Senior Advisor – Service Design

Tēnei tūranga – About the role

The Design & Insights team is a shared service within the Te Whakatairanga Service Delivery Group (TWSD). This means that the advisor will work with a range of teams within TWSD and across MBIE on a variety of projects. The advisor will plan, design, develop and implement changes and improvements, and provide operationally-grounded advice informed by insight into customers and businesses we interact with. They will contribute to the development of new services or improvements to existing services, to ensure that TWSD develops and maintains high quality, innovative and user-centric regulatory practices. The advisor will keep customers’ needs at the centre while acknowledging business constraints, to develop services that are efficient and workable.

Ngā herenga – Requirements of the role

Personal specifications

• Practical experience working from a human-centred perspective, using design thinking methodologies.
• Analytical and critical thinking skills.
• Ability to meet deadlines and drive for outcomes in a changeable environment.
• Excellent communication skills to express ideas clearly (i.e. written, visual, oral).
• Exceptional interpersonal, teamwork and relationship management skills.
• Knowledge of the public sector in Aotearoa.
• Experience working collaboratively with a wide range of different people.
• A tertiary qualification in a relevant discipline is preferred, but not essential.
• Must be a NZ citizen or hold a residence class visa.

Experience using creative approaches for:

• Problem identification.
• Solution development.
• Solution implementation.

Takohanga tuhinga o mua – Key accountabilities and deliverables

Produce robust service design research and analysis 

• Outputs are implementable proposals and options which appropriately balance issues of viability from a government perspective; technical feasibility and ease of delivery and minimum disruption from an implementation perspective; and desirability from a user and community perspective.
• Scans at an operational system level to identify critical system dynamics, tension points that need addressing, and opportunities for innovation.
• Develops and implements innovative and user-centric service design and policy methodologies, tools, and processes that generate effective policy and efficient service solutions which connect meaningfully with user experiences.
• Applies insight and diagnostic techniques to analysing issues and data to identify opportunities for innovation, determine key service design issues, or identify potential delivery and implementation impacts from proposed changes.
• Proactively identifies and assesses changes that have value for operational branches and for users, and that draw on insights from business intelligence.
• Makes connections across operational areas, regulatory systems, and between project teams and operational teams.
• Takes a forward-looking and proactive strategic approach and seeks opportunities to implement new ideas and methods, supporting the Team Leaders and Director to ensure a sufficient balance of work across the programme from incremental to transformational.

Manage key relationships and linkages within the Ministry and with sectors/industry

• Values and develops connections with stakeholders within and outside of the Ministry, purposefully engaging with them and leveraging their activities to gain deeper insights and better achieve desired policy and project outcomes collectively.
• Actively contributes to development of and promotion of whole of Ministry views in internal and external interactions.
• Contributes to and manages collaboration within the Te Whakatairanga Service Delivery group on service design solutions to ensure effective input and ownership of products.
• Works collaboratively with colleagues to monitor, review, evaluate and improve existing business, customer, and community experiences against desired outcomes.
• Establishes and maintains relationships with service design functions across MBIE and within the wider public sector.
• Participates in the development of productive 360 degree working relationships with senior managers and customers.

Manage tasks and projects

• Effectively delivers on tasks assigned within the broader team work programme.
• Effectively plans and manages outputs on a range of complex issues.
• Ensures objectives of the team and self are aligned with business goals, aligns planning, monitors progress, and reviews targets.
• Leads project/workstream planning and use of service design tools. Involves other people, and can successfully orchestrate the team through successive phases of discovery, innovation and evaluation as design and implementation progresses, to ensure changes are robust and sustainable.
• Alerts manager to potential problems / risks well in advance and proposes solutions.
• Well-organised with a drive to achieve results; plans systematically and identifies and manages risks.
• Knows when to work alone and when to seek advice and others’ input.
• Identifies resources necessary to meet objectives of self or team.

Participate effectively in groups and teams

• Actively identifies and follows through on opportunities to involve others in development of thinking or products, to add value to work.
• Collaborates effectively over policy design problems and solutions, drawing insight from others and seeking out opportunities to co-design and co-create with others.
• Participates positively in intra-branch, inter-branch, and MBIE-wide initiatives and other groups.
• Models behaviours consistent with MBIE values and code of conduct.
• Actively participates in discussions on own performance and career development.
• Provides support to Team Leader in relation to advisors’ development, including providing analytical support and coaching others on processes and development of expertise in subject matter and knowledge of institutional practice.
• Actively seeks opportunities to transfer relevant knowledge and information within portfolio / project area and to other employees across the branch, business group and Ministry.

Safety and wellbeing

• Displays commitment through actively supporting all safety and wellbeing initiatives.
• Always ensures own and others safety.
• 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 position reports into the Manager, Service Design within Design and Insights team in the Strategy, Performance and Design Branch. 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