Aho Tāngaengae/ MRIS (Kōhungahunga) at Education Review Office, Hamilton

Mō tēnei tūranga mahi | About this role

Te Tari Arotake Mātauranga | Education Review Office (ERO) are dedicated to diversity, equity, inclusion, health, and wellbeing. We welcome every gender, ethnicity, ability, religion, age, and background and encourage all our people to be their authentic selves.

Starting salary: $129,000 – $135,000 negotiable + superannuation

• Develop and grow your career (coaching, training, study support, secondments)
• Contribute to meaningful work that makes a difference to all children and young people in New Zealand
• City-based offices that cater to a variety of working styles and needs

Mō tēnei tūranga | About this role

This is a permanent leadership role responsible for leading culturally grounded review and improvement approaches across ERO, with a strong focus on kaupapa Māori services and contexts. Reporting to the Toka a Nuku (Director Te Uepū ā-Motu), you will lead a team delivering evaluation and improvement services that centre Te Tiriti o Waitangi, mātauranga Māori, and the aspirations of tamariki, whānau, hapū and iwi.

You will play a key role in shaping evaluation practice that reflects Te Ao Māori, strengthening capability across ERO, and ensuring that insights from reviews contribute to meaningful and equitable outcomes for learners. This includes developing frameworks, tools, and approaches that support high-quality, culturally responsive practice.

Your team will also undertake regulatory activity, including on-site visits, evidence gathering, and reporting to assess compliance with minimum standards and quality above these. You will ensure this work is delivered in a way that is mana-enhancing, consistent, and grounded in sound evidence and professional judgement.

Working closely with internal teams and external partners, you will support a connected system approach—bringing together review, regulatory, and improvement functions to better serve Māori learners and communities.

The focus for the next 6–12 months will include strengthening kaupapa Māori evaluation approaches, support the implementation of evolving frameworks, and ensure that both review and regulatory practice contribute to improved outcomes for tamariki Māori.

This role has been established to support the Government's proposed transfer of early childhood education (ECE) regulatory functions from the Ministry of Education to the Education Review Office (ERO), as part of the wider ECE Reform programme. The positions are designed to support the new proposed functions and strengthen ERO's capability to deliver on its expanded mandate. Any offer of employment will be subject to the relevant legislation being enacted.

Mōhou ake | About you

We want to hear about any of the following in your cover letter and CV:

• Your experience leading in kaupapa Māori, Māori-medium, or culturally grounded environments
• Your deep understanding of Te Tiriti o Waitangi, Te Ao Māori, tikanga, and mātauranga Māori, and how these inform your leadership and practice
• Your ability to build strong relationships with iwi, hapū, whānau, and Māori partners
• Demonstrated leadership capability, including influencing, mentoring, and building capability in others
• Your experience delivering or shaping evaluation, review, or improvement approaches
• Your knowledge and experience of working within regulatory environments
• Where you've shown curiosity, innovation, and challenged existing thinking to improve outcomes
• Your ability to communicate insights in a way that is meaningful to diverse audiences, including Māori communities
• Experience working within education and public service,
• Understanding of public sector processes and machinery of government (desirable)

Ko mātou | About Us

Te Tari Arotake Mātauranga | Education Review Office (ERO) is the government's education evaluation agency - we inform and facilitate improvement in early learning services, schools and kura. We promote a stronger, more equitable education system.

We believe equity and excellence in outcomes is possible for all learners when the mahi centres on the child, the heart of the matter – Ko te tamaiti te pūtake o te kaupapa.

Me pēhea te tuku tono | How to apply

If this role interests you, click on the “Apply” button to be re-directed to our site where you will be able to apply and view the Position Description. We encourage you to be your authentic self in your application. We are truly committed to diversity, inclusion and lifting our cultural capability. You don't need to be knowledgeable in these areas; we are looking for people who are willing to learn. If you would like further information about the role, reach out to Virginia.Ng@ero.govt.nz  for a chat. For any other questions about the recruitment process, you can contact us at human.resources@ero.govt.nz 

Note: We will be screening applications as we receive them to move swiftly to interview shortly after the advert closes. You may be asked to complete a pre-interview screen via phone or video. Please let us know in your application if you require any assistance from us during the process.

Check out our careers site to learn more about working at ERO.

Note to Recruitment Agencies: unsolicited CVs will not be accepted.

You must have the right to live and work in Aotearoa New Zealand. Background and various pre-employment checks are part of our recruitment process.