Senior & Principal Policy Advisers

Position Title:  Senior & Principal Policy Advisers  

Team and Group:  Safety, Regulatory Reform and Strategic Priorities Teams, Sector Strategy Group

Position Type:  Permanent, Full Time (38 hours per week)

Location:  Wellington CBD office (Queens Wharf)

Salary:  Senior Policy Adviser $108,126 – $143,618 (+ KiwiSaver)

Principal Policy Adviser $127,142 – $168,973 (+ KiwiSaver)

• Shape thinking and work on priority issues for the Ministry and Minister of Transport
• Influential roles in a small agency where you can work face-to-face, close to decision makers, and without silos
• Wellington CBD based (Queens Wharf) | Modern Offices

About the Ministry of Transport   

The Ministry of Transport is the government’s principal adviser on transport policy, regulation and investment. We play a crucial role in ensuring the transport system is working to improve prosperity for New Zealanders. The Ministry’s values are integrity, excellence, and collaboration.

About the opportunity

Ready for your next career opportunity?  The Ministry is recruiting for a mix of principal and senior advisers across our Strategic Priorities, Safety, and Regulatory Reform teams.

This will be the next step up in your career as you bring and build your policy skills and experience with making legislative change.  Each team is leading high profile and priority projects which deliver practical policy changes to improve the way we manage and regulate land transport activities. 

Across the three teams we are delivering:

• significant reforms, including primary and secondary legislative changes across a wide range of land transport policy.
• actions in strategic documents such as the Government’s Road Safety Objectives
• priorities in the Government’s Action Plan, including passing and implementing legalisation to enable roadside drug testing and reduce anti-social road use
• improvements to the way we measure and understand the performance of the transport system, and therefore where we should focus our resources to improve performance
• improvements to the Ministry’s systems and processes for policy advice, with a focus on driving quality, brevity and clarity.
  

Based on the work or support that may be required, this position is Wellington based only. 

What you’ll bring

As a senior adviser you will demonstrate strong experience and successful capability in:

• policy development and analysis in the public sector, with a solid understanding of government policy-making procedures, and good political nous;
• end-to-end delivery of large policy projects/programmes, while working under pressure and managing tight timelines;
• the policy process and machinery of government, including understanding regulatory frameworks, interpreting legislation, and knowledge about associated government institutions;
• successfully building and maintaining effective working relationships at all levels, internally and externally, including influencing others to achieve outcomes;
• numerical analysis including an understanding of basic economic, fiscal and statistical concepts;
• successful communication and influencing skills, including using a range of oral, written and visual mediums to communicate effectively to diverse audiences and situations;
• written advice, where you nail the pitch, tone, clarity and conciseness every time;
• analytical and critical thinking skills, including successfully applying problem-solving skills to draw sound conclusions and provide appropriate advice or decisions; and
• effectively building the capability of others, including the provision of guidance, coaching, and on-the-job training to less experienced people.

As a principal adviser you will demonstrate extensive experience and successful capability in:

• leading policy development and analysis in the public sector with a deep understanding of government policy-making procedures, and excellent political nous;
• leading the planning and management of large, complex, risky, ambiguous, and sensitive policy projects/programmes, while working through others to achieve this and under pressure to meet tight timelines;
• understanding the policy process and machinery of government, including regulatory frameworks, interpreting legislation, and knowledge about associated government institutions, across multiple portfolio areas;
• proactively and successfully building and maintaining effective working relationships and networks at all levels, internally and externally, including influencing others to achieve outcomes;
• numerical analysis that includes an understanding and application of economic, fiscal, and statistical concepts;
• successful communication and influencing skills, including the use of a range of oral, written and visual mediums to communicate and influence effectively to diverse audiences and situations demonstrating political nous;
• written advice, where you nail the pitch, tone, clarity and conciseness every time, and help others do the same;
• applying your intellectual thinking and leadership to add value, solve problems and draw well-considered conclusions and provide clear advice or decisions; and
• effectively building the capability of others, including the provision of proactive coaching and identifying opportunities to develop people.

The senior and principal roles require a tertiary qualification in a relevant field (such as public policy, economics, or law).

Salary range

The base salary range for Senior Adviser positions is $108,126 - $143,618 per annum (+ KiwiSaver) and for Principal Adviser positions $127,142- $168,973 per annum (+ KiwiSaver). The salary offered will reflect the skills and experience you bring.

What we offer

• An exciting work programme, including engagement with senior leaders and Ministers
• Supportive work environment and individual development plans
• Laptop, mobile and work from home IT equipment
• Modern offices located right on the wharf with collaborative working spaces, showers, storage for bicycles/scooters and personal lockers
• A range of employee-led networks

How to apply

To view the job description, or apply online, click Apply. Please include a CV and cover letter highlighting your relevant skills and experience. If you are interested in a particular role or area, please specify this within your application.

To apply for this role, you must have right to live and work in New Zealand. You will need to be based in Wellington or ready to relocate. Other locations will not be considered

We encourage you to contact us for further information about the specific roles in each team, please contact Kitty McCool, Recruitment Adviser at k.mccool@transport.govt.nz for a confidential chat and to find out more. 

Applications close midnight, Sunday 6 April 2025.  

Depending on the number of applications received, we may close this vacancy before the advertised closing date. We encourage you to submit your application as soon as possible.

We encourage applications from people from all backgrounds, orientations, and identities. We aim to create a workplace where everyone feels relevant, valued, and supported.

For any support or accessibility needs during our recruitment process, please contact us at applications@transport.govt.nz

Please note, we are not engaging with recruitment agencies to fill this vacancy and unsolicited resumes from recruitment agencies will not be accepted.