Principal Advisor Online Channels

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 Principal Advisor plays a key role in the Online Channels team, reporting to the Online Channels Manager. This position leads the development and delivery of digital strategies that enhance customer experiences across MBIE’s online platforms. It involves planning, overseeing, and reporting on digital initiatives, while ensuring best practice in product ownership and channel management.

As second-in-charge within the Online Channels team, the Principal Advisor provides support to the manager and steps in when needed to maintain leadership and direction. They champion a coaching and mentoring culture, encourage ongoing professional development, and help foster a collaborative, high-performing environment.

The role also leads cross-functional initiatives and works proactively with colleagues and stakeholders across MBIE to align digital strategies and best practices, supporting seamless service delivery.

Ngā herenga – Requirements of the role

Personal specifications

• A passion for delivering integrated seamless customer journeys across channels.
• Demonstrated ability to lead complex and high-priority initiatives, ensuring timely and high-quality delivery that meets or exceeds customer expectations.
• Strategic thinker with a track record of navigating ambiguity, managing risk, and providing thought leadership on complex issues.
• Applied knowledge of human-centred design, including user research, ethnographic methods, and systems thinking to support end-to-end customer experience design.
• Experience leading product strategy and design for digital tools and services aligned with priorities.
• Skilled in applying analytical methods and synthesising information from diverse domains to identify customer problems and recommend effective design solutions.
• Demonstrated expertise in findability practices including SEO, GEO, citation optimisation, metadata, tagging, and content strategy, with deep knowledge of their relationship to information architecture and emerging search technologies.
• Strong analytical mindset with experience using tools such as Google Analytics, SEMrush, CMS platforms, and tagging systems to inform actionable improvements.
• Demonstrated experience in writing for the web and social media using plain English, with a strong grasp of digital best practices, accessibility standards, and NZ Government requirements including the Accessibility Charter.
• Proven ability to lead teams or practices in a digital environment, fostering a collaborative, people-centred culture focused on continuous improvement and innovation.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder engagement skills, with a track record of building trusted relationships across internal teams, vendors, and external partners.
• Commitment to kaupapa Māori approaches, with the ability to embed tikanga Māori in team culture and service design.
• Significant practical and demonstrable experience in this area is required. Relevant tertiary qualification in communications, digital content, or a related field preferred.
• Must have the legal right to work in New Zealand.

Takohanga tuhinga o mua – Key accountabilities and deliverables

Online Channels Deliverables

• Responsible for establishing and managing relationships with internal teams, business and delivery partners, other MBIE branches, government departments and agencies, ministers’ offices, and external partners as required.
• Supports team delivery through task allocation, project planning, prioritisation, and proactive issue resolution.
• Supports strategic alignment across work programmes, ensuring delivery of innovative, user-centric customer experiences. 
• Supports the practical and consistent application of standards and principles across our practice areas – accessibility, content design, user experience, and findability. 
• Collaborates with Practice Leads and Principal Advisors to align efforts and contribute to Online Channels’ roadmap and Customer Service Delivery’s vision.
• Contributes to the development, implementation, and review of MBIE roadmaps, standards, policies, and procedures aligned with Customer Service Delivery strategies.
• Assists in developing and applying quality standards to monitor, report, and resolve issues across websites and digital tools.
• Integrates customer data from multiple sources (including the MBIE Customer Service Centre) to identify strategic opportunities.
• Supports the leadership team in maintaining an engaged and efficient branch by proactively addressing issues and helping deliver outputs that achieve MBIE goals.
• Supports the Online Channels leadership team in establishing clear expectations, strategic standards, and consistent decision-making.
• Represents the team and provides trusted, timely, accurate guidance, advice and practical support to others in Online Channels and MBIE. 
• Actively seeks to grow an understanding of the relevant portfolio’s subject matter and customers (of the regulatory system/business system) over time to minimise single-point failure in the Online Channels team.
• Acts as a trusted advisor to senior leaders, providing strategic advice and supporting alignment across work programmes.
• Models leadership behaviours and public sector ethics and values, fostering a culture of innovation, learning, and excellence.
• Solutions-focused and a reliable go-to person with a proactive approach to problem-solving.
• Supports website compliance with cyber security, legal, and privacy requirements.
• Keeps up to date with latest digital trends, techniques and technologies. 
• Works collectively across online channels to provide web support as needed across our digital teams.
• Actively contributes to the successful delivery of the branch and group strategic and tactical work programmes.

Collective Leadership

• Fosters an open, collaborative environment that encourages quality, innovation, on-going learning and knowledge sharing.
• Supports the leadership team in ensuring an engaged, functional branch including pro-actively identifying and effectively addressing any issues that detract in a timely manner.
• Develops collaborative, collegial relationships with Practice Leads and Principal Advisors across the branch to effectively implement CSD priorities and work programmes.
• Contributes to overarching Online Channels strategies and frameworks, ensuring alignment of business plans, activities, and key messaging.
• Works collaboratively with members of the Online Channels leadership team to support the achievement of MBIE outcomes and strategic priorities.
• Participates actively as a member of Online Channels to ensure the successful delivery of team, branch, and group priorities.
• Supports the design, maintenance, and compliance with agreed processes and standards for triaging work requests and managing sensitive or embargoed content.
• Actively contributes to the principals and practice leads forum that collaborates on current projects, latest trends and opportunities with a view to share knowledge, advice and expertise.

Personal Leadership

• Proactively identifies areas for improvement in personal approach and adapts to strengthen performance, modelling exemplary behaviour for others.
• Effectively manages up by building strong relationships with senior leaders, providing proactive support and communication, and taking a “no surprises” approach.
• Demonstrates initiative by anticipating leadership needs and taking action without waiting for direction.
• Models exemplary leadership behaviours and consistently upholds MBIE values.
• Creates a compelling vision, engages and motivates others to participate, and drives action.
• Shows self-motivation and persistence in challenging frameworks and addressing difficult issues, while applying good judgement in knowing when to escalate or step back.

General Management

• Formulates and adjusts work programmes, manages resources and expenditure efficiently, and tracks performance using established measurement and reporting systems.
• Identifies and manages risk effectively and consistently, balancing risk with opportunity and innovation.
• Leads strategically complex projects that span multiple issues over extended timeframes.
• Maintains an integrated view of team performance, ensuring a cohesive approach across Online Channels, Customer Service Delivery branch and the Regulatory Systems we support.

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.
• Develops effective working relationships with other managers and staff to facilitate knowledge transfer and learning across the organisation.
• Demonstrates political savvy and builds trusted, influential relationships with key internal and external business partners, delivery partners, and stakeholders.
• Commits to learning and continuous improvement in partnering with Māori and strengthening cross-cultural capability.
• Represents Online Channels, the Customer Service Delivery branch, and whole-of-Ministry perspectives, safeguarding their reputation in external interactions.
• Builds strategic alliances with key government and non-government representatives and influencers to ensure MBIE’s views are considered in their decision-making.

Coaching and Mentoring

• Provides intellectual support and coaches others on best practice, development of expertise in subject matter and knowledge of institutional practice.
• Supports managers in developing Senior Advisors and Advisors across the wider Online Channels team, actively seeking opportunities to grow the capability of others within the team.
• Proactively explores opportunities to develop personal professional capability and increase self-awareness for future growth.
• Demonstrates excellent communication and coaching skills to embed a culture of excellence within the team.

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 Principal Advisor Online Channels position reports into the Manager Online Channels within the Online Channels team in the Customer Service Delivery branch of the Te Whakatairanga Service Delivery 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 Aotearoa New Zealand for All.

To Grow Aotearoa 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