Head of Employment Practices

Tēnei tūranga – About the role

The Head of Employment Practices is a member of the People and Culture Leadership Team collectively leading the P&C branch to deliver and embed MBIE’s People Strategy.

This role is responsible for the Workforce and Employment architecture leading teams that develop and lead specialist services: industrial relations, employment relations, remuneration & reward, talent acquisition, payroll and practices and the people hub.

The Head of Employment Practices provides strategic support to the Chief People Officer and business to embed our MBIE leader-led approach and ensuring everything we do is people centred. This role will work with the business and through business partnering to introduce new ways of working and frameworks in this space.

Ngā herenga – Requirements of the role

Personal specifications

The following experience and qualifications are specifically required for this position:

• working and leading in the public service (or comparably complex system or organisation) as an informed and influential voice particularly in industrial relations and employment relations
• developing, executing, and embedding strategies, frameworks, and polices with and through others to reflect business needs and ways of working now and in the future
• implementing polices, frameworks and ways of working that strikes the right balance of ensuring people-centred outcomes while at the same time keep the organisation safe in terms of its legal employer obligations
• leading through leaders to bring about significant change, and across teams to provide a connected and continually improving service to customers
• being part of a leadership team responsible for governance, making strategic trade-offs and managing a large cross-organisational work programme in the context of delivering people-centred culture change
• sound working knowledge and understanding of the machinery of government and processes that apply within the state sector.

Qualifications

• Tertiary legal qualification preferred or comparable relevant experience.
• Credit check required.

Takohanga tuhinga o mua – Key accountabilities and deliverables

Critical areas of success

• Provide strategic support to the Chief People Officer and business to deliver high quality strategy, policy, programmes, initiatives and processes which achieve MBIE outcomes.

Takohanga tuhinga o mua – Key accountabilities and deliverables continued

• Ensure senior management are kept up to date with strategic employee relations issues and maintain close liaison in areas where effective employment relations management is critical to meet organisational goals and to promote a positive and effective employee relations environment.
• Ensure the development and implementation of the Ministry’s overall collective bargaining strategy, manage proactive working relationships with unions, provide a centralised source of policy and advice on the negotiation and implementation of collective employment agreements, and handling major collective employment disputes.
• Working closely with P&C colleagues, the business, and Te Kawa Mataaho - the Public Service Commission, you ensure we meet our recruitment obligations under relevant legislation and align to Government and sector expectations to ensure our Talent Acquisition policies, processes and practices are clear, fair, culturally appropriate, inclusive and people-centred for everyone.
• Oversee the delivery of expert remuneration and reward advice to the organisation ensuring clear, consistent, easy to follow people-centred policy, process and practice so that everyone in MBIE understands how remuneration & reward will be managed.
• Ensuring the delivery of Payroll and Practices as a centre of leadership, excellence and expertise that enables MBIE to deliver its organisational strategy and drive performance, as an exemplar of best practice for the public service. Leading all legal and compliance matters to ensure compliance in this area including the complex requirements of the Holidays Act, and other related legislation.

Collective Leadership – Work collaboratively with other members of the People and Culture Leadership Team to support achievement of MBIE outcomes

• Participates collaboratively as a member of the P&C Leadership Team to support the integration process for MBIE and ensure the development of sustainable organisational capability, achieve expected efficiency benefits and ongoing improvements in cost effectiveness.
• Ensures that the Employment Practices function has relevant systems, processes and checks and balance in place to ensure that MBIE is compliant with its legal employment and payroll obligations including the complex requirements of the Holidays Act, and other related legislation.
• Takes collective responsibility for the cohesion and performance of MBIE as a whole and provides peer support to other senior managers.
• Works with the P&C Leadership Team to define the outcomes and outputs expected from the Branch to deliver on MBIE’s strategic direction.
• Contributes beyond core functional area to enhance overall effectiveness of people and Culture.
• Ensures consistency and alignment between different teams in MBIE and promotes solution seeking where there are legitimate differences.
• Represents Senior Leadership Team views to staff.

Personal Leadership

• Models exemplary management and leadership behaviours, State sector ethics and values.
• Models the desired values and culture of the organisation and leads this across the team.
• Creates a sense of vision, engages and motivates people to participate, and makes things happen.
• Fosters an open, collaborative environment that encourages quality, innovation, ongoing learning and knowledge sharing.

General Management – Apply sound general management practices so that P&C operates effectively and efficiently, and delivers agreed outputs to support achievement of MBIE outcomes

• Develops strategies, work programmes and performance targets for Employment Practices, with supporting measurement, monitoring and reporting mechanisms.
• Aligns Employment Practices’ work programmes with MBIE’s strategic direction and other groups’ work programmes.
• Monitors and adjusts work programmes through the agreed processes to enable P&C to adapt 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 MBIE.

Team Leadership – Build and maintain a high-performing team that is capable of developing and delivering innovative advice, products and services to support MBIE’s strategic direction

• Establishes clear accountabilities, expectations and performance standards with direct reports and ensures regular performance management and development occurs.
• Monitors individual, team and business unit performance to ensure that performance targets are met.
• Anticipates future capability needs in Employment Practices, identifies gaps in capability and addresses these gaps through targeted recruitment and development or other actions.
• Coaches, mentors and develops staff to meet the needs of MBIE now and in the future.
• Identifies and develops talent for key roles in P&C.

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

• Participates as an active team member and contributes knowledge and expertise needed to achieve MBIE’s outcomes.
• Develops effective working relationships with other MBIE managers and staff in order to transfer knowledge and learning from P&C to the wider organisation.
• Represents whole-of-MBIE views and protects its reputation in external interactions.
• Builds strategic alliances with key government and nongovernment representatives to ensure MBIE’s views are influential in their decision-making.
• Builds and maintains effective relationships and partnerships with national and international organisations to identify and share best practice

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 Head of Employment Practices position reports into the Chief People Officer within the People and Culture branch. The branch sits within the Corporate and Digital Shared Services group.

More information about MBIE's structure

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 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).

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