New Zealand civil service seeking new education secretary and land information chief
The government of New Zealand is recruiting for two high level civil service posts.
The Ministry of Education and Land Information New Zealand (LINZ) – the government department responsible for New Zealand’s system of land transfer, the regulation of the property sector, leadership of the New Zealand Geospatial Strategy, and the management of Crown land – are both looking for new chief executives.
Both posts require applicants who are “honest, courageous and resilient” and can lead strategically; enhance system performance; lead at the political interface; achieve through others; and enhance team performance.
Applicants for in the LINZ role have until Monday, 11 July, while education specialists can apply until 1 August.
The incoming education chief will be replacing Peter Hughes, who last week became state services commissioner – New Zealand’s most senior civil service role, following Iain Rennie’s departure from government.
He or she will be required to deliver on the significant investment in the education infrastructure programme, including the Greater Christchurch Education Renewal and meeting growth in Auckland; as well as deliver a number of cross-departmental ‘Better Public Services’ goals including that in 2017, 85% of 18-year-olds have NCEA Level 2 or an equivalent qualification; and in 2017, 55% of 25- to 34-year-olds have a qualification at NZQF Level 4 or above.
The new chief executive and secretary for education will be responsible for providing policy advice to the government on the education system, covering early childhood, primary, secondary, and tertiary education; as well as ensuring a smooth running of the ministry’s operational functions including: funding early childhood education services and licensing them to operate; resourcing state and state-integrated schools; providing infrastructure support, including managing the school property portfolio; and providing special education services to children and young people with disabilities.
The ministry supports and monitors the performance of Careers New Zealand, Education New Zealand, the New Zealand Qualifications Authority, the New Zealand Teachers Council; and together with the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, jointly monitors the performance of the Tertiary Education Commission.
Priorities for the new LINZ chief will include speeding up decisions around property; developing LINZ’s Crown Property Centre of Expertise through which the organisation provides professional management advice and services for a growing number of other Crown agencies; improving the quality, usability and accessibility of location information; driving the delivery of accessible and usable geographic information for industry and government to provoke better decisions and inspire innovation; and improving resilience to natural events.
He or she will replace Andrew Crisp, who has been acting in the role as part of a secondment from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment where he is the Deputy Chief Executive (DCE) of Building, Resources and Markets, since the start of this month, following Peter Mersi’s move to lead the transport department.
Previous LINZ chief executives also include Colin MacDonald, who has since moved on to become the government’s chief information officer;
Both new appointees will be employed and and have their performance managed by Hughes, while being directly responsible to the minister for land information Louise Upston and minister of education Hekia Parata.
For more information visit the State Services Commission’s website.
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About Winnie Agbonlahor
Winnie is news editor of Global Government Forum. She previously reported for Civil Service World - the trade magazine for senior UK government officials. Originally from Germany, Winnie first came to the UK in 2006 to study a BA in Journalism & Russian at the University of Sheffield. She is bilingual in English and German, and, after spending an academic year abroad in Russia and reporting for the Moscow Times, Winnie also speaks Russian fluently.
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