Director National Operations at Ministry For Ethnic Communities, Auckland

Mō tēnei tūranga mahi | About this role

Director National Operations

Location:       Auckland
Type:              Full-time, Permanent
Hours:            40
Salary:            $153,677 - $191,243 

About the Role

The Ministry for Ethnic Communities is seeking an exceptional senior leader to take up the role of National Operations Director and steer the Ministry's Community Engagement function. You will be a pivotal Tier 3 leader in our organisation, leading our Engagement Specialist team and shape a nationally coordinated, proactive engagement programme that drives how the Ministry engages with, listens to, and partners with Aotearoa New Zealand's richly diverse ethnic communities

The role sits at the intersection of system change, and delivery, with significant influence across how government engages with Ethnic Communities. It is designed for a strategic leader who can deliver a system‑focused programme of work with their Director counterparts within the Ministry to turn community voice into insights and insights into influence.

Core Responsibilities

• Set the strategic agenda for the Ministry's proactive community engagement work programme.
• Turn community voice into clear, actionable insights that shape the Ministry's advisory role to Government.
• Provide written strategic, timely advice to senior leaders and Ministers that connects community needs with government priorities.
• Lead and grow a high‑performing engagement team with strong influencing and relationship‑building capability.
• Build trusted relationships across communities to drive collaboration and shared understanding
• Lead the Ministry's response during significant events ensuring diverse communities are informed, supported and heard.
  
  

What We Are Looking For

This is a role for a seasoned leader who can hold both the strategic horizon and the operational detail—with humility, courage, and authenticity. You will have

• Extensive senior leadership experience (10+ years) in government or other comparable sector with a track record leading, growing and empowering high‑performing engagement teams.
• Exceptional communication, facilitation, negotiation and influencing skills, including political nous, relationship management and delivering clear, compelling advice to communities, senior leaders and Ministers.
• Credibility with ethnically diverse and inter‑faith communities, NGOs and businesses. You hold, or have the capability to rapidly build trusted, enduring relationships across these diverse stakeholders and partner across diverse sectors, cultures and priorities.
• Strategic community engagement capability, with deep understanding of community engagement principles and best‑practice tools and models.
• Understanding qualitative research or data analysis to translate information into community insights that is robust enough to influence policy and service design awareness.
• Strong strategic thinking and problem‑solving skills, able to make data‑informed judgement, use insight systems to identify trends/assess impact and ability to link day‑to‑day work to the Ministry's wider strategic direction.
• A relevant tertiary qualification.
  
  

Why It Matters

If you are driven by impact, grounded in integrity, and motivated by strengthening the fabric of social cohesion in Aotearoa New Zealand, this role offers an unparalleled platform.

Application process

Applications close: 5pm Friday 21 March 2026.

To apply for this position, please submit your covering letter which outlines why you are interested in the role, along with your CV highlighting your skills, knowledge and experience relevant to the role.

We will be reviewing applications as they come in, so please get your application in as soon as possible.

We encourage inclusion and diversity at the Ministry for Ethnic Communities and are committed to equal opportunity in all our employment policies and procedures.  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 HumanResources@ethniccommunities.govt.nz if you would like to discuss any accessibility needs you may have.