Senior Advisor Strategy and Planning

Tēnei tūranga – About the role

The Office of the Deputy Secretary branch within Te Whakatairanga Service Delivery Group (TWSD) enables and empowers the functions of TWSD to ensure that work is planned and prioritised in a way that will deliver on our strategic outcomes, in alignment to financial obligations and our performance is monitored effectively. It provides clarity and robust advice to effectively manage the way work is commissioned, planned, and governed.

The Senior Advisor, Strategy and Planning is a key role in the Strategy team and is responsible for contributing to the development and implementation of reporting, monitoring and evaluation of business plans seeking input from across the Group and MBIE.  This role also provides quality strategy advice and guidance, identifying opportunities across the Group to streamline and optimise the wider value we deliver to Te Whakatairanga.

Ngā herenga – Requirements of the role

Personal specifications

• Demonstrated achievement in developing, monitoring, reporting and evaluation of strategic and business plan activities for performance enhancement.
• High level of experience in writing business plans and reports, identifying patterns and trends and integrating information from multiple sources into coherent documents.
• Ability to quickly assimilate new information at a high level and come to an understanding of unfamiliar and complex issues, both strategic and operational.
• Highly developed analytical skills and the ability to analyse and identify issues, options, strategies, solutions and benefits in a complex and ambiguous environment.
• Known for can-do, positive, and customer-focused attitude.
• Proactively identifies key relationships and possesses an ability to quickly establish and build strong working relationships.
• Ability to adapt communication style for a range of stakeholders.
• Ability to work well under pressure and capacity to multi-task effectively and meeting deadlines.
• 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.
• A strong comprehension of the Treaty of Waitangi and how the work we do in Te Whakatairanga Service Delivery intersects with te ao Māori.
• Strong experience using Microsoft Office functions including Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Adobe professional.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills.
• Demonstrated ability to identify ways of thinking about risks and issues and developing possible pathways forward. 
• 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

Business outcomes

• Partners with responsible leads and their teams across TWSD in the development of business plans and strategic advice ensuring alignment to the TWSD Strategy.
• Works alongside the Strategy Manager and team to keep the TWSD Strategy in view, seeing the Group as a whole and staying informed about key initiatives in business plans that support the TWSD Strategy.
• Ensures that strategy design and business planning methodologies and performance frameworks are operationally sound, compliant to the wider MBIE Enterprise investment guidelines and are proportionate and appropriate to enable success from the outset.
• Contributes to the improvement of the Strategy Team within Office of the Deputy Secretary and its strategic and planning capabilities, ensuring Te Whakatairanga Service Delivery maintains its reputation as a high performing Group.

Strategy and business planning management

Plays an active role in the development of a fit for purpose approach to strategy and business planning management that includes:

• Contributes to the development of relevant strategies and business plans in conjunction with key stakeholders, including senior leadership team.
• Develops performance frameworks such as logic frameworks, strategic alignment measurement tables, indicators of success and dashboards for Senior Management Team review.
• Ensures a thorough understanding of MBIE and TWSD Strategies and priorities, interpreting and confidently communicating this at a practical level to people leaders and their teams to ensure a shared understanding.
• Supports the Strategy Manager in the review of TWSD strategies and business plans, with the aim to obtain alignment and clarity across the Group and to MBIE Enterprise requirements.
• 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.
• 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 with business plans.
• Ensures shared alignment of engagement activity to progress TWSD strategic objectives and business plan activity.
• Ensures integration of the TWSD strategy into business plans across the Group.
• Contributes to the development and maintenance of high-quality assets that help build the strategy, build capability, drive performance, and bring cohesion and direction to business plans.

Relationship Management

• Recognised as a SME within the Ministry and the wider government community.
• Manages constructive working relationships with work colleagues, internal and external stakeholders to enhance understanding and cooperation needed to achieve desired results.
• Participates as an active team member and contributes knowledge and expertise to business processes and decision-making.
• Contributes to building 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 General Managers, Business Managers, National Managers, and other Business Advisors across TWSD.
• Represents whole-of-Ministry views and protects its reputation in external interactions. 
• Maintain effectiveness of stakeholder relationships in challenging situations and seeking for continuous improvement based on stakeholder feedback.
• Tests the effectiveness of stakeholder relationships using a range of appropriate measures and process (including stakeholder feedback).

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 Senior Advisor Strategy and Planning position reports into the Manager Strategy 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 (work). 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