Principal Advisor

Tēnei tūranga – About the role

The Principal Advisor is a member of the Operations Support and Improvement (OSI) team within the Strategy Planning and Performance (SPP) branch of Kānoa – Regional Economic Development & Investment Unit (Kānoa – RDU). The Principal Advisor role will bring experience and perspective to provide leadership into operations support and continuous improvement initiatives and provide operational business advice and support to Kānoa – RDU management.

The Principal Advisor will bring:

• Significant experience in operational policy, service design and/or business process management and the capability to build and enhance this capability with the OSI team.
• Experience coaching and mentoring others, and a thorough understanding of diversity and inclusion principles.
• A solid business understanding and perspective to work in partnership with managers and other staff to support operational teams in their activities, identify opportunities for improvement and lead the implementation of changes.

The role requires excellent relationship management, strategic and systems thinking, building and maintaining subject matter knowledge, and business process improvement skills.

Ngā herenga – Requirements of the role

Personal specifications

• Demonstrated knowledge and substantial experience in delivering projects and initiatives using operational policy, service design and/or business process management methodologies.
• Experienced in project management and the disciplines of project reporting.
• Ability to coach and mentor others.
• Proven ability to build relationships with both internal and external stakeholders.
• Understands how a government agency functions, understands key government processes and current Government priorities.
• Demonstrated general problem identification and solution skills and ability to develop robust solutions that are viable for government; technically possible and desirable for all people affected.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills: demonstrated competence in effectively communicating complex ideas both orally and in writing to a wide variety of audiences.
• Excellent interpersonal, teamwork and relationship management skills.
• Knowledge of public sector requirements and processes, including official correspondence and working with Ministers and with Ministers’ Offices.
• A strong track record of achievement of results and ability to maintain a clear focus on long term goals.
• Ability to deal with concepts and complexity comfortably.
• The ability to function independently and as part of a team, as required.

Qualifications

• Tertiary qualification in relevant discipline or equivalent work experience.

Pre-Requisites

• Must have the right to live and work in New Zealand.

Takohanga tuhinga o mua – Key accountabilities and deliverables

Accountabilities of this position are expected to change over time as the Ministry responds to changing needs.  The incumbent will need the flexibility to adapt and develop as the environment evolves. This includes performing any other reasonable duties as required.

Principal Advisor activities, tasks and expectations 

• Lead operational implementation and improvement projects ensuring the key milestones and deliverables are planned out and allocated to the right people, and that work is delivered on time and at the required level of quality.
• Helping to upskill the OSI and other teams in the Kānoa – RDU with a focus on continuous improvement and provide coaching and mentoring to build and enhance the overall capability of the team.
• Work closely with colleagues in Strategy and Policy to understand the policy intent of operational changes, undertake operational policy work and lead the implementation of changes to processes and practice.
• Take a proactive, strategic and collaborative approach to identify business process improvement opportunities; tension points that need addressing; and opportunities for innovation across the Kānoa – RDU.
• Use insight and diagnostic techniques to analyse issues and data to identify opportunities for innovation; determine key issues; or identify potential delivery and implementation impacts from proposed changes.
• Build and maintain effective relationships and partnerships across the Kānoa – RDU and with other teams at MBIE.

Relationship management

• Values and develop 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 outcomes collectively.
• Actively contributes to development of and promotion of whole of PDU/Ministry views in internal and external interactions.
• Contributes to and manages collaboration within the PDU on solutions to ensure effective input and ownership of outcomes.
• Works collaboratively with colleagues to monitor, review, evaluate and improve existing business, customer and community experiences against desired outcomes.
• Establishes and maintains relationships with similar functions across MBIE and within the wider public sector.

Leadership and technical expert support

• Provides expertise in operational policy, change and improvement utilising recognised practice methods such as service design and business process management.
• Uses project management approaches to ensure the successful and timely delivery of projects and initiatives.
• Leads development and use of innovative tools, methods, artefacts and approaches that generate effective operational and service solutions.
• Supports the team to balance between collaboratively designing solutions that are effective and efficient, and delivering an outcome that meets the policy intent.
• Builds capability and effectively promotes and supports the application of operational improvement methodologies such as service design, operational policy and business process management.
• Coaches and mentors, supporting the manager to create and maintain a high-functioning team that values diversity, fosters both highly creative as well as critical analytical thinking with a reputation for conceiving and delivering on solutions.
• Leads team processes for proactively identifying, capturing, assessing and progressing policy and service delivery changes that have value for operational branches and for users, and that draw on insights from business intelligence.
• Proactively identifies and acts on opportunities to support the Manager to align the team’s delivery capability with SPP and wider PDU requirements.
• Provides guidance and critical support to the team, facilitating the exchange of ideas, pooling of capability and ensuring expert knowledge and experience is fully utilised.
• Fosters a culture and behaviours that encourage discovery, innovation, cross-team collaboration and learning.
• Takes responsibility for situations where things have not gone as planned; manages relationships, analyses the course of the work, proposes ways forward and ensures lessons are captured and referred to in future work.

Organisational commitment and public service

• Supports and helps build commitment to MBIE’s vision, mission, values and services.
• Willingly undertake any duty required within the context of the position.
• Understand Equal Employment Opportunities (EEO) principles and the application of these to MBIE.
• Comply with all legislative requirements and good employer obligations.

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 Principal Advisor position reports into the Operations Support and Improvement manager within the Strategy Planning and Performance branch. The branch sits within the Kānoa – Regional Economic Development & Investment Unit.

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