General Manager – Government Property Office

Tēnei tūranga – About the role

The Government Property Office is accountable for the strategic leadership of the government’s office accommodation portfolio and provisioning for the centralisation of components of the government’s property function.  The Government Property Office is also responsible for delivering on MBIE's own property strategy as well as providing high-quality property management services to MBIE.

The government’s office accommodation portfolio is significant, encompassing circa 1,000,000 sqm of office space and a rental spend of circa $330 million per year across 73 agencies, including Crown Agents. MBIE is an agency with a significant property portfolio (about 10% of the government’s footprint), encompassing both office and non-office sites, across New Zealand and offshore.

The General Manager is responsible for leading the successful establishment of the Government Property Office, and embedding the new operating model.  This will be the foundation for more effective delivery of MBIE’s government office Property System Leadership role, with a strong focus on the need to achieve demonstrable qualitative and quantitative improvements in portfolio performance. 

The GM is also responsible for the leadership and delivery of the full range of property services to MBIE however this excludes facilities management.

The Government Property Office will be responsible for planning of government office accommodation at a portfolio level, to ensure property investment decisions achieve government property priorities and the optimal alignment of government and agency requirements with market solutions. The function will drive transparency of the performance of current building stock against standards and requirements, will lead agencies in effecting improved returns from government investment, and reduce the duplication of all agencies planning and engaging in the same market.

Ngā herenga – Requirements of the role

Personal specifications

• Proven capability as a visionary, engaging and high achieving leader in the property sector.
• A strong professional reputation as a property leader, and a network of relationships across both the government and commercial property sectors (senior agency executives, investors, partners, government officials, and community stakeholders) to foster trust and collaboration.
• A track record of strong and innovative strategic leadership based on a deep understanding of New Zealand’s property market, and the ability to clearly articulate and develop and sell a vision for the system’s performance and leading the achievement of system outcomes.
• Financial acumen, including a strong understanding of real estate finance and public finance.
• Proven long term strategic thinking capability, including skill in assessing and mitigating risks associated with property investments, such as market volatility, regulatory changes, and economic downturns.
• Sound and insightful judgement, decision making and problem solving, and the confidence and ability to foster innovation while also assessing and managing risk.
• Strong negotiation and influencing skills, including the ability to lead through difficult decisions, and negotiate favourable deals.
• Demonstrated ability to uphold Te Tiriti o Waitangi including appropriate understanding of current Government policy, tangata whenua perspectives and community views on Te Tiriti.
• Demonstrated ability to lead Te Tiriti responsiveness within the context of the Government Property Office.
• A strong focus on the delivery of demonstrable results, with a track record to illustrate successful and meaningful commercial property achievements; and
• Proven ability to develop and manage a highly engaged, high performing property team.
• Understanding of Government decision-making and operating procedures.

Qualifications

• Post-graduate qualification in relevant field or extensive and comparable experience.

Pre-requisites for the position

• To be considered for this position you must have a legal right to live and work in New Zealand.
• Must consent to and satisfactorily complete a credit check as the role holds financial delegations.

Takohanga tuhinga o mua – Key accountabilities and deliverables

Key Deliverables

• Lead the establishment and embedding of system level change to the investment and continued development of the government office property portfolio to support government and public service outcomes.
• Provide strong, decisive, and smart strategic and operational leadership of the Government Property Office so that stakeholders have confidence, staff have a high level of capability, clear direction and strong engagement, and measurable performance results are achieved.
• Build a highly capable, collaborative, and engaged leadership team, who provides consistent role modelling of an organisational culture that is based on: respect for others; teamwork, fun and mutual support; resilience; innovative thinking; and the achievement of meaningful results.
• Work with the Governance Board and other key critical stakeholders to set and agree a clear and meaningful vision and associated KPIs/outcomes for the Government Property Office and demonstrate the achievement of these within agreed timeframes.
• Build strong positive working relationships with key stakeholders, including the Property System Lead, the Government Property Office Governance Board and senior executive leaders across agencies, to ensure the reputation of the Government Property Office is that it is a credible, smart and results focussed unit that adds demonstrable value for New Zealand through savvy commercial management of the government office accommodation portfolio.
• Develop strong horizontal relationships across MBIE.
• Build, monitor and maintain fit for purpose innovative Ministry capability (people and structures) needed to achieve desired goals and objectives, and achieve expected efficiency benefits and ongoing improvements in cost effectiveness.
• Establish the Government Property Office function as a centre of leadership and expertise for the Ministry, and an exemplar of best practice for both the public service and the wider New Zealand labour and business markets.
• Deliver services to actively support and contribute to the achievement of the Ministry’s outcomes and that deliver to the needs of internal and external stakeholders.

Collective Leadership

• Participates collaboratively as a member of the Leadership Team to support the integration process for MBIE and ensure the development of sustainable organisational capability and achieve expected efficiency benefits and on-going improvements in cost effectiveness.
• Represents Senior Leadership Team views to our people.
• Takes collective responsibility for the cohesion and performance of MBIE as a whole and provides peer support to other senior managers.
• Works with the leadership team to define the outcomes and outputs expected from the Group to deliver on MBIE’s strategic direction.
• Contributes beyond core functional area to enhance overall effectiveness of the Group and related work in MBIE.
• Ensures consistency and alignment between different teams in MBIE and promotes solution seeking where there are legitimate differences.

General Management

• Develops strategies, work programmes and performance targets for the Government Property Office, with supporting measurement, monitoring and reporting mechanisms.
• Aligns the work programmes with MBIE’s strategic direction and other Groups’ work programmes.
• Monitors and adjusts work programmes through the agreed processes to enable the Government Property Office to adapt to changing circumstances. 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 the Ministry.
• Builds continuous review and improvement throughout all elements of the branch.

Relationship Management

• 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 the branch to the wider organisation.
• Represents whole-of-Ministry views and protects its reputation in external interactions.
• Achieve Ministerial confidence with Ministers and stakeholders actively seeking MBIE advice and support in times of difficulty.
• 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 with national and international organisations to identify and share best practice information and to promote MBIE, its products and services.
• Tests the effectiveness of stakeholder relationships using a range of appropriate measures and processes (including stakeholder feedback).

Personal Leadership

• Model’s exemplary management and leadership behaviours and State sector ethics and values.
• Creates a sense of vision, empowers, engages, and motivates people to participate, and makes things happen.
• Fosters an open, collaborative environment that encourages trust, inclusion, quality, innovation, on-going learning, and knowledge sharing.
• Leads, coaches, and develops diverse teams and different specialisations to deliver on the group’s expectations.

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 General Manager Government Property Office position reports into the Deputy Secretary. The branch sits within the Kānoa - Regional Development & Commercial 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