Chief Operating Officer Immigration

Tēnei tūranga – About the role

The Chief Operating Officer Immigration is a senior leadership position within Immigration New Zealand (INZ) and a part of the Immigration Leadership team. This role is accountable for to managing visa operations and reports to the Deputy Secretary Immigration.

The role holds accountability for two branch structures: one focused on the leadership and delivery of Visa Operations, and the other focused on management of key decision levers to adjust operational direction, as well as planning, monitoring, and reporting on the operational environment. Relying on input and insights from across these functions, the Chief Operating Officer has authority to adjust operations in response to demand through people, risk, and automation settings.

The Our Future Services Programme (OFS) is INZ’s transformation programme. This role will play a key role in ensuring that OFS delivers a future immigration system that meets staff and customer needs and can respond effectively and efficiently to changing risk profiles.

The processing of visas with consistency and stability is of utmost important to immigration customers and to national security. The Chief Operating Officer is therefore an influential role with critical responsibility to manage INZ’s service delivery taking into consideration customer expectations and policy intent within a dynamic operating environment. The role drives operational excellence through strong leadership practices across the leadership team, ensuring each team is clear about its responsibilities and contribution to delivery.

Ngā herenga – Requirements of the role

Personal specifications

• Proven senior leadership experience of leading large complex service delivery functions, with a track record of leading strategically, building organisational capability and contributing to a “one organisation” approach.
• Demonstrated ability to lead significant change, including improvements to service delivery performance, risk management, operational processes, organisational culture and behavioural change.
• Strong strategic and systems thinking, with the ability to connect organisational priorities.
• Proven people leadership skills, including the ability to engage, motivate and develop staff, establish strong working relationships and create a high-performing, collaborative branch culture.
• Leads with a customer centric mind-set, is respectful, puts things right, acts with integrity, is responsive, and people centred.
• Strong relationship management and influencing skills, including the ability to build trust and credibility with senior leaders, lead across organisational boundaries, influence decision-makers without direct authority, and engage effectively with Ministers, Ministers’ offices, central agencies, government partners and external stakeholders.
• Experience leading the design and delivery of reporting, insight, and improvement services.
• Excellent communication skills, including the ability to translate complex issues for different audiences and support clear, well-judged decision-making.
• Sound financial, corporate and business management experience at senior executive level, including effective stewardship of resources, budgets and delegations.
• Proven working knowledge and understanding of the machinery of government and processes that apply within the public sector.
• Knowledge of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and proven ability to incorporate into mahi, including appropriately and consistently using Te Reo and Tikanga.
• Must be a New Zealand citizen or permanent resident.
• Must consent to and satisfactorily complete a credit check as the role holds financial delegations.
• Must be able to gain and maintain a national security clearance to Top Secret level.
• A willingness to travel and an understanding that the immigration system never sleeps and therefore some time-critical work outside of core hours will be necessary.

Takohanga tuhinga o mua – Key accountabilities and deliverables

Responsibilities of this position are expected to change over time as the Ministry responds to changing needs. The incumbent will need the flexibility to adapt and develop as the environment evolves.

Critical areas of success

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

• Holds accountability for operational activity across Immigration New Zealand that supports effective visa processing.
• Drives the development and maintenance of a clear, integrated operational picture that brings together planned changes, events and implementation across visas, policy and technology, aligned with demand and workforce patterns.
• Keeps abreast of risk and emerging risk, representing potential impact to operations if materialised and active management and oversight.
• Uses data and insights to set operational priorities and drive targeted changes to policy, staffing, processes or technology settings.
• Builds a high-performing workforce equipped to meet future demands, enables workforce mobility, talent development, and fosters an inclusive environment where people want to work.
• Actively fosters flows of intelligence, data and insights within Immigration New Zealand and other INZ/MBIE/external stakeholders.
• Works closely with Immigration system branches and enabling central function to alleviate non-operational responsibilities and pressure from operational people leaders.
• Ensures the design of new (or changes to) processes, automation, and policy is prioritised and delivered in-line with operational capacity and capability.
• Works with the branch to provide organisation-wide visibility of operational performance through operational reporting.
• Fosters an environment of collaboration to ensure the leadership team and broader resources take a system approach prioritising resourcing based on a balanced view of priorities to ensure the best overall result for Immigration New Zealand.
• Leads the management of sensitive issues and oversees related assessments to ensure timely, well-informed decisions.
• Provides operational support for any Immigration New Zealand incident/event that require a response.
• Ensures appropriate leadership of the System Action work programme.
• Demonstrates leadership in Māori cultural capability, and is assessed as “comfortable” or “confident” in accordance with Whāinga Amorangi (MBIE’s Organisational Plan) and the Māori Crown relations capability framework for the public service.

Collective leadership

Work collaboratively with other members of the Immigration Leadership Team to support achievement of Immigration New Zealand outcomes.

• Takes collective responsibility for the cohesion and performance of Immigration New Zealand as a whole and provides peer support to other senior managers.
• Works as part of the Immigration Leadership Team to define the outcomes and outputs expected from the Group to deliver on the Ministry’s and Immigration New Zealand’s strategic direction.
• Contributes beyond core functional area to enhance overall effectiveness of the group.
• Ensures consistency and alignment between different teams in Immigration New Zealand and across the Ministry and promotes solution-seeking where there are legitimate differences.
• Represents collective Immigration Leadership Team views and decisions to staff.

Personal leadership

Provide leadership that engages and motivates others to succeed and develop, and proactively share experiences, knowledge and ideas.

• Models exemplary management and leadership behaviours, MBIE values 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.

General management

Apply sound general management practices so that the Branch operates effectively and efficiently, and delivers agreed output to support achievement of agreed outcomes.

• Demonstrates continuous improvement capability through having a growth mindset, being agile, a focus on innovation, and creating a learning culture.
• Develops 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.
• 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.
• Effectively and consistently identifies and manages risk.

Team leadership

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 ensures 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 Branch, 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 the organisation now and in the future.
• Identifies and develops talent for key roles.

Relationship management

Manage constructive working relationships with work colleagues and external stakeholder to enhance understanding and cooperation needed to achieve desired results.

• Participates as an active team member and contributes knowledge and expertise needed to achieve desired outcomes.
• Develops effective working relationships with other managers and staff in order to transfer knowledge and learning to the wider organisation.
• Builds strategic alliances with key government and non-government representatives to ensure MBIE’s views are influential in their decision-making.
• Tests the effectiveness of stakeholder relationships using a range of appropriate measures and processes (including stakeholder feedback).

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 Chief Operating Officer Immigration position reports into the Deputy Secretary, Immigration New Zealand within the Immigration New Zealand group.

More information about MBIE's structure

Ngā Kawenga Ārahitanga – Leadership Expectations

At MBIE our leadership expectations provide consistent language for how we expect our leaders to lead at MBIE. They are supported by our values, and the Public Sector leadership capabilities as described in the Leadership Success Profile (LSP).

Leadership Expectations - Ngā Kawenga Ārahitanga (MBIE)

Lead by example - Whakatinana hei tauira
Enable our people - Whakaāhei ō tātou tangata
Deliver what matters - Whakatutuki ngā manako

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 New Zealand for All.

To Grow 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