Practice Lead Business Intelligence and Insights at Department of Internal Affairs, Wellington - Wairarapa

Mō tēnei tūranga mahi | About this role

Type: Permanent
Hours: Full time
Location: Wellington 
Business Group: Engagement, Data and Innovation                                                                                               
Branch: Taituarā / Regulatory and Identity Services
Salary: $136,502 - $169,869

Wellington-based | Permanent | Lead modern BI delivery and uplift analytics capability

We're looking for a driven and experienced Practice Lead to join our Business Insights team and champion evidence-based decision-making across the Taituarā / Regulatory and Identity Services branch at the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA).

You'll play a key role in leading the delivery of trusted, high-quality BI products and uplifting analytics capability across the organisation. Working closely with data engineers, analysts / dashboard developers, and data scientists, you'll bring together the best of data design, automation, and storytelling to enable smarter, faster, and more data-driven decisions.

From 1 December 2025, the Business Intelligence & Insights (BI&I) team becomes a part of the Engagement, Data and Innovation Group as Business Insights — reflecting a stronger focus on modern data platforms, digital innovation, and using data and analytics to better understand our business, inform decisions, and drive continuous improvement across our services.

Mō te tīma | About our Teams

The Engagement, Data and Innovation Group leads the development of new products, services and operational policies to enhance the delivery of services in line with Branch priorities. The group provides a range of services to the Regulatory and Identity Services branch, including operational policy, market service, product strategy and innovation, design and content, and data analytics.

The Business Insights team is one of the branch's main data analytics teams, made up of data engineers, data analysts / dashboard developers, and data scientists who work together across the full data lifecycle — from data sourcing and modelling to advanced analytics and insight delivery. We focus on the delivery of data marts, business intelligence (BI) products, statistical modelling and data analysis that creates valuable insights to influence operational and policy decision-making.

He angitūtanga | About the Role

Reporting to Manager of Business Insights, this is a hands-on BI leadership role — ideal for someone currently operating at a Senior or Principal BI Developer level who wants to broaden their influence and lead by doing.

As the Practice Lead, you'll design and build advanced Power BI and SAS Viya dashboards, develop reusable datasets and data models, and champion best practice across the BI function. You'll set the standard for design, quality, and usability, ensuring our BI products are trusted, consistent, and deliver real business value.In this role, you will:

• Lead and facilitate workshops with business users to gather requirements and identify reporting and insight opportunities.
• Translate complex business questions into analytical use cases and intuitive data visualisations that drive understanding and action.
• Design, build, and maintain advanced Power BI and SAS Viya dashboards that deliver clear, actionable insights.
• Collaborate with data engineers to develop and optimise reusable datasets, data models, and automated pipelines, ensuring scalability and efficiency.
• Establish and embed best practices for BI development, including version control, automation, performance optimisation, and visual design standards.
• Work collaboratively with data engineers, data scientists, and business stakeholders to deliver integrated, secure, and high-quality BI solutions.
• Ensure an enterprise-wide approach to BI, focusing on consistency, governance, privacy, and quality data from source.
• Mentor and coach dashboard developers and analysts to lift technical capability, data storytelling, and visual design skills.
• Work with the Manager, Business Insights to plan and manage BI activities, including development, migration, and governance initiatives.
• Promote and grow DIA's Business Intelligence practice, fostering a culture of data-driven decision-making across the organisation.

Mōu | About you

We are looking for an experienced BI professional who enjoys both the technical and collaborative sides of analytics. You're comfortable being hands-on — building dashboards, refining data models, and experimenting with new tools — while guiding others and bringing together the best of engineering, analytics, and data science to create real business impact. You will bring:

• Significant experience (7 plus years) in BI development and data analytics, with a proven track record of delivering dashboards and insights that influence organisational decision-making.
• Advanced technical proficiency in Power BI (visualisation, DAX, data modelling, governance, and ETL). 
• Experience with other BI tools (e.g. SAS Viya, Tableau, Qlik) is desirable. 
• Strong skills in SQL and solid understanding of database structures, data warehousing principles, and data modelling best practice.
• Excellent data visualisation and storytelling skills, with the ability to simplify complex information for non-technical audiences.
• Proven ability to lead and deliver BI projects — from requirements gathering to dashboard delivery — in collaboration with business users, data engineers, and analysts.
• Strong stakeholder engagement and customer focus, with the ability to translate business questions into analytical solutions.
• Experience mentoring and coaching junior analysts or developers to lift capability and confidence.
• Understanding of agile methodologies and a willingness to work in a flexible, iterative environment (desirable)
• Knowledge of additional languages such as R or Python and familiarity with or curiosity about application of AI (desirable).

We'll be reviewing applications as they come in and may progress with interviews before the closing date. If this role sounds like you, we encourage you to apply early.

Applications close: 5pm, Friday 12 December 2025
For more information please contact: Hien Nguyen (Hien.Nguyen@dia.govt.nz)
Job description: To review the full job descri​ption, please click here. If you are unable to follow the link, please review the full job description on our careers website.