Commercial Practice Lead | Te Hoko Mai - Kaiarataki Ritenga Arumoni at Statistics NZ, Wellington

Mō tēnei tūranga mahi | About this role

 Join Our Dynamic Commercial Arrangements Team at Stats NZ!

About Us | Ko mātou

Stats NZ | Tatauranga Aotearoa is a Central Government employer of 1300+ people across Aotearoa. We provide data and statistics to support the decisions of Government, Māori and Iwi organisations, businesses, NGOs, and New Zealanders. Our work is About Aotearoa, for Aotearoa - data that improves lives today and for generations to come. We welcome every gender, ethnicity, ability, religion, age, and background and encourage all our people to be their authentic selves.

What's in it for you? | Ngā hua ka riro ki a koe

We encourage you to go to our careers site to learn more about the Way We Work at Stats NZ and also check out our benefits. We want working for us… to work for you!!

Starting salary: $136,776 - $178,742 + superannuation

Other benefits of joining Stats NZ include:

• Balance life and work commitments
• Develop and grow your career (coaching, training, study support, secondments)
• Contribute to meaningful work that makes a difference to all people in Aotearoa
• 3 extra annual leave days (taken during Christmas office closure)
• State of the art, 6-star green building in Wellington

The role | Te tūnga

In 2025, Stats NZ moved to a centralised commercial model. The team structure, policies and procedures, training programme and the systems for reporting, contract management, conflict of interest management, and compliance have all been modified to support the increased mandate.  

We now need someone to help us to: 

• Design and implement the contract assurance function 
• Complete the design, implementation and testing of the residual system changes (Oracle and Sharepoint) 
• Design and deliver the automated contract reporting 
• Build on and enhance the new training program and modules 
• Review and optimise the policies and procedures implemented last year 
• Assist with the FY26/27 organisational commercial/procurement strategy 
• Build the internal brand of our centralised sourcing and contract management 

The Procurement/Commercial Practice Lead is a 9 month fixed term role based in Wellington. This sits  within the Commercial Arrangements Branch within the Technology, Operations, Commercial & Collections Group (TOCC). TOCC reports directly to the Chief Executive. 

In Commercial Arrangements we use our expertise to build strong relationships and uplift commercial and contractual capability to drive excellence within Stats NZ. Our goal is to be the gold standard of Government commercial practice. 

You will play the pivotal role in embedding commercial practice training, reporting and assurance functions. The role will report to the Head of Commercial Arrangements, work in partnership with the Manager - Commercial Proficiency & Reporting, and will have one full time indirect report: Procurement/Commercial Specialist (Training, Reporting and Assurance). 

Your target is to build a high-performing, sustainable assurance framework that enhances operational effectiveness and compliance across commercial practices. In addition to leading the design and implementation of the new functions, this role will champion the delivery of new ways of working within the team and across Stats NZ. 

The goal of the role is to embed systemic improvements into the organisations core procurement functions and the through-life management of suppliers and contracts (including associated commercial risk and conflicts of interest). The role will ensure that Stats NZ and suppliers meet their contractual obligations, carry out all functions to a high level of quality and consistency, via appropriately skilled and experienced staff. You will foster a culture of probity and conflict of interest awareness and pro-activity. 

Our team needs someone to join us who:  

• A relevant tertiary (degree-level or higher) qualification in business, commerce, law or similar. 
• Minimum of fifteen years' work experience in a procurement/commercial role with proficiency in end-to-end aspects of the procurement lifecycle (including strategy, policy, sourcing, supplier relationship and contract management in large and complex environment). 
• A track record of delivering training, reporting and assurance frameworks, systems and artifacts. 
• Experience presenting complex information to a range of audiences. 
• High quality written and oral communication skills suitable for a varied audience in a corporate setting. 
• Experience using everyday office software including Microsoft suite of products (e.g., Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint), Intranet, online communications channels for meetings and chat, etc. 
• Competency or fluency in te reo Māori language or possess a willingness to develop knowledge and competence. (By 2040 Government aims to have 85% of its workers speaking te reo Māori). 
• Experience working with major suppliers and vendors, external stakeholders and customers in the public and private sectors. 
• Understanding, and practical application, of the Government Procurement Rules. 

What you bring | Nōu te rourou  

We understand transferable skills can come from experience gained from outside of work. We encourage you to be you in your application.

We are committed to diversity, equity, inclusion and lifting our cultural capability. You don't need to be knowledgeable in all these areas already, but you do need to be on board with learning and have a genuine interest and willingness to grow on this journey with us.

Tell us about yourself in your cover letter, what attracted you to this role, and what you would bring to Stats NZ.

How to apply | Me pēhea te tuku tono 

If this sounds like you, click on the Apply now button to be redirected to the application page on our careers site. The position description is located on the right-hand side of the page.

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 we need to make any specific accommodations during our process.

Please reach out to recruitment@stats.govt.nz  if you have any questions.

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.

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