Principal Minerals Advisor

Tēnei tūranga – About the role

This Principal Minerals Advisor provides expert technical analysis and strategic advice on New Zealand’s mineral resources to the National Manager Petroleum, Minerals and Offshore Renewable Energy and the Minerals team. They have responsibility for delivery of the Minerals work programme including oversight of allocation decisions. They mentor and coach staff within the Minerals team and provide high level technical and strategic advice about the management and allocation of New Zealand’s minerals resources to a range of internal and external stakeholders.

Ngā herenga – Requirements of the role

Personal specifications

• Significant commercial and strategic experience in the mining sector (i.e., around 10 years’ plus) and extensive knowledge of minerals industry issues.
• Ability to integrate the ‘big picture’ (strategic and/or long term) approach with the day-to-day operational processes.
• Ability to develop strategies to achieve business outcomes.
• Highly developed analytical ability.
• Ability to integrate and balance statutory and specialist technical information and present them with simplicity and clarity that can be understood by a range of audiences.
• Excellent written and oral presentation skills.
• Effective business writing skills.
• Ability to translate complex information into easily understood material.
• Experience of working on technically and/or politically and/or legally complex projects.
• Ability to think through ambiguous and conflicting requirements and solve problems pragmatically, effectively, and promptly.
• Ability to brief Ministers and senior Managers.
• Ability to integrate specialist technical information concepts with exploration programme objectives.
• Ability to develop and maintain critical relationships with internal and external stakeholders.
• Credibility with and knowledge of key influencers within industry.
• Ability to negotiate directly with exploration and mining companies.
• Leadership, coaching and mentoring skills.
• Ability to motivate others.
• Must have the legal right to live and work in New Zealand.
• Tertiary qualification in a relevant technical discipline – for example geology, earth sciences, environmental management, or engineering.

Takohanga tuhinga o mua – Key accountabilities and deliverables

Strategic direction

• Uses advanced critical thinking, reasoning and judgment to identify technical issues and see them in the wider context.
• Understands the strategic context, current agenda and priorities and applies foresight and judgement to identify what is important for the technical area in the medium and long term.
• Carries out complex research to inform more complex technical issues.
• Draws on expert knowledge of the technical area as well as broad knowledge from other domains to critically assess evidence and information from multiple and diverse sources to identify implications for analysis and advice.
• Uses judgement and experience to identify and assess options against the desired outcomes, identify their cost-effectiveness and impact, identify risk and effective mitigation strategies and work confidently with ambiguity to make innovative, practical and durable decisions without the total picture.
• Holds strategic relationships with external stakeholders, delivery agencies and government agencies, is confident working with and managing conflicting perspectives and can effectively reflect that in advice.
• Is able to draw on advanced qualitative and quantitative frameworks, principles, tools and approaches and expert understanding of the range of techniques to monitor and evaluate performance.
• Uses intellectual capability to work with multiple complex ideas in parallel as well as being able to integrate multiple concepts and pathways and deal comfortably with ambiguity.
• Integrates up-to-date information and evidence across relevant technical areas and disciplines to develop new insights and innovative solutions despite the imperfections and uncertainty of evidence.
• Provides authoritative technical advice that recognises the choices and constraints Ministers face, anticipates needs, predicts and plans for potentially controversial or politically sensitive issues, and presents frank advice even if that tests Ministers’ views and preferences.
• Determines research required to meet regulatory framework in the technical area.
• Scopes research, writes tender documents and leads the evaluation panel in technical area.
• Provides high level contract monitoring.

Support regulatory framework

• Uses knowledge of the area to shape the policy, operational and strategic functions.
• Uses judgement and deep technical expertise to advise on regulatory framework and relevant legislation.
• Informs and supports interpretation of and helps to lead changes to the regulatory framework and relevant legislation.
• Conducts research into complex issues and manages the production of technical advice.
• Presents information and collaborates with staff in other MBIE branches, government, and external agencies.
• Provides quality assurance, expert technical advice, supervision, guidance, coaching and mentoring and on-the-job training to team members.
• Represents MBIE and New Zealand’s interests nationally and internationally.
• Manages information and data appropriately.

Delivery

• Plans and manages work, leads project teams, develops, and maintains relationships with colleagues and stakeholders.
• Uses project planning and management techniques to effectively carry out the agreed work in technical area, within the resources available and provides timely reports on progress. Appropriately manages conflicts and project risks.
• Works with little guidance - identifies the overall policy objectives and seeks guidance where required and uses initiative to resolve conflicts, manage risks and coordinate work with others.
• Leads multiple pieces of work concurrently and actively and independently plans and manages work load.
• Takes a leadership role in cross-MBIE and cross-government projects.
• Chairs and contributes to meetings, including where matters are complex or sensitive, require negotiation or solutions.

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 Principal Minerals Advisor position reports into the National Manager Petroleum, Minerals and Offshore Renewable Energy within the Resource Markets branch. The branch sits within the Building, Resources and Markets 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 New Zealand for All.

To Grow 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