Senior Advisor Products and Projects

Tēnei Tūranga – About the role

Standards can play a key enabling role to grow value for New Zealand by facilitating trade and business and protecting the health, safety and well-being of New Zealanders.

Standards New Zealand (Standards NZ) is New Zealand’s national standards body and is a business unit within MBIE. The Standards NZ Commercial and Sectors teams’ purpose is to maximise the impact and use of standards in New Zealand, while diversifying Standards NZ’s revenue sources. This is achieved by:

• Promoting the value of standards and the opportunities they present to our priority sectors and strategic stakeholders
• Exploring new revenue streams to bring financial resilience and commercial sustainability into our operations
• Enabling new ways for consumers to access and use standards content more effectively
• Advancing New Zealand’s interests through participation in international standards

The Senior Advisor Products and Projects has both an operational and a forward-looking focus responsible for ensuring Standards NZ portfolio of services and products supports changing customer needs and supports our requirements to be a commercially sustainable business. The role is integral to delivering Standards NZ’s strategic plan and delivering several statutory functions that are prescribed in the Standards and Accreditation Act 2015.

The role will take the lead on reviewing and developing new effective, user-focused products and services designed to support New Zealand business, government agencies, industry and consumers now and in the future. This includes access product development, developing robust affordable standards faster, consulting externally, supporting the aged standards programme and publishing and maintenance of product information on the web shop.

As funding allows, the role will lead the development and implementation of digital products to ensure Standards NZ meets and anticipates stakeholder and customer needs in terms of more effective access to standards in the form of digital content. This will include exploring funding options.

This position will also lead several Special Projects and other initiatives to deliver on the Standards NZ Strategic Plan and Business plan deliverables. Examples include diversified services, diversity and inclusion initiatives, environmental scans and research for international adoptions, and new licensing products and arrangements.

Ngā Herenga – Requirements of the role

Skills & Experience

• Proven experience in product development, market and customer research and/or project management.
• Familiarity with standards, regulations, or certification processes is strongly preferred.
• Proven ability to think strategically, develop frameworks, and manage systems and processes.
• Customer-first mindset, good project planning and management skills.
• Strong relationship building skills combined with good numeracy, analytical and organisational capabilities.
• Ability to develop strategy and lead multiple projects, analysing large and complex issues.
• Experience in publishing in digital formats, ideally XML-based digital publication efforts is desirable, and experience within the not-for-profit sector would be advantageous.
• Usability and customer-focused design experience a plus.
• Ability to make quality decisions by using analytically sound, well-rounded, informed, and inclusive approaches. In particular, using data insights to develop and manage new and existing products.
• Excellent written and verbal communication and presentation skills and ability to articulate complex messages clearly, simply and concisely.
• Commercially focused with solid negotiation and resolution skills.
• Excellent knowledge of MS office.
• Excellent analytical, organisational, communication skills and a can-do attitude.
• Sound judgement especially around consideration of risk management.
• Excellent relationship management skills, with the ability to communicate appropriately and effectively with stakeholders at all levels of the organisation.

Personal specifications

• Passionate about building great products and solving customer and business problems.
• Able to organise and prioritise workloads effectively, to ensure high quality results within deadlines.
• Ability to craft a product vision (short to long term) and convert that into a concrete strategy that is implementable.
• Highly organised with excellent attention to detail.
• Active team player and ability to collaborate and contribute knowledge and expertise needed to achieve Standards New Zealand and MBIE’s outcomes.
• Strong work ethic and high level of self-motivation.
• Strong problem-solving capabilities.
• Ability to relate to a wide variety of people in different situations.
• Strategic mindset.
• Must have the legal right to live and work in New Zealand.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or an equivalent combination of education and experience.

Key relationships

• External stakeholders and customers, including government agencies, regulators, industry bodies, and tertiary organisations.
• Standards Approval Board.
• Members of the Standards NZ team, in particularly working closely with Senior Commercial Advisor, the Standards Development team, Senior Advisor Business Development, Senior Advisor International Engagement and Senior Advisor Copyright and Licensing.

Takohanga Tuhinga o mua – Key accountabilities and deliverables

This role will be responsible for delivering results in the following areas:

Standards Product Development

• Lead initiatives to support continuous product improvement by designing new and reviewing existing products and services that support and deliver to meet obligations and principles of the Standards and Accreditation Act 2015.
• Drive strategic product design for new and existing products that contribute to the overall Standards NZ business strategy.
• Research customer and markets for new product and services to support business goals.
• Project managing new bespoke client projects as needed, with the Senior Advisor Business Development.
• Lead complex programmes and projects requiring product design craft and/or technical expertise.
• Identify customer problems, analyse the issues, and define the product or service design solutions to address these.
• Provide input as required for the marketing and engagement strategy for Standards NZ products and services.
• Provide authoritative advice that anticipates needs, predicts, and plans for potentially controversial or politically sensitive issues, and presents frank advice even if that tests the views and preferences of senior leadership.
• Work collaboratively with Standards NZ colleagues to identify how Standards NZ can maximise new digital content technologies to ensure standards meet and anticipate user needs.
• Lead and provide advice on the migration of standards publication onto new platforms such as XML and the use of Application Programmer Interface (API). The XML effort itself has two prongs: continuation of work to convert our existing catalogue and the publication of new standards in XML as they are developed.
• Explore and develop funding proposals to progress digital publication ambitions.
• Evaluate, analyse, and understand the voice of the customer through a variety of data sources.
• Research and analyse the sectors to find opportunities appropriate to Standards NZ and the wider Ministry.

Relationship and Commercial Management

• Build, enhance and maintain effective relationships and partnerships with internal and external stakeholders, as necessary, in order to identify and develop Standards NZ best practice in its products and services.
• Manage third party relationships to discover and develop new ways to deliver standards content that improve on traditional print and PDF publications.
• Manage contract agreements with the view to establishing commercially viable uses of standards content for both the third party and Standards NZ.
• Participate as an active team member and contribute knowledge and expertise needed to achieve Standards NZ and wider MBIE outcomes.
• Ensure good understanding of the needs of regulator and industry stakeholders.
• Foster and facilitate open and active collaboration between agencies.

Maintenance of the product catalugue

• Maintain expertise on standards and related products.
• Provide updating of the database/website with new published products, and alterations to existing products.
• Presents recommendations to the management team and Standards Approval Board to action the outcome of engagement activities .
• Initiates processes to obtain stakeholder views on the future of specific aged New Zealand standards.
• Acts as a single point of contact for stakeholders for communications about the refresh of the catalogue project.
• Uploading monthly bibliographic data to overseas resellers.
• Maintaining key and reportable information, including citations, critical event dates, cross references, and overseas equivalences.

Special Projects

• Performs specialised research into standards for management team and other SNZ staff, including identifying overseas standards equivalent to a New Zealand Standard.
• Leads and support projects from the Standards NZ Business Plan. This can include:
• Driving business growth and diversifying products and services
• Optimising processes and systems
• Targeting more international adoptions
• Deepening and widening committee member participation
• Faster standards development

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 Senior Advisor Products and Projects position reports into the Manager Commercial and Sectors, Standards New Zealand within the Market Integrity branch. The branch sits 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 (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