Policy Advisor Senior Policy Advisor

Discover a career with purpose at MBIE

Discover a career with purpose at MBIE

• Lead advice on the immigration settings that will help shape New Zealand's economy and society now and, in the future
• Work constructively with passionate people, sector representatives, and communities
• Drive change that impacts on New Zealanders and prospective migrants and refugees
• Permanent full-time role | Wellington Central
• Salary range Senior Policy Advisor: $110,098 - $138,028 p.a. + KiwiSaver Wellness Benefits
• Salary range Policy Advisor: $75,114 - $93,724 p.a. + KiwiSaver Wellness Benefits

Tenei turanga - About the Roles:
You will work closely with your team to support a high performing branch that is also a great place to work.

Our Policy Advisor and Senior Policy Advisors play a leading role advising how Immigration settings can support New Zealand's economic, labour market, international and humanitarian objectives and societal goals. This includes supporting the attraction of the skills New Zealand needs and enabling families to settle in New Zealand. You will need to work closely with stakeholders including employers, education providers and refugee and migrant communities and advocates.

You will be joining a collaborative and supportive team in a busy and high-profile policy area. Some of our people work part-time and/or work flexibly, and we are open to those options.

Nga pukenga me nga wheako e hiahiatia ana - Skills and Experience Required

We are looking for motivated people with experience in solving complex problems and formulating high-quality policy advice for a range of stakeholders and projects.

Ideally you will have:

• Be able to work through ambiguity and deliver results

Policy Advisors will have:

• Understanding of the machinery of government and Te Tiriti o Waitangi
• Be a critical thinker, problem solver and have a healthy level of curiosity
• Bring knowledge of policy development disciplines and processes
• Enjoy working on complex problems, generating ideas and coming up with solutions
• Build relationships with others and work collaboratively.

Senior Policy Advisors will have:

• Experience leading complex policy projects within central government
• Understand Te Tiriti o Waitangi and have applied it in public policy
• Have wide ranging knowledge of policy development disciplines and processes
• Build strong stakeholder relationships, using influencing and engagement skills to gain the cooperation and commitment of others
• Have demonstrated capability in working with Ministers, senior public service officials, internal and external stakeholders
• Have passion for leading and coaching others to develop their policy craft and take their careers to the next level.

About the International Humanitarian Immigration Policy Team:
The International Humanitarian Immigration Policy team provides advice on immigration policies related to:

• refugee and humanitarian settings, including the Refugee Quota programme and responses to humanitarian emergencies
• international engagement, multilateral for a (UN, OECD etc), bilateral engagement, and trade negotiations
• international education
• Pacific migration settings, including the Recognised Seasonal Employer Policy, and
• national security settings.

About the Skills Residence Immigration Policy Team:
The Skills Residence Immigration Policy team provides advice on the immigration rules about who can live and work in New Zealand temporarily and permanently. This includes advice on the settings for work, residence and family (partnership, parents and child) visas.

Our work programme includes projects such as:

• Reviewing the settings for the main temporary work visa - the Accredited Employer Work Visa
• Reviewing skilled residence pathways, including the Skilled Migrant Category and the Green List, to ensure they are attracting the skills that New Zealand's labour market needs
• Advice on other key Government commitments and priority areas including immigration settings for parents, partners and children, and
• Supporting Immigration New Zealand to continue to refine its regulatory and processing methods.

These two teams work alongside one other Immigration Policy team (Border and Funding) and all contribute to broader regulatory stewardship and strategic advice across the immigration system. All team members have opportunities to engage with Ministers, industry, and communities. The work programmes across the three teams are flexible and calibrated according to the Government's key priorities.

The teams also work closely with Immigration New Zealand to ensure that operational considerations are part of policy analysis, and that there is policy oversight of how policies are being implemented.

About the Employment, Skills and Immigration Policy branch

The Employment, Skills and Immigration Policy branch leads the government's advice on labour market issues. We work with a range of government and non-Government s