new problems by learning as we go when facing new situations and challenges.

Customer focus We build strong customer relationships and deliver customer-centric solutions by listening and gaining insights into the needs of the communities we serve and actively seeking and responding to feedback.

Decision quality We make quality and timely decisions that shape the future for our communities and keep the organisation moving forward by relying on an appropriate mix of analysis, wisdom, experience, and judgement to make valid and reliable decisions.

Action oriented We step up, taking on new opportunities and tough challenges with purpose, urgency and discipline by taking responsibility, ownership and action on challenges, and being accountable for the results.

Collaborates We connect, working together to build partnerships with our communities, working collaboratively to meet shared objectives by gaining trust and support of others; actively seeking the views, experiences, and opinions of others and by working co-operatively with others across MBIE, the public sector and external stakeholder groups.

Te Tiriti o Waitangi

As an agency of the public service, MBIE has a responsibility to contribute to the Crown meeting its obligations under Te Tiriti o Waitangi (Te Tiriti).

Meeting our commitment to Te Tiriti will contribute towards us realising the overall aims of Te Ara Amiorangi – Our Path, Our Direction, and achieve the outcome of Growing New Zealand for All.

The principles of Te Tiriti – including partnership, good faith, and active protection – are at the core of our work.

MBIE is committed to delivering on our obligations as a Treaty partner with authenticity and integrity and to enable Māori interests. We are committed to ensuring that MBIE is well placed to meet our obligations under the Public Service Act 2020 (Te Ao Tūmatanui) to support the Crown in strengthening the Māori/Crown Relationship under the Treaty and to build MBIE’s capability, capacity and cultural intelligence to deliver this.

Mahi i roto i te Ratonga Tūmatanui – Working in the public service

Ka mahitahi mātou o te ratonga tūmatanui kia hei painga mō ngā tāngata o Aotearoa i āianei, ā, hei ngā rā ki tua hoki. He kawenga tino whaitake tā mātou hei tautoko i te Karauna i runga i āna hononga ki a ngāi Māori i raro i te Tiriti o Waitangi. Ka tautoko mātou i te kāwanatanga manapori. Ka whakakotahingia mātou e te wairua whakarato ki ō mātou hapori, ā, e arahina ana mātou e ngā mātāpono me ngā tikanga matua o te ratonga tūmatanui i roto i ā mātou mahi.

In the public service we work collectively to make a meaningful difference for New Zealanders now and in the future. We have an important role in supporting the Crown in its relationships with Māori under the Treaty of Waitangi. We support democratic government. We are unified by a spirit of service to our communities and guided by the core principles and values of the public service in our work.

What does it mean to work in Aotearoa New Zealand’s Public Service?(external link) — Te Kawa Mataaho The Public Service Commission