Director, Waste Investment at Ministry for the Environment, Christchurch

Mō tēnei tūranga mahi | About this role

Mō mātou | About Waste & Resource Efficiency

As part of a broader plan to reduce the increasing amount of rubbish ending up in Aotearoa New Zealand's landfills, the Government is funding new recycling infrastructure and expanding the national waste levy scheme.  Revenue raised through the waste levy is reinvested in reducing waste, currently through the Waste Minimisation Fund. The Ministry is also responsible for delivering other waste investments and infrastructure projects.  

This work is delivered by the newly created Waste Investment team.   We work directly with the community, business and industry to support projects that work to end our take, make, use and dispose culture and help move New Zealand to a circular economy. 

 

Mō tēnei tūrangi mahi | About this role 

Our Waste Transformation project brings great opportunity for our sector, and our organisation. The addition of a new Investment framework is founded in good strategy and policy that will lead us to new outcomes.

The new structure, teams and positions, along with the changes to the way we work, will provide a clearer focus on the key areas of work that require MfE leadership, assign key responsibilities in these areas, and improve the oversight and leadership of our operational functions. We believe this structure will give us the skills, capacity and focus to proactively develop a pipeline of high-impact and large-scale infrastructure projects. It will also allow us to work in complex and ambiguous environments and across all our individual funding programmes to do the best by our applicants. We have planned for ongoing change as the transformation programme rolls out.

To implement this new change we are looking for a director that will:

• lead the people and delivery of the Waste Investment function, creating a high performing team.
• strategically plan and lead the delivery of the work programme, aligning delivery and objectives with the overall MfE purpose
• join up with the Senior Leadership team as your core team, ensure awareness of your work programme and enable a joined-up way of working across the Ministry.

A Director at MfE bridges the gap between strategy and delivery, the future and the present.  A key accountability is to translate strategy into action that your teams can put in place today.  They provide judgement and direction in an operating context that is often ambiguous and complex, and politically charged. 

This role reports to the Deputy Secretary Waste and Resource Efficiency, Water and Land Use Policy – and is a member of the Ministry's Senior Leadership Team.  At MfE our Directors team ‘run the business' and work collaboratively to achieve shared organisational outcomes. It is expected that Directors at MfE will be flexible to work across other areas of the Ministry as business or development needs require.

 

Ngā pūkenga me ngā wheako | Skills and experience 

You'll have demonstrated experience leading in a way that enables our people to take action, encourage curiosity and innovation. By nature, you are an influencer, connecter, and creative thinker.

Your financial and commercial understanding and insights create the building block on what is possible in Waste, your relationship skills ensure that the performance message is understood and your creative flair ensures that MfE continues to stay on the cutting edge of what is possible.

You will lead teams that deliver essential and valued advice, services and insights to the work programme. You'll have a passion for our environment and the power of meaningful insights to create change. You will command awareness across the Ministry and using your well-honed communication and relationship skills, you'll drive and support our people to reach out to partners across the system and diverse communities.

You value and enjoy fostering diversity of thought and finding ways to weave knowledge systems.

Our ideal candidates will also bring:

• Experience in commercial negotiations and projects
• Experience building high-performing leaders and teams, with diverse capabilities, backgrounds, and being geographically dispersed.
• Strong background leading the strategic and business direction of a Group; including business planning and operational components such as financial, contracts, and people management.
• Experience leading, managing, and implementing products or services to inform policy development; including cross-agency collaboration, legislative processes, and experience advising and working effectively with Ministers.
• Experience negotiating on behalf of the Aotearoa New Zealand Government, including an in depth understanding of the machinery of government
• A curiosity to develop and drive bringing Te Ao Māori and Mātauranga Māori into all Group outputs, wider system improvements, and build organisational capability to do so.
• System thinking and an agile approach with a desire to make a lasting difference.

Salary Range

Salary range for this role is $212,313 to $259,495 pa. Appointment within this range will be based on skills and experience.

 

Mō mātou | About Ministry for the Environment

The Ministry for the Environment was established under the Environment Act 1986 and is the government's primary adviser on environmental matters. We are a public service agency, serving the government of the day.

Our Act requires us to think broadly as we develop our advice – to consider the intrinsic values of ecosystems, the values people place on the environment, the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi, the sustainability of natural and physical resources, and the needs of future generations.

We want to see a flourishing environment for every generation. He taiao tōnui mō ngā reanga katoa.

To achieve this, we need a Ministry that is more impactful than ever – a system leader with the ability to influence in the right way, at the right time, to best effect and with the intergenerational impact firmly in our sights.

Ultimately, our aim is to transition to an economy and society that doesn't just address the environmental symptoms of our way of life, but where we all take responsibility for ensuring the environment flourishes for generations to come. We can gift future New Zealander's a healthier world.

We offer:

• a flexible by default approach to support your work-life balance
• agile working, allowing you variety and challenges across the organisation as we work as ‘One MfE'
• generous leave entitlements
• training to competently and effectively engage with Māori as our Treaty Partner, this includes te reo me ona tikanga Māori courses
• active social club and employee networks, including a Māori staff network
• opportunities for development and education.          

A key priority for the Ministry is Te Ao Māori. This means we work with our Treaty partner to advance Māori priorities for the environment and for environmental success. We will be confident and coordinated in our ongoing engagement with Māori and lead the natural resources system in engaging for success with tangata whenua. We will grow our capability and capacity to accurately reflect Māori views in our work.

We embrace diversity and inclusion and are committed to equal opportunities. What's important to us is ‘he rau kotahi tangata' – embracing our multiple talents – by harnessing our diversity and being inclusive. We actively encourage applications from all backgrounds.

 

Tono ināianei | Apply Now

Apply directly by completing the online application form and submit your CV and cover letter.  Note: your cover letter will be a key part of our assessment process, so please highlight how your experience relates to the key skills required for this role.   

Please contact vacancy@mfe.govt.nz or melanie.butler1@mfe.govt.nz if you are unable to download the PD.

The location for this role is flexible which means you can work anywhere in New Zealand and there is an option to work from home.  As a flexible friendly employer, we are happy to discuss solutions that may work for you and the business.  We value and care about enabling our people to work in a way that means they can work at their best. 

We embrace diversity and inclusion and are committed to equal opportunities. What's important to us is ‘he rau kotahi tangata' – embracing our multiple talents – by harnessing our diversity and being inclusive. We actively encourage applications from all backgrounds.  We are proud to be Rainbow Tick certified and recognise the diversity and uniqueness of our workforce and reaffirm our commitment to create a safe and inclusive environment for everyone. 

We want to ensure accessibility needs are well supported, so the recruitment process is fair and equitable for all. Therefore, please let us know if there is any support, we can provide to ensure the recruitment process is fully accessible to you. You can contact us at vacancy@mfe.govt.nz if you would like to discuss any accessibility needs you may have.

MfE's COVID-19 Vaccination Policy requires all employees who come to our offices, work at non-MfE offices (this does not include remote workers working from home) or interact with the public in the course of their work must be fully vaccinated. During the application process you will be asked to provide details of your vaccination status, and depending on the nature of your work, you may be asked to provide evidence of your Vaccine Pass prior to an offer being made.

 

Rā Katinga | Applications close: midnight Sunday 22^nd May 2022.