Manager Digital Engagement

Tēnei tūranga – About the role 

The Customer Service Delivery Branch is MBIE’s front door, ensuring people and businesses can easily access the support and information they need. By integrating customer service channels, digital engagement, products and marketing channels, and frontline advisory services, the branch delivers efficient, customer-focused services that improve compliance and optimise regulatory systems.

As part of Te Whakatairanga Service Delivery, the branch enhances service delivery, leverages customer insights, and drives innovation to ensure a best practice approach to MBIE’s customer communications. Through smarter service design and engagement, it strengthens public trust and enables better regulatory outcomes.

The Online Channels team is responsible for driving positive change in how our customers experience our channels across our portfolios and works with colleagues across the Te Whakatairanga Service Delivery group and wider MBIE to ensure a future focused, integrated approach based on best practice.

The Manager Digital Engagement is a leadership position within the Ministry’s Online Channels team. The position is responsible for providing leadership and functional expertise for how all our websites, content, and digital tools are customer centric and integrated as part of a digital innovation roadmap. The Manager Digital Engagement will have direct responsibility for delivery within a portfolio of websites.

Ngā herenga – Requirements of the role

Personal specifications

• A deep and current understanding of digital engagement channels (websites, tools and system applications) in the context of contemporary communication including Government Web standards, accessibility, user experience and plain language requirements. 
• Demonstrated experience working within information and education responses (harm prevention) to enhance regulatory system and business outcomes.
• A deep understanding of government decision-making and operating procedures. 
• Experience in a leadership role in a complex organisation or public sector environment.
• Extensive experience in championing and working collaboratively as part of a wider leadership team where functions must work together to achieve group/branch and team priorities.
• Significant experience in building professional relationships with key internal and external business partners, colleagues, delivery partners and stakeholders.
• Extensive experience leading through ambiguity and change, being flexible when working with business partners and responding to changing priorities and service delivery requests with a can-do attitude.
• Experience in deciding and acting without having the total picture and handling risk and uncertainty.
• In-depth experience thinking strategically across a range of current and future issues, risks and opportunities. 
• A deep level of self-awareness and demonstrated experience in adapting your approach with others as necessary to optimise your effectiveness.
• Significant experience in developing and maintaining an environment focused on continuous improvement to enhance organisational performance. 
• Significant experience in delivering the hard messages and making unpopular decisions in a timely manner; to advance the longer-term best interests of customers and New Zealand.
• Demonstrated achievement and delivery-focus to make things happen and achieve ambitious outcomes.
• Extensive experience working with vendors and suppliers, undertaking contract negotiations and holding vendors to account for delivery performance.
• A commitment to continuously improve your knowledge in adopting models underpinned by a kaupapa Māori paradigm. 
• Ability to develop a culture of high-quality insightful solutions for customers through using day to day tikanga Māori in the team.
• Degree level qualification in relevant subject, or similar, is desirable. Practical and demonstrable experience in this area is required.
• Credit check required (yes).
• Must have the legal right to work in New Zealand

Takohanga tuhinga o mua – Key accountabilities and deliverables

Digital Engagement Leadership

• Ensures our digital engagement channels (websites, digital tools) and content are fit for purpose, so customers are aware of their rights and responsibilities and are supported to comply or take action. 
• Works collaboratively to ensure content and channels are effectively utilised to optimise outcomes.
• Provides subject matter expert advice on the effective use of digital channels to share key messages.
• Delivers customer centred strategic advice and services that actively support and contribute to the achievement of MBIE’s outcomes and the needs of business partners and external stakeholders.
• Provides technical and leadership expertise to projects and initiatives that impact our channels. 
• Helps to grow MBIE’s digital maturity and capability by upskilling and informing others in digital best practice and trends.
• Takes a customer-centred integrated approach to improving our channels as part of a wider regulatory or business system to support a better customer experience. 
• Champions best-practice data led methods to lead the continual enhancement of our digital engagement channel performance using analytics and insights from the regulatory system/portfolio and the service centre to ensure our customer channels are aligned. 
• Remains up to date with innovation in digital engagement and uses this knowledge to improve our channels. 
• Supports the design and compliance with systems and processes for delivering and maintaining up to date content across websites, tools, and offline channels. This includes supporting the customer experience of the Ministry’s portals and application systems that our websites connect with through UX, UI and content advice.
• Ensures MBIE, team and branch processes are followed, including validation/approval of content with relevant subject matter experts, legal teams, etc.
• Ensure websites comply with all relevant Government and MBIE policies and practice standards.

Collective Leadership

• Effectively contributes to the Online Channels team, and Customer Service Delivery branch strategic direction, ensuring alignment of business plans, activities and key messaging.
• Proactively contribute and shape the development, implementation and achievement of the team's strategic objectives, priorities and business plans.
• Works collaboratively with other members of Online Channels and Customer Service Delivery branch leadership teams to support achievement of MBIE outcomes and strategic priorities.
• Participates collaboratively as a member of the Online Channels Leadership team, taking an ‘Online Channels team first’ approach to ensure the successful delivery of team, branch and group priorities.
• Contributes beyond core functional area to enhance overall effectiveness of the provision of Information & Education.
• Ensures team has adequate knowledge and capability to meet MBIE’s obligations under relevant legislation for emergency/incident management response.
• Works collectively to provide surge capacity across Online Channels to support business needs.
• Supports the design, maintenance and compliance with agreed processes and standards for triaging work requests and handling sensitive and embargoed content.

Personal Leadership

• Able to self-identify areas in personal approach and adapt and strengthen when required to deliver results and model exemplary behaviour to set the example for others.
• Effectively manages up by establishing good working relationships with senior leaders, providing proactive support and communication and taking a “no surprises” approach.
• Managing self and anticipating leadership needs by taking initiative without waiting for a directive. 
• Models exemplary management and leadership behaviours and MBIE values.
• Creates a sense of vision and engages and motivate people to participate, and makes things happen.
• Fosters an open, collaborative environment that encourages quality, innovation, ongoing learning and knowledge sharing.

General Management     

• Develop strategies, work programmes and performance targets, with supporting measurement, monitoring and reporting mechanisms.
• Monitors and adjusts work programmes through the agreed processes to enable adaptation to changing circumstances.
• Manages expenditure and resources in line with approved guidelines, budget, deadlines and reporting requirements, with a focus on driving cost effectiveness.
• Effectively and consistently identifies and manages risk, appropriately balancing risk with opportunity and innovation.
• Maintains an integrated picture of team performance, including ensuring an integrated approach across our channels and Regulatory Systems.

Team Leadership 

• A people-centred mindset and approach to leading and managing a team.
• Build and maintain a high-performing team that is capable of developing and delivering innovative advice, products and services to support strategic direction. 
• Establishes clear accountabilities, expectations and performance standards with direct reports and ensure regular performance management and development occurs.
• Monitors individual, team and business unit performance to ensure that performance targets are met.
• Anticipates future capability needs across the team and address gaps through targeted recruitment and development or other actions.
• Coach, mentor and develop staff to meet the needs of the organisation now and in the future.
• Identify and develop talent for key roles.

Relationship Management including Māori Crown Relations 

• Works collaboratively as a member of the Online Channels team to ensure consistency in UX, accessibility, content, stack management, and other digital services across MBIE.
• Partners with MBIE business groups to deliver accessible digital services, content, and advice.
• Collaborates across the Online Channels team to support the development and maintenance of online and offline channels, ensuring a multi-channel, customer-centred, cross-regulatory system approach to public information programmes.
• Participates as an active team member and contributes knowledge and expertise to business processes and decision-making.
• Represents whole-of-branch views and protects our reputation in external interactions.
• Develop effective working relationships with other managers and staff in order to transfer knowledge and learning to the wider organisation.
• Build strategic alliances with key government and non-government representatives to ensure MBIE’s views are influential in their decision-making.
• Build and maintain effective relationships and partnerships with national and international organisations to identify and share best practice information and to promote the Ministry.
• Familiar with Te Arawhiti Engagement Framework and Guidelines (L1 Engagement with Māori).
• Knows when partnership approaches with Māori are appropriate, examples of existing and previous partnerships and, at a high level, what partnership mechanisms have been used (L1 – Partnership Capability).
• Understand the obligations of the Crown under the Treaty and, at a general level, how they have been interpreted and met. (L1 – Treaty of Waitangi analysis).

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 Manager Digital Engagement position reports into the Head of Online Channels within the Customer Service Delivery branch of Te Whakatairanga Service Delivery group of MBIE.

More information about MBIE's structure

Matatautanga – Competencies (Leadership Success Profile)

The Leadership Success Profile (LSP) is a leadership capability framework, developed by the New Zealand public sector for the New Zealand public sector. It creates a common language for leadership and establishes what great leadership looks like. You can look at the twelve underpinning capabilities and four leadership characters here: Leadership Success Profile | Te Kawa Mataaho Public Service Commission(external link)

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).

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