Chief Communications Officer

Tēnei tūranga – About the role

The Chief Communications Officer (CCO) is MBIE’s senior communications executive, reporting to the Deputy Secretary, Strategy and Assurance and supporting the Chief Executive and Senior Leadership Team on their strategic communications, public affairs, reputation management and stakeholder engagement.

The CCO provides enterprise-wide leadership and stewardship of communications across MBIE, ensuring a coordinated and consistent approach that supports organisational priorities, strengthens public trust and confidence, and protects and enhances MBIE's reputation and influence. As MBIE's Head of Profession for communications, the CCO owns the enterprise communications strategy, drives excellence and consistency in communications practice across the Ministry, and leads MBIE's communications response to significant issues, crises and high-profile events.

The COO works in close partnership with the Director Strategic Communications to align executive communications with MBIE's enterprise communications strategy and collaborates with the Chief People Officer and Chief Financial Officer to shape the Ministry's organisational narrative, reputation and engagement approach on strategic matters.

The CCO is accountable for:

• Leading MBIE's enterprise communications strategy, ensuring communications, public affairs, stakeholder engagement and reputation management activities support organisational priorities and strategic outcomes.
• Providing enterprise stewardship of the communications profession, establishing standards, building capability, and driving consistency and excellence in communications practice across MBIE.
• Provides authoritative advice to the Chief Executive, Chief of Staff and the SLT on complex, sensitive and high-impact issues.
• Leading and protecting MBIE's brand, reputation and public trust, including providing strategic leadership during crises, significant events and issues that may affect stakeholder confidence or organisational outcomes.

Ngā herenga – Requirements of the role

Personal specifications

• Extensive senior leadership experience in strategic communications, public affairs, corporate affairs, journalism, media or a related field.
• Deep expertise in enterprise communications strategy, public affairs, media relations, reputation and brand management, stakeholder engagement, issues management and crisis communications.
• Strong professional standing within the communications or public affairs profession, with demonstrated credibility as a thought leader, trusted adviser and professional leader.
• Proven experience leading the communications components of strategic change and transformation programmes, ensuring effective stakeholder engagement, organisational alignment and successful delivery of outcomes.
• Significant experience providing authoritative, politically astute advice to senior leadership teams, Ministers, Ministers’ Offices, boards or equivalent decision-makers.
• Proven success developing and implementing enterprise-wide communications and public affairs strategies and stakeholder engagement that support organisational priorities and strengthen public confidence.
• Demonstrated experience leading communications responses during crises, significant events and complex, politically sensitive or high-profile issues.
• Proven ability to anticipate changes in the external environment, identify reputational risks and opportunities, and translate complex information into clear strategic advice and action.
• Demonstrated ability to lead through influence across organisational boundaries, including setting professional standards and driving consistency across functions outside direct reporting lines.
• Strong knowledge of the New Zealand public sector, including machinery of government, political neutrality, public accountability and the relationship between agencies, Ministers and Ministers’ Offices.
• Exceptional leadership, judgement, communication and relationship management skills, with the credibility to represent MBIE in complex and sensitive internal and external environments.
• Demonstrated success leading and developing a high-performing communications function, with a strong focus on building capability, supporting people’s wellbeing, and fostering a positive and inclusive culture.
• Demonstrated commitment to Public Service values, Te Tiriti o Waitangi, and inclusive, accessible and culturally responsive communications.
• Demonstrated understanding of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and commitment to inclusive, accessible and culturally responsive communications practices.

Qualifications

• Tertiary qualification, preferably in communications, public relations, public affairs, journalism or related discipline or extensive and comparable relevant experience.

Pre-requisites for the position

• 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.
• Must consent to and satisfactorily complete a credit check as the position holds financial delegations.

Takohanga tuhinga o mua – Key accountabilities and deliverables

Strategic leadership

• Provides enterprise leadership on strategic communications, public affairs and reputation, ensuring MBIE communicates effectively and maintains public trust in a complex and changing environment.
• Leads MBIE’s internal enterprise communications strategy and employee engagement approach, ensuring it supports MBIE’s strategic direction and priority outcomes.
• Acts as a trusted adviser to the Chief of Staff and Senior Leadership Team on matters with significant communications, public affairs, stakeholder or reputational implications.
• Ensures communications and reputational considerations are identified early and integrated into organisational strategy, policy development, change, operational planning and executive decision-making.
• Anticipates emerging issues, risks and opportunities in the external environment and provides authoritative, politically astute advice on their implications for MBIE.
• Leads MBIE’s communications strategy and response during crises, significant events and high-profile or politically sensitive issues.

Functional leadership

• Leads the development and stewardship of MBIE’s enterprise communications function, operating model, systems, professional practice and capability.
• Acts as MBIE’s Head of Profession for communications, setting enterprise standards and expectations for high-quality and consistent professional practice.
• Exercises functional leadership across communications functions and practitioners, with the mandate to drive alignment with the enterprise communications strategy
• Provides enterprise leadership and oversight of MBIE's internal communications, ensuring organisational messages from the Chief Executive, Senior Leadership Team and business groups are aligned, consistent and reflect MBIE's strategic priorities, values and organisational narrative.
• Ensures business groups have access to high-quality strategic communications, public affairs, media, engagement, brand and reputation advice that supports their priorities.
• Develops and maintains an enterprise centre of expertise, providing accessible specialist advice, services, frameworks and tools.
• Leads strategic communications advice to SLT and to shape MBIE’s organisational narrative, reputation and engagement approach on strategic matters.
• Sets and oversees enterprise frameworks and protocols for strategic communications, public affairs, media, stakeholder engagement, brand, issues management and crisis communications.
• Acts as enterprise steward of MBIE’s brand and public reputation, ensuring these are strengthened through coordinated positioning, messaging and engagement.
• Maintains enterprise crisis communications readiness, including effective plans, protocols, escalation pathways and organisational capability.
• Builds sustainable communications capability through professional leadership, talent and succession planning, coaching, knowledge sharing and continuous development.
• Provides assurance on the alignment, effectiveness and impact of enterprise communications, using performance information, audience insights and stakeholder feedback to drive improvement and escalate, advise and assist in managing significant risks.

Personal leadership

• Models exemplary leadership, Public Service values, integrity and professional standards.
• Provides clear direction and inspires people to contribute to MBIE’s purpose, priorities and desired culture.
• Fosters an inclusive and collaborative environment that supports high performance, innovation, learning and knowledge sharing.

Collective leadership - Work collaboratively with other members of the Strategy and Assurance Leadership Team to support achievement of MBIE outcomes

• Contributes actively to the Strategy and Assurance Leadership Team and MBIE’s wider senior leadership community, bringing an enterprise communications, public affairs and reputation perspective to collective decision-making.
• Takes collective responsibility for MBIE’s performance, culture, reputation and long-term stewardship, contributing beyond the role’s functional responsibilities.
• Works across organisational boundaries to anticipate and respond to strategic issues, risks, opportunities and crises through coordinated enterprise action.
• Balances business group needs with whole-of-MBIE priorities and promotes alignment, collaboration and shared accountability.
• Champions a high-performing, connected and future-focused organisation through innovation, continuous improvement.

General management - Apply sound general management practices so that the Communications branch operates effectively and efficiently, and delivers agreed outputs to support achievement of MBIE outcomes

• Leads the Communications branch, establishing clear priorities, accountabilities and delivery expectations aligned with MBIE’s strategic direction.
• Develops and oversees the branch work programme, ensuring priorities and resources are aligned with enterprise needs and agreed outcomes.
• Establishes effective planning, governance, prioritisation and performance arrangements, and monitors delivery against agreed measures.
• Manages budgets, resources, systems and external services effectively, ensuring value for money and sustainable organisational capability.
• Identifies and manages strategic, operational, reputational, workforce and delivery risks, with appropriate assurance and escalation arrangements.
• Promotes a customer-focused, efficient and continuously improving function that delivers high-quality advice, products and services.

Relationship management - Manage constructive working relationships with work colleagues and external stakeholders to enhance understanding and cooperation needed to achieve desired results

• Builds trusted relationships with the Chief Executive, Chief of Staff, Senior Leadership Team and business leaders, providing strategic communications, public affairs and reputation advice.
• Collaborates closely with the Director Strategic Communications on significant, high-profile and strategically sensitive matters, ensuring alignment between MBIE's enterprise communications priorities and Chief Executive communications, and providing reciprocal leadership support and cover as required.
• The CCO works closely alongside the Chief People Officer and Chief Financial Officer as an enterprise leader, helping shape MBIE's organisational narrative, strategic positioning and engagement approach, and ensuring communications considerations are integrated into organisational decision-making and the delivery of MBIE's priorities.
• Develops strategic relationships with Ministers’ Offices, central agencies and public sector leaders to support coordinated approaches and ensure MBIE’s perspectives inform decision-making.
• Works across MBIE to align communications and engagement with enterprise priorities and champion a One MBIE approach.
• Builds effective partnerships with media, industry, iwi and Māori partners, community organisations, national and international organisations, and other key stakeholders.
• Anticipates and responds collaboratively to issues, risks and opportunities that may affect MBIE’s objectives, reputation or stakeholder confidence.
• Represents whole-of-MBIE interests in complex, high-profile and politically sensitive settings, using stakeholder insights and feedback to strengthen engagement and organisational impact.

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 Communications Officer position reports into the Deputy Secretary Strategy and Assurance. The Communications branch sits within the Strategy and Assurance 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