Principal Advisor Group Business and Workforce Planning, Office of the Deputy Secretary

Tēnei tūranga – About the role

At the heart of TWSD’s leadership, the Office of the Deputy Secretary (ODS) plays a key role in helping our Group run smoothly and effectively. We support both the strategic direction and day-to-day operations of TWSD within MBIE, making sure our services are consistent, high-quality and aligned with our strategic focus areas.

Our work helps branches be more effective regulators and supports the Deputy Secretary and the Chief Executive to meet important statutory responsibilities. Our team’s role is to make sure that TWSD delivers services that are efficient, accessible and effective. We do this by offering strategic advice, operational support, and oversight that keeps everything on track. We help connect the dots between what branches are doing and where TWSD is heading, ensuring our work supports MBIE’s strategic goal of Growing New Zealand for all.

The Principal Advisor Group Business and Workforce Planning supports the Director Group Strategy & Planning to provide technical and thought leadership to develop and facilitate a fit for purpose group-wide workforce planning approach. The Principal Advisor Group Business and Workforce Planning applies systems-thinking to provide an accurate picture of Te Whakatairanga Service Delivery’s current and future workforce and works collaboratively across TWSD Branches to provide expert advice to Branch and Group Leadership and delivery partners (e.g., People & Culture) on workforce trends, risks and offer potential solutions.

The Principal Advisor works to ensure that the Group has the right people, that they’re in the right roles at the right time, to deliver on TWSD’s Strategy. This role contributes to connecting workforce insights to strategy by interpreting workforce, engagement and sentiment data, identifying capability or capacity gaps, and forecasting trends that better able us to better respond to future capability needs through succession planning, redesigning roles to deliver on our mission.

Ngā herenga – Requirements of the role

Personal specifications

• Significant experience in the implementation, delivery, and continuous improvement of strategic workforce planning, reporting systems and processes, including the capture and analysis of information.
• Strong understanding of planning processes, performance reporting, risk management, and assurance, coupled with stakeholder engagement to support effective implementation.
• A demonstrated ability to use relevant software applications, including spreadsheets, databases, word processing packages and process management software with the ability to turn that information into easy-to-understand infographics.
• Ability to quickly assimilate new information and understand complex issues, able to quickly identify ways of thinking about the problem or issues and possible pathways forward.
• Expert in business analysis work including working with impact analysis, options development, tools, and methodologies.
• Ability to lead workforce transformation initiatives, including role redesign, reskilling, and future workforce modelling.
• Strong background in cross-functional planning, including financial, workforce and service planning.
• A strategic thinker with proven workforce planning experience and the ability to turn complex conceptual strategies into high level artifacts for senior management.
• The ability to effectively direct and coordinate documented workforce planning in a timely way (sometimes with incomplete information). This includes assumption-based planning and presenting suitable options and contingencies at executive level.
• Strong analytical skills as well as strong capability in research and evaluation methodologies, design, processes, and reporting.
• Knowledge and experience of business analysis work including working with impact analysis and options development with the ability to deliver this information clearly for informed decision making.
• Strong stakeholder relationship building and engagement skills to effectively gain cooperation and commitment of others.
• The ability to influence others to achieve the required outcomes through sound evidence-based knowledge and professional credibility.
• A demonstrated ability to deal with complex and emerging issues.
• Excellent communication skills, both written, oral and visual, and the ability to present information and ideas in a way that is effective and engaging to a wide range of audiences.
• A relevant tertiary qualification or equivalent experience in a relevant workforce planning or human resources discipline.
• Ability to work within a team environment and establish working relationships inside and outside the organisation.
• Must have the legal right to live and work in New Zealand.

Takohanga tuhinga o mua – Key accountabilities and deliverables

The Principal Advisor Group Business and Workforce Planning will be required to deliver results in the following areas:

• Provides innovative and critical thought leadership in the development of future strategies and supporting scenarios and options planning, other key priority work programmes, action and business plans, recognised centre of excellence disciplines and best practice strategy frameworks.
• Builds capability across the group and branch, both its strategic and technical capabilities, ensuring Te Whakatairanga Service Delivery maintains its reputation as a high performing team.
• In conjunction with the Director, support the Head of Office for the Deputy Secretary in the development and maintenance of a future-focused workforce strategy that supports TWSD’s shift to digitally enabled, efficient service delivery.
• Works with the Director Group Strategy & Planning to embed workforce planning into business planning cycles, ensuring capability gaps are identified and addressed proactively and that group business planning activities are aligned to the Group strategy and Enterprise requirements.
• In conjunction with the Director, support the Head of Office for the Deputy Secretary in the development and maintenance of a future-focussed workforce strategy that supports TWSD’s shift to digitally-enabled, efficient service delivery.
• Develops and maintains accurate forecasting models for all areas within TWSD, including long-term headcount planning as well as producing, in conjunction with People & Culture, workforce reports that inform operational and strategic decisions.
• In conjunction with the Head of Office, validates Branch and Group level Workforce limits and FTE requirements and provides performance insights to support Group wide decisions associated with recruitment, training, and resource allocation.
• Work with the Senior Advisor in the extraction, analysis, and interpretation of data derived from the employee engagement tool (e.g. Office Vibe), identifying patterns, opportunities, and critical areas requiring enhancement to inform strategic direction.
• Engages across the Group to deliver insights that support Branch level and Group wide leadership decision-making and drive workforce capability and planning initiatives.
• Works in conjunction with the Principal Advisor Group Business & Workforce Planning across TWSD Branches to ensure alignment between business planning, workforce capability, financial forecasting, and service delivery transformation and management, ensuring Group business plans reflect the evolving nature of TWSD’s regulatory functions and service delivery models.
• Oversees Group level workforce planning and capability development activities, with a particular focus on elevating employee experience and fostering a progressive organisational culture.
• Work with the Senior Advisor in the conceptualisation, design, and evaluation of targeted interventions, leveraging engagement data to enhance organisational effectiveness and cultural maturity.

Relationship Management

• Builds and maintains constructive working relationships with work colleagues, general managers, business managers, national managers, and other business advisors across TWSD to enhance understanding and co-operation needed to achieve desired results.
• Represents whole-of-Ministry views and protects its reputation in external interactions.
• Builds strategic alliances with key government and non-government representatives to ensure MBIE’s views are influential in their decision-making.
• Builds and maintains effective relationships and partnerships organisations/agencies to identify and share best practice information and to promote the Ministry, its products, and services.
• Maintains productive and enduring relationships with peers, stakeholders, and leaders ensuring communication is professional, clear, timely and built on trust.
• Participates as an active team member and contributes knowledge and expertise to business processes and decision-making.

Contribute to cross-group forums or working groups focused on improving the quality and impact of engagement insights.

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 Principal Advisor Group Business and Workforce Planning position reports into the Director Group Strategy & Planning within the Office of the Deputy Secretary. 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. 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