Programme Architect – Our Future Services

Tēnei tūranga – About the role

Our Future Services is a long-term work programme to deliver a more flexible immigration system that can respond well to change, manages risk more effectively and improves the experience for customers and staff.

The programme will be delivered through multiple workstreams working in parallel, with each workstream implementing key initiatives with set milestone dates.

The Programme Architect will report to the Head of Technology Strategy within the Technology & Architecture division but will focus entirely on the Our Future Services programme, working closely with the Immigration New Zealand Enterprise Architect.

This role is responsible for leading and managing the facilitation and execution of enterprise-level business and technology strategies within the programme, ensuring alignment with the goals and objectives of MBIE. The Programme Architect will also play a key role in supporting the programme’s leadership with planning, prioritization, and sequencing of technology-related work within the programme and through the Ministry's technology design governance body and processes.

The Programme Architect will provide strategic leadership of technology change, ensuring that programme transformations are well-understood, well-designed, and implemented while maintaining alignment with the organization’s overarching strategies.

Additionally, the Programme Architect will provide architectural leadership across the programme’s wider community of architects, strategic partners, and vendors, ensuring adherence to MBIE’s Enterprise Architecture principles, standards, and enterprise patterns.

Responsibilities include:

• Supporting MBIE’s strategy and architectural concerns within the Immigration systems “Our Future Services” (OFS) Programme.
• Identifying, evaluating, and recommending strategic technology options for the OFS programme within the wider MBIE context, and advising on those options, the key risks, costs, benefits, system impacts and priorities.
• Building long term strategic and collaborative relationships with business leaders to understand business needs and direction and helping business leaders understand how technology decisions, trade-offs impact the wider ministry’s strategies and directions.
• Ensuring and supporting the programme in meeting its governance requirements within the enterprise context.
• Ensuring compliance between programme initiatives, enterprise transformation activities and technology directions. This includes supporting all architectural disciplines and championing architectural initiatives.
• Supporting good decision making at senior leadership levels by providing factual, accurate and well positioned advice.
• Supporting the development of statements of work for programme initiatives, for approval, funding, and prioritisation. Providing input into the allocation of funding to deliver MBIE initiatives by reviewing the development of (business and technical) initiatives within the context of architecture.
• Participate in sprint planning and agile ceremonies.

Ngā herenga – Requirements of the role

Personal specifications

• Demonstrated ability to develop trust and credibility with senior leaders and decision makers.
• Ability to lead through influence and move others toward a common vision or goal.
• Demonstrated ability to facilitate and deliver multi year planning, prioritisation and sequencing of investment cases in an architectually and finacially complex organisation.
• Proven experience and achievement in senior business facing technology roles where you were able to successfully build trust, influence and engage senior leaders through personal advocacy, vision, drive and working collaboratively with colleagues.
• Ability to demonstrate skills in directing, developing and motivating a virtual team of information and technology professionals.
• Demonstrated understanding of medium to long-term technology trends and the implications for heavily digital and technology dependent organisations.
• Proven ability to proactively lead and build a sense of common purpose across a strategic programme’s technology functions, actively looking for opportunities to build engagement and commitment within the architecture group, within INZ and across MBIE.
• Strong understanding of the machinery of government, the processes and systems that underpin operations of and investment within the public sector environment.
• Proven leadership skills including demonstrated ability to engage and motivate colleagues and an ability to build a strong high performing virtual team in a complex programme.
• Knowledge and experience of Te ao Māori and Te ao Māori practices; tikanga, te reo and a comprehensive understanding of the Treaty, Te Tiriti and the Treaty Principles or a willingness to engage and learn this new skillset.
• A relevant Tertiary qualification and/or extensive and comparable relevant experience at a senior level in the public or private sector.
• Wide knowledge base across architectural domains, business practice and systems.
• A passion for emerging technology, and evaluating how it can benefit and enhance organisations and customers/users experience.
• Applicants must be permanent residents or citizens of New Zealand.
• Police vetting required.
• Ability to obtain / maintain a Top Secret security clearance if required.

Takohanga tuhinga o mua – Key accountabilities and deliverables

Critical Areas of Success

• Support senior programme leaders and decision makers to have the difficult conversations with accurate information, facts, and insights.
• Provide expert strategic advice to senior stakeholders across INZ & MBIE to maximise the value of technology investments identified as in scope of the Programme
• Ensure technical alignment of the Programme with MBIE’s overall strategic intentions and that of the Government Chief Digital Officer.
• Support detailed implementation planning for Programme initiatives
• In collaboration with Programme leadership, engage with our cross-government partners and functional leads, ensuring we get the best outcomes which support realisation of Programme benefits.
• Research, evaluate, and communicate emerging technologies or strategic / tactical system investments to help shape the evolution of the programme’s target architecture.
• Ensure effective technology specific governance arrangements are in place and utilised to support robust technology design.
• Ensure the application, integration, and use of Te ao Māori and Te ao Māori practices in the work of the Branch and as such MBIE; tikanga, te reo and an appreciation of the Treaty of Waitangi, Te Tiriti and the Treaty Principles.
• Represent the technology views and aspirations of MBIE within the programme and manage any relevant trade off conversations.
• Foster a customer-focused culture across the programme and wider MBIE

Strategic Leadership - Applies sound Strategic Management Practices

• Provide strategic and thought leadership for identified workstreams within the programme
• Guide, challenge and consult the programme & organisation towards both economic decisions making, value generation, a common understanding of business opportunities and their consequences.

Collective Leadership - Work collaboratively with other members of the Business Group’s Leadership Team to support achievement of MBIE outcomes.

• Play a key role in forming the collective programme view and cohesion of technical components of the progrmame.
• Work collaboratively across MBIE to define the outcomes and outputs expected to deliver on MBIE’s strategic direction.
• Participate collaboratively as a member of the Technology and Architecture Branch to ensure the development of sustainable architecture capability, and achieve expected efficiency benefits and ongoing improvements in cost effectiveness.
• Lead, where possible, using Te ao Māori.
• Effectively and proactively identify and support the management of specific architectural programme risks; build continuous review and improvement throughout all elements of Technology & Architecture operations within the programme.

People Leadership - Provide leadership that engages and motivates others to succeed and develop

While this role has no direct reporting, the successful candidate will need to demonstrate the following leadership qualities.

• Create a sense of vision, engages and motivates people to participate and make things happen. 
• Foster an open, collaborative environment that encourages quality, innovation, ongoing learning and knowledge sharing. 
• Support all organisational development activities, modelling expected behaviours to managers and staff to create healthy workplace culture and engaged workforce.

Relationship Management - Work collaboratively with others to support the achievement of the programme and MBIE outcomes 

• Build strategic alliances with key government and non-government representatives to ensure MBIE’s views are influential in their decision-making. 
• Support engagement activities for the programme(s) with key stakeholders. 
• Actively look for opportunities and synergies with the programme delivery teams’ stakeholders that focus on and meet customer needs. 
• Use a one organisation perspective when contributing to internal forums and governance bodies.
• Represent whole-of-Ministry views and protect its reputation in external interactions. 

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 Programme Architect position reports to the Head of Technology Strategy within the Technology & Architecture Branch. The Branch sits within the Corporate and Digital Shared Services 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