Chief Advisor at Department of Internal Affairs, Canterbury

Mō tēnei tūranga mahi | About this role

Type: Fixed Term - June 24
Hours: Full time
Business Group: Three Waters National Transition Unit
Branch: Local Government

Being part of the Three Waters Reform is a once in a lifetime opportunity!

We are transforming the water sector to ultimately improve the health and wellbeing New Zealanders.

All New Zealanders need safe, reliable and affordable drinking water, wastewater and stormwater - the three waters services. We depend on these for the health and wellbeing of our communities and our environment. Local government is facing significant challenges in managing drinking water, stormwater and wastewater services.

This is a great opportunity to get involved in a reform that will have impacts for all New Zealanders, and generations to come.

About You:

We are looking for a Chief Advisor to be part of the early establishment team for the new Water Service Entity D (WSE) which covers most of the South Island. You'll play a critical role in providing well-founded strategic advice to the Chief Executive Entity D to shape the establishment of the new WSE and prepare the entity for commencement day one operations. This is a key trouble-shooting role, providing strategic quality assurance, legal and risk management support.

Working with the National Transition Unit you'll be ensuring the transition is effective, efficient, and minimises disruption to communities, consumers, and the transfer of council employees to the entities.

We will expect to you to demonstrate knowledge and experience in a similar role. Along with this you will be confident working with a range of stakeholders including Ministers and Ministers' offices, Central Agencies, other water services entities, Iwi partners, councils and other relevant stakeholders.

You will be proactive and collaborative in your working style, with the ability to easily engage and influence a range of stakeholders at all levels, and others across the programme.

The Mahi - Three Waters Reform Programme

In July 2020, the Government launched the Three Waters Reform Programme - a multi-year programme to improve the safety, quality, resilience, accessibility, and performance of New Zealand's drinking water, wastewater and stormwater services, in a way that is efficient and affordable. Currently over 70 councils own and operate most of New Zealand's water services and face issues funding infrastructure, complying with safety standards and environmental expectations, dealing with natural hazards and climate change involving water infrastructure, and supporting population growth. The Government is progressing the Three Waters Reform to shift the management of three waters services to four publicly-owned water service entities from July 2024.

You can find more information about the Three Waters Reform Programme at https://www.dia.govt.nz/Three-Waters-Reform-Programme

Location: South Island, Christchurch preferred - see attached entity map

Applications close: Thursday 16^th March 2023
For more information please contact: Threewatersprogrammerecruitment@dia.govt.nz

Job description: To review the full job description, please click here. If you are unable to follow the link, please review the full job description on our careers website.

We are an equal opportunity employer that values diversity and inclusion. We recognise a diverse workforce contributes to better business outcomes. We are committed to creating a workplace where all employees have equal access.