Director, Regulatory and Advisory Services

Tēnei tūranga – About the role

The Director Dispute Resolution is a senior leadership and management position within MBIE. The Director will bring strong business understanding and a strategic perspective, working in partnership with other managers and team members across the organisation.

This role is responsible for leading the employment dispute resolution and case management teams, ensuring their work supports MBIE’s strategic direction and delivers on organisational priorities.

Key responsibilities include:

• Building and enhancing the overall capability of the dispute resolution and case management teams to ensure quality, consistency, and continuous improvement in service delivery and practices.
• Providing visible leadership to foster a high-performing, customer-focused culture.
• Ensuring that dispute resolution services are accessible, timely, and effective, and that they contribute to positive employment relationships.
• Collaborating with internal and external stakeholders to identify opportunities for innovation and operational excellence.
• Supporting the development and implementation of policies, systems, and processes that align with MBIE’s objectives and stewardship responsibilities.

The Director will play a critical role in shaping the future of employment dispute resolution services, ensuring they are fit-for-purpose, sustainable, and responsive to the needs of workers, employers, and the wider community.

Ngā herenga – Requirements of the role

Personal specifications

• Manage the delivery of a national mediation service consistent with statute and best practice standards.
• Lead a team that delivers best practice in facilitating good relationships between mediated parties.
• Lead a team that works with parties to disputes to facilitate solid foundations for relationships focused on resolving and/or preventing relationship problems.
• A proven track record of experience and achievement in leading, developing and operating dispute resolution functions (or similar service delivery functions) in a large organisation.
• Knowledge of operating end-to-end dispute resolution systems.
• An understanding of the principles and practices of the Employment Relations Act.
• Experience in employment relations and the wider employment sector.
• Proven leadership skills including demonstrated ability to establish, engage and motivate staff to make necessary transitions (including a history of successfully leading leaders).
• Proven experience in successfully managing change including processes, team culture and service delivery.
• Ability to quickly establish and build strong working relationships with a wide range of people.
• A strategic thinker who is able to make the connections between various aspects of the organisation and implications for their business unit.
• Proven ability to develop trust and credibility with senior managers.
• Sound appreciation of corporate management disciplines and techniques.
• Strong understanding of Government decision-making and operating procedures.
• Demonstrated experience in developing and maintaining an environment focused on continuous improvement to enhance organisational performance.
• Post-graduate qualification in a relevant field or extensive and comparable experience.
• Must have the legal right to live and work in New Zealand.

Takohanga tuhinga o mua – Key accountabilities and deliverables

Critical areas of success

Shapes and drives the Employment Mediation Service work programme; guides and mentors; provides advice; builds group and ministry capability; manages authorising environment.

• Ensuring a customer focused culture across the business unit.
• Maximising connections of mediation and dispute resolution services in MBIE and across government.
• Delivering dispute resolution case management services consistently and seamlessly nation-wide.
• Delivering resolution services consistently and seamlessly nation-wide (across all streams of work).
• Integrating service delivery with practice leadership.
• Delivering robust and successful resolution outcomes.
• Working with the Manager Business Advisory Services to develop a responsive operations/policy interface with MBIE policy groups.
• Develop a responsive operations/policy interface to ensure a common understanding of MBIE needs.
• Build, monitor and maintain fit for purpose Ministry capability (people and structures) needed to achieve desired goals and objectives, and achieve expected efficiency benefits and on-going improvements in cost effectiveness.
• Working with the General Manager and other Branch Managers to establish the resolution services function as a centre of excellence and expertise for the Ministry, and an exemplar of best practice for the public service.
• Delivering services to actively support and contribute to the achievement of the Ministry’s outcomes and that deliver to the needs of internal and external stakeholders.

Personal leadership

Provides leadership that engages and motivates others to succeed and develop, and proactively share experience, knowledge and ideas

• Models exemplary management and leadership behaviours, and State sector ethics and values.
• Creates a sense of vision, engages and motivates people to participate, and makes things happen.
• Fosters an open, collaborative environment that encourages quality, innovation, ongoing learning and knowledge sharing.

Takohanga tuhinga o mua – Key accountabilities and deliverables continued

Team management

Apply sound general management practices so that the team operates effectively and efficiently, and delivers agreed outputs to support achievement of MBIE outcomes

• Develops strategies, work programmes and performance targets for the Dispute Resolution teams, with supporting measurement, monitoring and reporting mechanisms.
• Aligns Dispute Resolutions work programmes within the Employment Services strategic direction and other work programmes.
• Monitors and adjusts work programmes through the agreed processes to enable Dispute Resolution to adapt to changing circumstances.
• Regularly monitors and reports on progress towards achievement of plans and strategies.
• Manages expenditure and resources in line with approved guidelines, budget, deadlines and reporting requirements, with a focus on driving cost effectiveness in the Ministry.
• Builds continuous review and improvement processes throughout all elements of Dispute Resolutions’ operations.
• Effectively and consistently identifies and manages risk.

Team leadership

Build and maintain a high- performing team that is capable of delivering innovative advice, products and services to support MBIE’s strategic direction

• Establishes clear accountabilities, expectations and performance standards with direct reports and ensures regular performance management and development occurs.
• Monitors individual and team performance to ensure that performance targets are met.
• Anticipates future capability needs in Human Resources, identifies gaps in capability and addresses these gaps through targeted recruitment and development or other actions.
• Coaches, mentors and develops staff to meet the needs of MBIE now and in the future.

Relationship management

Manage constructive working relationships with work colleagues and external stakeholders to enhance understanding and co-operation needed to achieve desired results

• Participates as an active team member and contributes knowledge and expertise needed to achieve MBIE’s outcomes.
• Develops effective working relationships with other MBIE managers and staff in order to transfer knowledge and learning from the team to the wider organisation.
• Represents whole-of-Ministry views and protects its reputation in external interactions.
• Builds and maintains effective relationships and partnerships with internal and external stakeholders, including the third sector, community groups and industry bodies as appropriate, in order to identify and share best practice information and to promote the Ministry, its products and services.
• Tests the effectiveness of stakeholder relationships using a range of appropriate measures and processes (including stakeholder feedback).

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 Director Dispute Resolution reports into the General Manager Employment Services within the Employment Services branch. The branch sits within the Te Whakatairanga Service Delivery group.

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