Triage Officer – Employment Services

Tēnei tūranga – About the role

The Triage Officer role is a key role in both the prevention of migrant exploitation and wider service delivery across Employment Service’s regulatory activities. The role is the front door for all complaints relating to minimum standards breaches as well as more serious compliance issues including complaints of exploitation. The Triage officer is responsible for the assessment required to support application for the migrant exploitation protection visa and connecting migrant complainants with accessible government and community support services.
The Triage Officer is responsible for the triage, assessment, and allocation of contacts (complaints, requests, and applications) on behalf of Employment Services regulatory functions and the delivery of reporting to inform compliance activity decisions.

Ngā herenga – Requirements of the role

Personal specifications

This role is to be technically competent and able to undertake evidenced assessment and decision making.  If a candidate does not already hold the necessary skills to delivery this, they must have the demonstrated ability to obtain these in an agreed timeframe.  Within this context, the position holder must demonstrate skills, knowledge, and experience in the following areas:

• Experience in operating front line response, triage and/or allocation functions, complaint management, case management or similar.
• Knowledge of, or ability to learn relevant legislation, operational policies, practice frameworks and business processes and how these should be applied to effectively undertake triage assessment and allocation.
• Effective questioning ability to quickly understand the circumstances, identify underlying issues and apply relevant legislative/policy principles of those who use our services to recommend the appropriate regulatory response.
• Strong analytical ability and sound judgment to ensure effective and evidenced decisions are made regarding allocation of work across the branch.
• Ability to listen empathetically to people’s needs and concerns while remaining firm, professional, and impartial, including managing conflict and aggression.
• Strong written communication, specifically writing clear and complete reports and recommendations with robust analysis, sound conclusions, and effective recommendations.
• Well organised, have a high degree of initiative and excellent interpersonal, analytical and communication skills with the ability to multitask, prioritise and escalate where necessary.
• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to quickly establish and build strong working relationships to work in collaborative and inclusive ways with others.
• Understanding of the implications of and commitment to the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi.

Prerequisite

Must have the legal right to live and work in New Zealand.

Takohanga tuhinga o mua – Key accountabilities and deliverables

Critical areas of success

The Triage Officer will be required to deliver results in the following areas:

• Responsible for the triaging and allocation of complaints, requests for resolution, enquiries, and applications, ensuring quality and consistency in decision making and handling.
• Identifying the appropriate regulatory response to each complaint or request for service and ensuring service delivery timeframes are met through the analysing of complex data and information to reach contestable conclusions in a timely manner.
• Undertake consistent and high-quality assessment of complaints and efficient allocation to actively support and contribute to the achievement of the Ministry’s outcomes and that deliver to the needs of internal and external stakeholders.
• Advising, assisting and supporting alleged victims of migrant exploitation through connection to accessible government and community support services.
• Completion of reports of allegation of exploitation letters to support Migrant workers on relevant visas applying for the Migrant Worker Protection Visa.
• Creating records and managing information, documents, records in a manner consistent with MBIEs systems and information management requirements, including recognising and managing risks associated with the management of personal information in accordance with MBIEs policies and processes.
• Upholding agreed quality and timeliness standards in all aspects of enquiry and complaint management.

Workflow and Customer Management

Undertake consistent and high-quality assessment of complaints allocate to actively support and contribute to the achievement of the Ministry’s outcomes and that deliver to the needs of internal and external stakeholders and customers including:

• Asking the right questions of stakeholders and customers to get the right information to make informed and accurate triage, assessment, and allocation decisions.
• Taking a ‘no further action’ approach to a complaint where appropriate and managing customers’ and stakeholders’ expectations around this.
• Applying verbal, legal, and numerical reasoning skills to problem-solving and decision-making.
• Creating records and managing information, documents, records in a manner consistent with MBIEs systems and information management requirements, including recognising and managing risks associated with the management of personal information in accordance with MBIEs policies and processes.

Knowledge and data management, research, and analysis

The Triage Officer will contribute to a defined and consistent approach to the team’s work by:

• Following and applying agreed business processes and practice guidance including applying assessment and triage processes effectively and documenting decision-making processes. 
• Actively contributing to the development and embedding of new branch-wide practice resources as well as collective review and improvement of processes and guidance resources. 
• Providing timely and helpful information to others across the organisation.
• Maintaining detailed and accurate records and recording all transactions on the case management system.
• Remaining informed in relation to changes in employment related legislation and relevant case law.

The Triage Officer will contribute to and make use of the wider MBIE intelligence system by: 

• Making risk-based, intelligence-led assessments.
  Identifying where trends or more systemic issues may exist.
  Ensuring that information collected is fed into the MBIE Intelligence system.
• Applying the principles of the Privacy Act, Official Information Act, Public Records Act, and other relevant legislation in how they document and share information about their work.

The Triage Officer will be proportionate and consistent in how we interpret and apply the legislation, by:

• Drawing on a solid understanding of the relevant legislation. 
• Working with peers to review current or unusual complaints to ensure similar approaches for similar situations.

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 Triage Officer position reports into the Manager Triage & Allocation, Regulatory & Advisory Services within 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. 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