Head of the Office of the Chief Executive

Tēnei tūranga – About the role

The Head of the Office of the Chief Executive enables effective executive leadership of the Ministry by leading a high-performing central office that provides strategic advice, coordination, governance, and issues management support. The role acts as a trusted adviser to the Chief Executive and ensures the organisation is aligned, responsive, and delivering on its priorities.

The role requires a leader with strategic awareness, organisational savvy, and political nous, coupled with excellent relationship skills and the drive to make things happen.

Ngā herenga – Requirements of the role

Personal specifications

• Significant senior leadership experience in a public sector environment.
• Demonstrated ability to provide high-quality strategic advice to senior executives, including the ability to exercise sound judgement and offer constructive challenge.
• Strong understanding of government processes, machinery of government, and the interface with Ministers and central agencies.
• Has previous experience working directly with ministers; can assist with protocol and knowing where and how to get things done within the parliamentary environment.
• Proven experience leading high-performing teams, building capability, and fostering a culture of quality, responsiveness, and professionalism.
• Excellent organisational awareness and political nous, with the ability to navigate sensitive issues and competing priorities.
• Political nous and a proven track record of building and maintaining the trust and confidence of senior colleagues, Ministers and other senior officials.
• Experience coordinating or operating within executive governance structures, ensuring quality decision-making and follow-through.
• Demonstrates deep understanding of the principles and conventions of government and the constitutional, legal and whole-of-government basis on which the New Zealand State Services operates.
• Strong issues and risk management capability, including the ability to identify emerging issues, provide early advice, and coordinate effective responses.
• Ability to operate with a high degree of discretion, integrity, and sound judgement in a confidential environment.
• Exceptional communication skills, including the ability to distil complex information into clear, concise advice and messaging.
• Demonstrated ability to prioritise, manage ambiguity, and deliver at pace in a dynamic, high-pressure environment.
• A track record of driving delivery and improving systems or processes across organisational boundaries.

Qualifications

• Post-graduate qualification in relevant field or extensive and comparable experience.

Other requirements

• Credit check required.
• The ability to gain and maintain a national security clearance to Top Secret Level.
• To be considered for this position you must have a legal right to live and work in New Zealand.

Takohanga tuhinga o mua – Key accountabilities and deliverables

Strategic leadership support

• Support the CE to execute their responsibilities in leading MBIE and in their wider leadership roles.
• Where appropriate, provide the CE with high quality, strategically focussed advice across any aspect of their responsibilities.
• Maintain situational awareness of key work and issues occurring within MBIE and proactively work to ensure other staff and agencies have the context they need to make appropriate judgements.
• Act as an escalation point for issues that may need to be brought to the CEs attention, or where accountabilities are unclear, and help to resolve these.
• As appropriate, take steps to ensure the CE is receiving the right information at the right time to operate effectively, including filtering or escalating information where appropriate.
• Work with Deputy Secretaries and General Managers on matters which may require the attention of the CE. Provide advice on the appropriate approach and management of issues.
• Maintain strong connections with key staff in PSC, DPMC, Treasury to keep them well informed on MBIE’s strategic direction, performance and context, and to anticipate and respond to requests for the CE.
• Support the CE’s strategic communications, stakeholder engagement, and relationship management.
• Support well-coordinated and high-quality engagement with and servicing of Ministers.

Leadership of the Office of the CE

• Lead and manage the Office as a high-performing, trusted central team.
• Participates in, chairs and leverages advisory groups and governance groups to help enable policy, business outcome and corporate connection.
• Aligns work programmes with MBIE’s strategic direction and other Groups’ work programmes.
• Monitors and influences 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 in the Ministry.
• Builds continuous review and improvement throughout all elements of the office.
• Fosters a culture of professionalism, responsiveness, and sound judgement.

Issue and risk management

• Maintain oversight of emerging, sensitive, or high-impact issues across the Ministry, and ensure issues are being actively managed.
• Provide the CE with early visibility and advice for issues requiring attention or escalation.
• Drive continuous improvement of Ministry-wide systems and disciplines for identifying, escalating, and managing issues and risks.

Representing the CE

• As required, participate in and sometimes lead MBIE’s input into wider system leadership matters on behalf of the CE and MBIE.
• Where appropriate, provide the CE with high quality, strategically focussed advice and support on complex or fast-moving issues.
• Act as the Chief Executive’s personal representative/delegate, as required, including maintaining oversight of key areas of focus.

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 Head of the Office of the Chief Executive position reports into the Secretary for Economic Growth and Chief Executive of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment.

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