Lead Advisor, Regulatory Performance & Insights

Lead Advisor, Regulatory Performance & Insights at New Zealand Transport Agency, Wellington Strategic advisory role working in a high pace environment
An opportunity to work within a highly connected and collaborative team
Influence intelligence and risk within an intelligence-led, risk-based regulator
Fixed term position until December 2026
Te Whiwhinga mahi | The opportunity The purpose of Regulatory Performance and Insights is to provide hindsight, insight, foresight and oversight to enable the improvement of the effectiveness, efficiency, resilience and fairness of the whole of the land transport regulatory system. The team plays a vital role in the success of both Te Ropu Waeture and the Director of Land Transport role.
The power and value of the function sit in the collective of the work across the teams coming together to provide a full picture of the regulatory land transport system. To enable this, the teams within Regulatory Performance and Insights need to have a symbiotic relationship, recognising the interdependent and connected nature of their work. The Lead Advisor, Regulatory Performance and Insights plays a central, catalyst role for ensuring that this occurs - connecting the dots, facilitating the joining-up of work, working across the team to design our collective ways of working and ensuring that, across the group, the work is being delivered in the right way at the right time in the right way.
Those that work in Regulatory Performance and Insights are experts in what they do, and a key component of this role is supporting the quality review of our products. To enable this, the holder of this role needs to have a strong understanding and experience across a broad range of methodologies and approaches, including future focused intelligence, the creation of strong, evidence-based insights, evaluation and assurance, and performance monitoring. The right person for this role will be able to test that the right methodologies and approaches are being used, and the end products are both of high quality and bias-free, in a way that is constructive and mana-enhancing for the team.
Of course, being the Lead Advisor to the National Manager, Regulatory Performance and Insights means that you will need to support and provide strategic advice across the full breadth of their priorities. This means not only being across all of the work of the teams, but also developing clear and intentional plans to support and work alongside the leadership team driving the necessary culture post change, increasing engagement, and stakeholder engagement, as well as managing the multiple requests that come through to the National Manager, from reporting requirements to Ministerial briefings to contributing to cross-agency working groups and forums.
A high level of political nous is required to be successful in this role. That includes the ability to form good, positive relationships easily across a wide range of people, being able to have difficult conversations in a way that ensures all people are treated with respect, as well as being across all of the major priorities, risks and issues in the Land Transport system, making connections across these, and managing crises and urgent matters in a calm and clear manner with a focus on delivery, resolution and timeliness.
The ability to work as a part of and be respected by the wider Te Ropu Waeture Group Leadership Team and their Lead Advisors is critical to the success of this role. Relationships will be forged through high quality delivery at pace and leading by example in living the NZTA values, alongside the te ao Maori principles and principles of regulatory good practice outlined in Tu ake, Tu maia.
To be successful in this role, you will bring:
Solid foundations and knowledge
Experience being the lead advisor of a Senior Leader
Experience and knowledge of modern regulatory stewardship and practices
Experience working in functions producing intelligence, evidence and insights (preference)
A high understanding of the machinery of government
Applied leadership skills, evidencing being inclusive, influential, adaptive and strategic
The ability to translate strategy into priorities, plans and deliverables to meet outcomes
Experience building relationships and credibility through values based delivery
The ability to quickly and easily produce high quality reports and briefings
Evidence of being a thought leader
Applied experience of the development of innovative and inter-disciplinary strategies (preference)
Applied experience building frameworks, tools and processes
Evidence of applying a wide range of methodologies and having a strong 'toolkit'
Evidence of staying up to date on emerging thinking and techniques
Participation in external and leadership of internal communities of practice (preference)
Experience influencing people's thinking outside of your direct sphere of influence
Skills you are able to evidence the application of across a wide breadth of roles and subject matters
Undertaking complex analysis and providing advice
Designing solutions and implementing these, considering change management best practice
Providing feedback and coaching, which is well received and results in positive change
Exceptional visual, written and verbal communication skills
Experience planning and managing work, with work being successfully delivered against plan
Exceptional engagement and collaboration skills, working with others to deliver shared goals
Behaviours that come naturally for you, and align to our values
Being politically savvy and being able to navigate complex issues respecting the mana of all
Being agile and pragmatic, being able to flex and adapt your approach to meet needs
The ability to work at pace and manage multiple priorities and subject matters at once
Being a natural collaborator who actively seeks and listens to the perspectives of others
You will need to have at least ten years of experience in similar roles, and demonstrated in-depth experience in a range of methodologies, including systems thinking, human insights, qualitative and quantitative analysis, performance frameworks and monitoring, independent quality assurance reviews, intelligence and risk. The team is starting to embrace agile and design thinking methodologies in the way that they work, alongside the te ao Maori principles of Tu ake, Tu maia, so thought leadership in these would be an advantage.
You will demonstrate knowledge of, or a willingness to gain an understanding of Te Ao Maori and promote tikanga and Te Reo Maori. You will also have knowledge of, or a willingness to gain an appreciation of te Tiriti o Waitangi (the Treaty of Waitangi) as it applies in the public sector.
To be considered for this position you must have a legal right to live and work in New Zealand.
NZTA|Waka Kotahi is an equal opportunity employer (EOE). We recognise the importance of diversity and inclusion and are committed to providing a working environment that embraces these values. Please let us know if you need any support or have any access requirements that will help you through the recruitment process.
Please note that we may begin shortlisting as we receive applications. We encourage early applications as we may withdraw the advertising at any time.

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