Principal Adviser People Products & Insights at Ara Poutama Aotearoa (Department of Corrections), Wellington (Te Whanganui a Tara)

Mō tēnei tūranga mahi | About this role

• Direct exposure to executive and governance‑level decision‑making 

• A senior, opinionated insight role at a moment of genuine step‑change 

• High trust, high expectations, no appetite for status quo thinking 

Mō te tūnga | About the role

Ara Poutama Aotearoa is in the middle of a significant reset in how we think about, design, and use people data. We are moving toward a more deliberate, insight‑led approach that genuinely supports decision‑making at every level of the organisation. 

As the Principal Adviser People Products & Insights, you will own our approach to customer segmentation for people insights, determine the right level of information for different roles and accountabilities, and shape the design of people data products so they are intuitive, intentional, and impossible to ignore. 

You'll lead insight generation and sense‑making, working alongside senior leaders (including at executive and governance forums) to interpret what the data is telling us, challenge assumptions, surface trade‑offs, and drive productive debate. 

You will work closely with technical specialists, but you are not expected to write code yourself. You are expected to understand what's possible, push for better, and hold a high bar for quality, coherence, and usefulness and support developers in implementation.

Mōu | About you

You care deeply about analytics and insight, and you're motivated by opportunities to improve how they're used to make meaningful decisions. You are energised by complexity, not overwhelmed by it. You're happy being accountable for judgement calls, and you don't need a set of requirements handed to you before you start thinking; you want to be the person driving those requirements. You have a collaborative but opinionated working style; building trust while still pushing for better. 

You will thrive here if: 

• You enjoy being challenged and expect to challenge others in return 
• You are comfortable saying “there's a better question” even in senior rooms 
• You want to build something better than what existed, not just inherit and maintain it 

Ngā pūkenga me ngā wheako | Skills and experience

To be successful in this role, you will bring: 

• Significant experience in insight generation, analytics, or advisory roles, with a strong emphasis on interpretation, storytelling, and driving decisions 
• Demonstrated ability to work with senior leaders and governance groups, confidently leading sense‑making discussions from data 
• Experience designing or shaping data products, reports, or dashboards from a user‑centred perspective 
• The ability to clearly segment audiences and tailor insights to different levels of seniority, scope, and accountability 
• Strong communication skills, with the ability to distil complex information into clear, structured, and persuasive narratives 
• Sufficient understanding of data, analytics, and visualisation tools (such as Power BI) to engage meaningfully with technical specialists and understand what's possible 

Ngā painga | The benefits

This role is supported by a manager who has a clear vision for people data and values trust, autonomy and strong professional relationships. If you enjoy having space to think, contribute ideas, and take responsibility, while knowing supportive manager is working alongside you, then this could be a great fit.

The midpoint of the salary range is $155,285 per annum and the full range (85%-120%) is $131,993 - $186,342 per annum. Appointment and remuneration will reflect skills and experience relevant to the role.

Mō mātou | About us

Join Ara Poutama Aotearoa - Department of Corrections, where your work will contribute to improving public safety, reducing re-offending, and address the overrepresentation of Māori in correctional facilities. As a values-led organisation, we use the principles of rangatira (leadership), manaaki (respect), wairua (spirituality), kaitiaki (guardianship), and whānau (relationships) to guide our work and achieve the goals of our Hōkai Rangi strategy.

We value inclusion and diversity in our workforce, and as a Public Service organisation we are committed to building a workforce that reflects the public we serve. We strive to make our recruitment process fair, and we encourage you to discuss reasonable accommodations with us if required.

Tono ināianei | Apply Now

To submit an application and view the position description, click the apply link. All applications must be submitted through our careers site to ensure transparency – applications received via email will not be considered.

When applying, submit a tailored CV and a cover letter describing your motivation for joining the department highlighting relevant skills and experience and the alignment to our work.

Applications close on: Tuesday the 19^th of May.

If you have any questions or want to learn more about a career with us, contact Sarah.Newbold@corrections.govt.nz, or visit careers.corrections.govt.nz.