Team Manager Assurance & Compliance at Tertiary Education Commission, Wellington

Mō tēnei tūranga mahi | About this role

• Join the Tertiary Education Commission | Te Amorangi Mātauranga Matua
• Exciting opportunity for an experienced, talented people leader
• Lead a highly skilled and diverse team across audit, investigation, and compliance activities
• Salary range: $139,000 to $164,000
• Flexible working available
• Wellington based role/CBD location

If you're looking for your “why,” then come and join us at the TEC. We truly believe in the transformational benefits of education and training, and as a result we invest $3 billion a year in tertiary education and training and seek to lift the aspirations and skill bases of all New Zealanders from ages 7 to 74.

As Team Manager - Assurance and Compliance, you'll lead an expert team in the delivery of compliance monitoring activities including external audits, investigations, and wider topic-based reviews. Your work will be critical in providing assurance that the public funding TEC invests is being used appropriately, and that learners are getting a high-quality education and training experience.

You will drive an intelligence-led and risk-based work programme that ensures the effective use of the team's resources and the timely identification and management of issues. However, this is not your usual regulatory compliance team. TEC's monitoring work is also focused on building capability of tertiary education providers, informing the TEC's overall view of individual providers' performance and risk, and supporting the TEC's investment decisions to ensure limited funding goes where it will add the most value.

This is also an opportunity for you to make your mark. The tertiary education sector is in a period of transition - with several new entities being established. The new Team Manager - Assurance and Compliance will support the team to adjust its established approaches to respond to these changes. You will need to relish the opportunity to drive a continuous improvement approach, and support your team through change, to ensure that the TEC's monitoring frameworks and processes remain fit for purpose.

As well as bringing strong leadership, integrity, and experience in monitoring roles, you will also demonstrate excellent judgement to deliver clear, astute decision making and advice in complex, ambiguous situations. You will utilise excellent relationship management and communication skills as you engage across the Commission, government, and the tertiary sector. The successful candidate is a hands-on leader with high standards and energy, drive, and passion for making a difference in a high-pressure environment.

What will you be doing? / He angitūtanga 

• Leading an established team of skilled and diverse individuals to develop and deliver the TEC's assurance and compliance work programme, including external regulatory compliance audits and investigations of tertiary providers, and broader reviews of sector-wide issues.
• Promoting an intelligence-led and risk-based approach to monitoring, with a focus on utilising monitoring findings not only to drive corrective actions, but also to support the education of the sector, assessment of providers' performance and risk, and to inform investment decision making.
• Leading the evolution of TEC's compliance monitoring systems, processes, and frameworks in response to policy and structural change in the tertiary education sector - and then embedding an ongoing continuous improvement approach.
• Supporting, coaching, and mentoring your team, as well as providing a key link between the TEC's compliance monitoring work and other functions, in particular the TEC's teams focused on investment and learner success.
• Supporting the Manager - Monitoring and Crown Ownership, and the wider Monitoring and Crown Ownership leadership group, in setting and delivering a direction and vision for the team which is aligned with the TEC's overall strategy and delivers on relevant performance measures and key performance indicators.

What you will bring / He kōrero mōu

• Experience leading teams in a regulatory compliance environment, delivering a work programme that ensures compliance and informs a strategic view of performance and risk
• Experience leading and developing a team, through coaching and mentoring, as well as driving continuous improvement of monitoring frameworks and processes
• A strong understanding of contemporary monitoring and compliance methodologies
• An ability to operate effectively in ambiguous environments, including a talent for translating complex information into clear analysis and advice for senior leaders, TEC Commissioners, and Ministers
• Excellent relationship management skills and proven ability to establish and maintain working relationships with all levels of staff and key external contacts

What's in it for you? / Ngā āhuatanga kei a mātou? 

• Three additional (TEC Days) leave days
• A range of benefits including flexible/hybrid working. (As this is a Wellington‑based people leader role, applicants need to be able to attend the office a minimum of three days per week. Unfortunately, we're unable to progress applications from candidates who cannot meet this requirement).
• Salary range: $139,000 to $164,000, (Appointment in range will be based on our assessment of the skills and experience you bring to the role)
• Recognition of previous service in the public sector
• The opportunity to work with an organisation that sets high standards and works hard, but also maintains a positive culture

 How to Apply/ Me pēhea te tuku tono

To view the job description and/or apply for the role, please click Apply for This Job or visit the TEC Careers Portal.

If this sounds like you, please apply now for this great opportunity with your tailored Cover Letter and CV, we welcome your application.

The closing date for this role is 11:59pm Friday 23 July 2026.  For more information or if you have any questions, please contact hr@tec.govt.nz.

Applicants must have the legal right to work in New Zealand and be able to maintain this. If you do hold a visa, please upload a copy with your application.

Prior to the Tertiary Education Commission confirming any offer of employment, pre-employment checks will be undertaken including criminal conviction history and reference checking as a minimum.

The TEC is an equal opportunity employer and committed to providing a working environment that embraces and values diversity and inclusion. Your unique talents and experience will help us deliver exceptional services to New Zealand. We look forward to your application