Practice Leader at Department of Internal Affairs, Auckland

Mō tēnei tūranga mahi | About this role

About Us | Mō mātou

The Regulatory and Identity Services | Taituarā branch shapes systems and services that touch almost every New Zealander. Our diverse, nationwide and international team works at the intersection of innovation and integrity, with a strong commitment to cultural responsibility and authentic engagement with Māori and Pasifika communities.

The role | Te tūnga

As Practice Leader, you will play a pivotal role in lifting and sustaining high'quality regulatory practice in the AML/CFT Group. This is a senior practitioner role, providing hands'on leadership, expert advice and professional guidance to frontline regulators and people leaders.

Reporting to the Deputy Director, you will work closely with Managers Operations, other Practice Leaders and senior leaders to ensure responsive, risk'based regulatory approaches, tools and methodologies are consistently understood, adopted and embedded across Regulatory Services.

You will act as a trusted advisor on regulatory practice, helping identify and mitigate operational risk, strengthening quality assurance, and building frontline capability. This role requires strong influencing skills, sound professional judgement and the ability to work collaboratively across organisational boundaries to achieve meaningful regulatory outcomes.

This role is based in Auckland (Carlaw Park). Flexible working is available (up to two days a week away from the office).

The appointing range for this role is $115,425 - $143,640.

What you bring | Nōu te rourou

You will bring deep regulatory expertise, strong professional credibility and a passion for excellent public service, including:

• Significant experience as a senior regulatory practitioner or practice leader, ideally in AML/CFT or a related field, such as financial compliance
• Demonstrated ability to develop, champion and embed best'practice, risk'based regulatory approaches across frontline operations
• Strong understanding of modern regulatory theory and its practical application in complex, high'risk settings
• Proven capability to coach, mentor and build the professional confidence and judgement of regulators and managers
• Experience contributing to or leading the development of regulatory frameworks, guidance, tools, training and quality assurance approaches
• Excellent stakeholder engagement and influencing skills, with the ability to work effectively across regulatory agencies and government
• Sound knowledge of relevant legislation, regulatory operating models and government processes
• Ability to provide clear, evidence'based advice and exercise sound judgement in ambiguous or high'impact situations

How to apply'| Me pēhea te tuku tono

We are unable to accept applications via email. Please click the apply button to submit your application.

We're committed to ensuring our application process is accessible to everyone. Please let us know if there is any support we can provide to make the process accessible to you.

Applications for this role close on Friday, 22 May 2026 at 5:00pm.

If you have any questions, please email HR Coordinator Ashlee Cattermole at ashlee.cattermole@dia.govt.nz

To review the full job description, please click here.