Advisor Information Security

Tēnei tūranga – About the role

The Advisor Information Security is a team member position in MBIE. As part of the Protective Security team, the Advisor Information Security is responsible for supporting the overall capability of the team and strengthening capability maturity uplift across MBIE.

The Advisor Information Security contributes to continuous improvement of MBIE’s ability to grow and maintain a strong security culture. The position operates within a lifecycle of building security awareness, working together in the spirit of ‘mahi tahi’ to encourage and support partnership and collaboration with the Classification System policy principles:

• Organisational accountability.
• Personal responsibility.
• Information sharing.
• Information declassification.

Ngā herenga – Requirements of the role

Personal specifications

Knowledge or an awareness of the New Zealand Government’s Protective Security Policy Framework, particularly in relation to New Zealand’s Classification System and the handling requirements for protectively-marked information and equipment, would be advantageous (refer to the Classification Handbook and the Classification Quick Guides).

To be successful as the Advisor Information Security, the position holder requires the following knowledge, experience, skills and personal attributes:

• Awareness of New Zealand’s Classification System, as mandated for INFOSEC2 of the Protective Security Requirements.(external link)
• A high standard of written and oral communication skills appropriate to a variety of audiences, including the ability to communicate clearly, concisely and in plain English.
• Analytical and graphical representation skills to support trend analysis and reporting.
• Approachable, cooperative and collaborative working style linked to a ‘can do’ attitude and desire to find workable solutions that meet protective security requirements for MBIE.
• Good problem-solving capability, including the ability to identify problems, manage and mitigate risks, and offer thoughtful options and solutions.
• Sound interpersonal skills, with the ability to manage interactions with internal and external customers and stakeholders with professionalism, consideration and courtesy.
• A desire to work as part of a busy team, working flexibly and prioritising work demands to meet deadlines and customer and stakeholder expectations.
• Must have the legal right to live and work in New Zealand.

Must have the ability to obtain and maintain a Top Secret national security clearance. Employment requires the candidate to be either:

• A New Zealand citizen or resident who has resided continuously in this country for 10 years.
• A citizen of Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, or the United States of America, and have resided continuously in one or more of those countries for the past 10 years prior to application, with a background history which is verifiable and can be assessed as appropriate by the NZSIS towards a recommendation of suitability for a national security clearance.

Takohanga tuhinga o mua – Key accountabilities and deliverables

Classification system leadership

• Maintain the Ministry’s classification and declassification policy and procedures in line with the New Zealand Classification System and support staff who handle government information to do so correctly and safely.
• Support the Ministry to ensure information is protected across its whole lifecycle.
• Support the originator and the Ministry to correctly establish, communicate, review, and manage how the information is handled by everyone with access to it.
• Support the originator to make transparent classification decisions based on their risk assessment that considers the level of harm and the likelihood of compromise.
• Participate in regular reviews to ensure that protective markings were correctly applied initially and are still appropriate for the information as the information ages or changes, and assist with the review tracking, reporting, and lesson learning opportunities.
• Ensure the Ministry’s staff are provided with timely and ongoing classification training to ensure that they have the ability to fulfil their government information obligations within the Classification System. This includes training on how to securely handle government information, including how to classify it, how to share it, and how to declassify it.
• Support a no blame culture that focuses on learning and improving classification and handling decisions over time of accidental or unintended over- or under-classification.
• Participate in the Ministry’s programme for declassifying government information, and the transparent reporting on progress, results and expected value that the programme delivered.
• Collaborate with the Cyber Security Team and business groups to ensure the Classification System is operating correctly across the Ministry.
• Support the annual PSR capability maturity model assessment for the information security domain.
• Provide support for governance reporting to the Wellbeing, Health, safety and Security Governance Committee (WHSSGC) and Assurance, Risk and Accountability Committee (ARA) about MBIE’s performance in relation to the INFOSEC2 mandatory requirements, and the New Zealand Classification System.

Ensure the Ministry’s classification policy and procedures detail: 

• How originator control will be maintained over the information’s lifecycle.
• The partner information security and management requirements and how these will be adhered to and monitored.
• Criteria that clearly articulates the rules for declassification in the Ministry (e.g. information types, review periods, harm test rules, declassification topics and priorities) consistent with the Ministry’s information and records management practices and decisions.

Triage leadership

• Work with business groups to triage and gather information for Official Information Act requests, Privacy Act requests, and Ministerials.
• Triage the security events reported into the Ministry’s Event Reporting Tool, ensuring all events are allocated, responded to in a timely manner, corrective actions are monitored, and events are closed promptly upon completion.

Building security awareness

• Participate in creating an effective security culture that encourages everyone in the organisation to contribute to good protective security.
• Coordinate the development, implementation and review of protective security training courses and awareness activities.
• Contribute to and support the education and training of people leaders in protective security requirements, security policies and procedures, and their security responsibilities.
• Assist in the collation of protective security data and produce reports as required.

Protective security requirements (PSR) capability maturity model guidance

• Support MBIE’s commitment to the Government’s Protective Security Policy Framework through assisting with the effective delivery of initiatives and programmes designed to enhance the Ministry’s approach to information security of our people, information, and assets.
• Support the completion of the annual capability maturity model assessment under agreed processes and timeframes.
• Administrative duties, including maintaining documentation and registers.

Auckland CBD precinct leadership

• Supervise others whenever they need to access and/or modify the Ministry’s secure environments.
• Participate in regular information and asset musters.

Relationship management

• Participates as an active team member and contributes knowledge and expertise needed to achieve MBIE’s outcomes.
• Develops effective working relationships with other MBIE staff in order to transfer knowledge and learning from the team to the wider organisation.
• Builds and maintains effective relationships and partnerships with internal and external stakeholders, as necessary, in order to identify and share best practice information and to promote the Ministry, its products and services.
• Represents whole-of-Ministry views and protects its reputation in any external interactions.

Wellbeing, health and 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 Advisor Information Security position reports to the Head of Protective Security within the Corporate Shared Services branch. The Corporate Shared Services branch sits within the Corporate and Digital Shared Services group.

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