Principal Advisor Group Strategy and Planning

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 Strategy & Planning provides high quality, specialist strategic advice and support to the Senior Management Team in developing and shaping their strategic priorities and associated work programmes.

The Principal Advisor Group Strategy & Planning will be responsible for leading project management, applying sound engagement practices, developing content, and leading with design thinking principles contribute to the foundation of that success and these attributes are critical to the role. 

Ngā herenga – Requirements of the role

Personal specifications

• Proven ability to think strategically, develop frameworks and manage organisation wide systems and processes.
• A strong understanding of planning, performance and reporting, risk management, business continuity planning, continuous improvement, and assurance processes.
• A confident and active participant as an expert strategic advisor and influencer
• Ability to translate complex organisational goals into actionable plans.
• Experience in aligning workforce planning with strategic priorities with a strong understanding of workforce planning methodologies, tools, and analytics and experience in designing and implementing capability frameworks.
• 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.
• Pragmatic, solution focused, comfortable with ambiguity and change
• Excellent political awareness and sensitivity to anticipate areas of potential risk and inform decision-making.
• A strong understanding of the machinery of government processes that underpin the operations of the public sector environment, accountability, and the performance, reporting and financial management regime.
• A strong comprehension of the Treaty of Waitangi and how the work we do in Te Whakatairanga Service Delivery intersects with te ao Māori.
• Excellent relationship management skills, with the ability to communicate effectively at all levels.
• Must have a tertiary qualification in a relevant subject or work experience equivalent.
• Must have the legal right to live and work in New Zealand.

Takohanga tuhinga o mua – Key accountabilities and deliverables

Critical areas of success

• Hands-on advice and support to help TWSD operate effectively and stay aligned to our strategic direction, leading key initiatives as required.
• 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.
• Plays a lead role in the development of a fit for purpose approach to strategic advice, strategy development and ongoing management that includes:
• Ensuring a thorough understanding of MBIE and TWSD Strategies and priorities, interpreting and confidently communicate Group and enterprise level strategy and priorities to a practical level to support people leaders and their teams to ensure a shared understanding.
• Supports the Director Group Strategy & Planning in the monitoring of TWSD priorities and strategies, with the aim to obtain alignment and clarity across the Group.
• Plays an integral role in working closely with key stakeholders to understand challenges, opportunities and developments to better position advice, recommendations and develop achievable solutions.
• Leads the development of relevant strategies and plans in conjunction with key stakeholders, including senior leadership team
• Works closely with responsible senior owners to ensure that strategic implications are fully understood, scoped and developed into recommendations for decision making, aligning key initiatives and interventions at an operational level.
• Ensures shared alignment of engagement activity to progress strategic objectives.
• Partners with responsible leads across TWSD to translate strategy development and alignment with strategic priorities for business units or division.
• 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.
• Works collaboratively with Customer Design & Innovation branch on the development and integration of TWSD’s strategic planning processes across branches and regulatory regimes.
• Works with 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.
• 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.
• Embeds workforce planning into business planning cycles, ensuring capability gaps are identified and addressed proactively.

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.

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 Strategy & 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