Senior Change Manager – Our Future Services

Tēnei tūranga – About the role

The Our Future Services programme will deliver a cost-effective immigration system that is more productive, more effective at managing immigration risk and provides a better experience for customers and staff. It is designed to address four key areas: 

• making visa processing more efficient
• mitigating risk of technology and service failure
• proactive and sophisticated risk management
• improved customer and user experience. 

The Programme will mean changes to our systems, operating model and way we work.

The Senior Change Manager will contribute to the programme’s success, by developing and delivering successful business transformation related change solutions. The role will primarily support the Workforce of the Future workstream, which focuses on the people related components of change.

This role ensures leaders are equipped to lead change, drives behavioural and cultural shifts, and works with our communications team to develop change related communication approaches and engagement strategies aligned with future state workforce objectives.

The Senior Change Manager will collaborate with key stakeholders, to build change leadership capability and resilience across the Immigration System, further develop our change strategy by developing a comprehensive approach to culture change and provide an integrated view of change across the programme, including recommendations related to implementation and transition.

Ngā herenga – Requirements of the role

Personal specifications

Essential Qualifications and Experience

• Experience leading change management strategy development and delivery in a programme environment, including formal change communications, integrated change and transition planning.
• Experience developing and implementing successful change leadership capability programmes, including the provision of change management related coaching to senior leaders.
• Experience developing culture change strategy in an environment of transformation, and the embedding and effectiveness measurement of related initiatives and interventions.
• Experience leading complex change communications and engagement planning, enabling a leader led approach to change.
• Experience in the development of change, transition, implementation planning and scheduling within a change programme, in a geographically diverse and complex environment (preferably government).
• Experience in the measurement and evaluation of change adoption, and related interventions.

Essential Skills and Competencies

• Deep understanding and experience managing change in a transformation context, leveraging relevant change management methodologies to support shifts in culture, expectations, and ways of working.
• Systems thinking: Applies a holistic approach to identify interdependencies across initiatives occurring with the immigration system and assess the overall impact of change on strategic outcomes.
• Communication Excellence: Exceptional written and verbal communication skills with ability to adapt messaging for diverse audiences.
• Stakeholder Management: Strong ability to build relationships and influence across all organisational levels.
• Coaching and Facilitation: Proven coaching skills and experience facilitating groups through difficult conversations to foster resilience and support change adoption.
• Emotional Intelligence: High emotional intelligence with ability to navigate organisational politics and resistance.
• Analytical Thinking: Ability to analyse complex dynamics and design appropriate interventions.
• Project Coordination: Strong organisational and project management skills, with the proven ability to plan strategically in a complex environment.
• Flexibility: Ability to easily transition from working strategically to being hands on with leadership to provide 1:1 coaching.

Takohanga tuhinga o mua – Key accountabilities and deliverables

Integrated change management

• Collaborate with stakeholders currently delivering change activity, to develop and socialise an integrated change plan that balances current business improvement initiatives, iterative technology implementation, organisation design and change activity with our long term change objectives to enable cohesive delivery
• Assess and manage the cumulative impact of change on leaders and kaimahi and create frameworks to support change prioritisation and the sequencing of workforce change initiatives, as well as measuring and evaluating change adoption
• Establish methods that provide holistic views of activity across business, technical, and people change workstreams for different audiences

Change leadership/capability development

• Assess current change leadership capability and maturity across the organisation.
• Design and develop INZs change leadership capability programme, ensuring delivery in line with Workforce of the Future workstream objectives.
• Provide coaching and formalised learning to executive/senior leaders on change leadership behaviours and change communication approaches and strategies.
• Partner with our Business Change team to build internal change practitioner networks and communities of practice to support effective change implementation, as required.
• Develop change support resources, tools, and collateral in alignment with current MBIE and INZ practice.
• Design and facilitate change resilience workshops and training programmes and / or provide guidance and frameworks to those who are delivering them.

Change communications and engagement

• Partner with our communications team to ensure the change communications approach and framework integrate appropriately with broader communications guidance and the strategic communications plan.
• Support development of multi-channel communication strategies that are thoughtfully sequenced and cascaded effectively in accordance with INZ leader led change approach.
• Coordinate messaging across different change initiatives to prevent communication overload or gaps.
• Support development of communication frameworks that deliver consistent, appropriate and meaningful change messaging.
• Develop stakeholder engagement strategies that address diverse needs, impacts, capability and geography.
• Coordinate cross-functional stakeholder activities to ensure consistent messaging and approach.

Culture change programme

• Design and deliver a comprehensive culture change strategy aligned with the transformation programme’s vision, values, and desired future state.
• Collaborate with senior leaders and stakeholders to define the target culture and behavioural shifts needed to support transformation goals.
• Build strong relationships with leaders, teams, and change leads to co-create and embed cultural change initiatives.
• Develop and implement targeted interventions (e.g. leadership development, storytelling, rituals, recognition programmes) to shift mindsets and behaviours.
• Ensure cultural considerations are integrated into all aspects of the transformation programme, including communications, capability building, and operating model changes.
• Establish metrics and feedback loops to track cultural change progress, adjust strategies as needed, and report on impact.
• Support leaders and teams to build their own capability to lead and sustain cultural change over time.

Transition and implementation

• Support transition planning by contributing to optimal sequencing plans for multiple concurrent change initiatives.
• Monitor and assess cumulative impacts of change on kaimahi and recommend workforce related timing or planning adjustments.
• Contribute to the coordination of transition activities across different branches and functions.
• Develop transition protocols and handover processes between different change phases.
• Create transition success criteria and checkpoints.
• Manage transition dependencies and critical path activities from a people perspective.

Takohanga tuhinga o mua – Key accountabilities and deliverables continued

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 Change Manager position reports into the Senior Programme Manager within the Future Services branch. The branch sits within the Immigration New Zealand 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