Project Director - Wellington Consolidation Project (WCP)

Tēnei tūranga – About the role

The Government Property Group is accountable for the strategic leadership of the government’s office accommodation portfolio and provisioning for the centralisation of components of the government’s property function.  The government’s office accommodation portfolio is significant, encompassing circa 1,000,000 sqm of office space and a rental spend of circa $330 million per year across 73 agencies, including Crown Agents.  

In 2020, the establishment of System Leadership under the Public Service Act created an opportunity to manage the government’s office accommodation more effectively and efficiently.  The Chief Executive of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment was appointed as the System Leader for Property by the Public Service Commissioner to drive a whole-of-system approach to strategic property matters, including the government’s office accommodation portfolio.  

The Project Director is responsible for delivering a complex project to consolidate Wellington government office accommodation into several anchor buildings and to achieve savings for the Crown. A key aspect of the role will be the need to build strong relationships at senior executive level across government to facilitate agency cooperation with planning and lease negotiation activities required for consolidation of the Wellington portfolio.

The Project Director ensures that robust project methodologies are followed, decisions are documented, and the governance group and sponsor are kept fully informed of the progress of the project and any risks or issues that may impact the desired outcome. 

The role will provide expert-level property subject matter expertise, to ensure portfolio planning and leasing strategies are robust, and the unit is able to operate with transparency and well-reasoned logic.  It is critical that the WCP project team is seen as having credibility across the sector. 

The position reports to the General Manager, Government Property Group (GPG), and manages a small team of property specialists to undertake the strategic planning, financial analysis, agency engagement and lease negotiation work required to achieve and demonstrate realisation of the savings.

The Project Director will bring their significant experience in office accommodation transformation and project leadership, highly tuned senior-stakeholder engagement skills and political nous to provide and deliver:

• Management and day-to-day ownership and delivery of the WCP Project, including line responsibility for the project team.
• Leadership of all project processes, including communicating key project messages, sector and cross-agency engagement at a senior level, procurement, iwi and community engagement, and negotiations.
• Supported by the Principal Policy Advisor, leadership of advice to Ministers. 
• Day-to-day responsibility for the management of the WCP Project, including planning activities, external communications, and mitigation of risks and issues.
• Project/project management planning advice and support for the GM Government Property Group and/or WCP governance  – for example, on the preparation of high-quality project and business case documentation, planning documents, stakeholder engagement and communications plans.
• Fit-for-purpose processes, reporting and governance to ensure the project, delivered by multiple parties, has effective oversight and accountability.
• Close and effective working relationships with relevant teams across MBIE.
• Accountability for team performance through regular reviews and engagement. 
• Impactful and engaging representation of the project to senior Ministers, officials, government agencies and the sector, including seeking consensus where necessary.
• Support to the General Manager, Government Property Group in meetings with the Minister and Senior public service leaders.
• Partnering with the GM in driving the strategic agenda at portfolio and cross portfolio levels (forward focus).
• Trusted advisor and sounding board for the GM and Managers.
• Providing thought leadership on complex, ambiguous property issues with significant sensitivity and risk, setting and driving priorities.

Ngā herenga – Requirements of the role

Personal specifications

• Strong project management skills and knowledge of project management disciplines and proven delivery of significant strategic property portfolio management projects.
• Senior-level experience successfully managing a large project of activity, including working effectively across agencies/organisations.
• Comprehensive understanding of the Public Sector environment and a demonstrated understanding of policy and regulatory processes, including Government decision-making and operating procedures, and the experience to bring both policy and operational perspectives to bear on the project.
• Understanding there will be various agency perspectives of how government office accommodation should be managed, recognising the need to bring agencies on the transition journey.  
• Understanding what the government wants to achieve and the ability to anticipate minister and Ministry needs.
• Intuition for the most significant challenges facing the WCP and an ability to simplify complex problems and concepts and translate high-level policy objectives and vision statements into actionable advice and outcomes.
• Strong relationship-building skills, with the ability to quickly earn the trust and confidence of senior government officials, ministers and industry stakeholders.
• Able to: 
  • navigate high levels of ambiguity and use judgement and experience to identify priorities.
  • use experience and judgement to shape the future policy agenda and priorities, identify work project gaps, delivery risks and other issues and ensure effective and timely intervention.
  • influence at very senior levels, both within government and within industry, enabled by a strong understanding of the priorities for each and the dynamics at play.
  • harness diverse perspectives and bring people together to work towards a shared purpose.
  • get things done, maintain momentum for the project and have a clear focus on achieving results – a pragmatic, decisive leader.
  • apply strong intellectual capability and judgement to analyse large, complex policy issues and readily grasp and synthesise the ideas, analysis and advice produced by others.
  • communicate and persuade using a range of oral, written and visual mediums in diverse situations.
  • use effective commissioning and management techniques including to identify and manage risks.
  • identify strategically important stakeholders and establish connections within short periods of time, and maintain and deepen those relationships over time even in the face of differences.
• Proven people-management skills.
• Flexibility to adapt within a fast-moving environment.
• Ability to assimilate new information or areas of work.

Other

• A tertiary qualification in project or Project management (or equivalent) would be beneficial.
• Must be a NZ citizen or hold a residence class visa

Takohanga tuhinga o mua – Key accountabilities and deliverables

Critical Areas of Success

• Provides overall oversight and leadership of the Wellington Consolidation Project.
• Delivers quality results which contribute to the project outcomes - key results include: achievement of agency cooperation and realisation of agreed savings targets.
• Builds and maintains effective, executive-level and strategic working relationships across government and industry for project success.
• Leads advice on complex, ambiguous multi-agency issues with significant sensitivity and risk, and provides authoritative and frank policy advice that recognises the choices and constraints Ministers face, anticipates needs, predicts and plans for potentially controversial or politically sensitive issues.
• Partners with the General Manager to align the project with the strategic policy agenda at a portfolio level.
• Critically synthesises information from a wide variety of domains and applies expert judgement to draw conclusions.
• Cements project planning and process to ensure that all workstreams are delivered to deadline and a high standard.
• Acts as a point of escalation for significant risks, issues, funding or resourcing challenges that could impact the delivery of the project.
• Builds and maintains working relationships between the project and other government teams, agencies and initiatives to ensure the project is cognisant of related priorities and activities.
• Oversee a framework for managing stakeholder engagement and change.
• Report on progress of the project and issues to the Governance Group, Senior Leaders, as required, relevant Ministers.
• Provide guidance, mentoring and support to the team to ensure that the project is delivered effectively, including in the production of any collateral or communications.
• Maintain a forward agenda, identifying opportunities and risks for the project and, where risks exist, recommending mitigations to the GM/Governance Group.
• Oversee project budgets, timelines and dependencies.

Leadership

• Provide day-to-day leadership, management and HR responsibility for the project team members.
• Foster an open, collaborative environment that encourages quality, innovation, on-going learning and knowledge sharing within the team and across MBIE.
• Provide intellectual support and coach others on relationship management, monitoring, government systems and knowledge of institutional practice.
• Create a positive and delivery-focussed culture within the team, which is open to taking risks and learning lessons from failure, and where diverse views and perspectives are sought out and considered.
• Provide constructive, timely and specific feedback to others and give credit for tasks well done.
• Model MBIE’s values and culture.
• Holds direct reports accountable for work undertaken.

Relationship Management

• Builds and maintains effective relationships and partnerships with internal and external stakeholders, including senior leaders and ministers across the public service in order to ensure effective project delivery.
• Builds strategic alliances with key government and non-government representatives to ensure MBIE’s views are influential in their decision-making.
• Develops effective working relationships with other MBIE managers and staff in order to deliver the project of work and transfer knowledge and learning from the team to the wider organisation.
• Represents whole-of-Ministry views and protects its reputation in any external interactions.

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 Project Director, WCP reports into the General Manager within the Government Property Group branch. The branch sits within the Building, Resources and Markets 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