Senior Ministerial Advisor
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Tēnei tūranga – About the role
The Senior Ministerial Advisor will contribute to the operations of Ministerial Services and is responsible for providing a high-quality official correspondence drafting service to the business group. The Senior Ministerial Services Advisor is responsible for ensuring quality and consistency of advice and practice in relation to both their contribution and also to the broader team’s work and ensuring effective stakeholder relationships.
The Senior Ministerial Advisor will take a lead in prioritising, and assist with practice, programme and service development initiatives or projects. They will also assist the Team Leader by providing quality assurance, peer support, coaching and technical advice to colleagues, along with business planning and partnering advice.
Ngā herenga – Requirements of the role
Personal specifications
- Expert knowledge and wide experience across Parliamentary and Select Committee accountability processes, Ministerial correspondence, and Official Information Act requests (OIAs)
- Understanding of Government decision-making and operating procedures
- Proven ability to build and maintain effective working relationships with a wide range of individuals and
- groups both internal and external to an organisation
- Strong written and verbal communication skills
- Coaching, mentoring and training experience
- Experience and understanding of recruitment and selection processes
- Expertise and experience in project management
- Thought leadership
- The ability to gain and maintain a national security clearance to Confidential level
- Tertiary level education or equivalent work experience.
- Must have the legal right to live and work in New Zealand
- Credit check required (no)
- Required to drive (no)
- Police vetting (no)
Takohanga tuhinga o mua – Key accountabilities and deliverables
Critical Success Factors
The Senior Ministerial Advisor will be required to deliver results in the following areas:
- Drafting Ministerial replies for relevant Ministers, that meet quality and timeliness requirements
- Working with subject matter experts and other Ministry staff to prepare responses to OIAs that meet quality and timeliness requirements
- Providing advice on responses to ensure quality and consistency across MBIE
- Assisting the smooth recording and management of workflow to support accurate reporting of Business Group and MBIE Ministerial Service performance
- Liaising with Policy and service delivery staff to source and build knowledge in the particular work areas
- Prioritising workflow to meet MBIE and Ministerial requirements, guidelines and legislative requirements
- Ensuring business intelligence from Ministerial correspondence and OIAs is shared with appropriate business groups
- Supporting continuous improvement across MBIE
- Undertaking peer review of colleagues’ work
- Ensuring tracking, recording, statistical reporting and follow-up actions are timely and accurate
- Contributing peer support and review for quality assurance, coaching/mentoring and technical advice to others in the team
- Actively participating in the MBIE Ministerial Services community of practice
- Taking a continuous improvement approach to all activities taking on other activities for the benefit of the team and/or Group as agreed with the Team Leader and/or Head of the Office of the Deputy Secretary
- Covering Private Secretaries on leave from time to time
Work management
- Uses project planning and management techniques to effectively carry out the agreed work, using initiative to remove roadblocks, manage risks and coordinate work with others
- Works with some guidance on the overall objectives, within the resources available and provides timely reports on progress
- Leads multiple pieces of work concurrently and actively and independently plans and manages workload
Relationship management
- Maintains relationships across a variety of functions and locations. Draws upon multiple relationships to exchange ideas, resources, and know how. Actively seeks to build and maintain a network of contacts
- Develops strong relationships across business groups and Ministers’ offices to ensure consistency of approach
Wellbeing, health & safety
- Displays commitment through actively supporting all safety and wellbeing initiatives.
- Ensures own and others safety at all times.
- Complies with relevant safety and wellbeing policies, procedures, safe systems of work and event reporting.
- Reports all incidents/accidents, including near misses in a timely fashion.
- Is involved in health and safety through participation and consultation.
Tō tūranga i roto i te Manatū – Your place in the Ministry
The Senior Ministerial Advisor position reports into the Manager Ministerial Services BRM within the Office of the Deputy Secretary BRM branch. The branch sits within the Building, Resources and Markets group.
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 Aotearoa New Zealand for All.
To Grow Aotearoa New Zealand for All, we put people at the heart of our mahi. 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
