Your Position
Your job
Principal Advisor (Chief Executive’s Office)
Kaitohutohu Matua (Tari a te Tumuaki)
Your group
Executive Leadership Team
Your team
Chief Executive’s Office
Your manager
Chief Executive, Wendy Walker
Your base
Porirua
What’s most important to us
Porirua City is our place. A great place to live, work and raise a family. We want everyone to feel
welcome, whether they are visiting, living or working here.
Our goals:
• A growing, prosperous and regionally connected city
• A village and city experience
• Children and young people at the heart of our city
• A healthy and protected harbour and catchment
How we work together:
• Team up – Together we make a difference for our community
• Work smart – We challenge ourselves to do things better
• Make it happen – We use our energy and skills to get things done
Your team’s purpose
The Mayor and the Chief Executive are supported by a small combined team at the centre of a busy
organisation. The team’s purpose is to:
• Provide professional and technical support to the Chief Executive on strategic and tactical
issues
• Deliver high quality and timely secretarial and administrative support to the Mayor and Chief
Executive
Your purpose
The purpose of the Principal Advisor(Chief Executives Office) is to
• Provide high quality, timely research, policy and project support to the Chief Executive
• Monitor research and advise on public policy issues that arise from time to time.
• Lead or coordinate organisation-wide responses to information requests, queries and
complaints which require a whole of business approach
• Ensure the Mayor receives effective and timely administrative and secretarial support
Who you’ll be working with
Your direct reports
• Executive Assistant to the Mayor
Your indirect reports
• None
External people and
• Government, public organisations and business
groups
• Members of the public and community organisations
• Iwi
• Other local authorities
• Contractors, consultants and suppliers
Internal people and
• Executive Leadership Team, managers and staff at all levels of the
groups
organisation
• Mayor, Councillors, Council and Council committees
Your responsibilities
What you’ll do
How you’ll do it
Leadership and
• Develop and lead the staff in the Mayor / Chief Executive’s Office to
Management
achieve results and provide a customer focused service by setting
performance expectations, providing guidance and development,
monitoring performance, and providing constructive feedback/support
when required
Strategic & Operational
• Brief the Chief Executive on strategic and tactical issues
Planning
• Identify and keep on top of potential opportunities and issues, briefing
the Chief Executive on strategies to maximise or mitigate them
• Provide advice to the Chief Executive on strategies to mitigate and
manage public issues working with the appropriate senior staff to
manage issues
Operational Delivery
• Ensure the Chief Executive’s priorities are regularly reported on and
achieved
• Keep up-to-date on current issues and events and advise or inform the
Chief Executive accordingly
• Research and provide input for articles, columns, presentations,
speeches and any other communication materials as required
• Provide background papers and briefs as required by the Chief
Executive
• Monitor emerging issues and risks and trouble-shoot to avoid
escalation
• Liaise with Council’s Customer Experience Manager to ensure systems
and protocols are in place to respond to escalated complaints in a
customer centric manner with customers feeling informed, important
and understood.
• Work with General Managers and subject matter experts to resolve
problems and establish whole of business solutions
• Manage or undertake special projects as required
• Act as a Privacy Officer
• Provide organisational overview to the LGOIMA process to ensure
compliance, consistency, efficiency and quality
• Respond to correspondence, emails, and papers as requested to
identify priorities, issues and follow-up actions needed
• Attend Council and Committee meetings where appropriate to keep
abreast of Council decision-making and to identify any issues requiring
follow up
• Assist with the planning and execution of crisis management duties in
a civil defence emergency, accompanying and assisting the Chief
Executive in an emergency
Relationship
• Establish and maintain relationships with key stakeholders and
Management
business and industry groups
• Establish and maintain close working relationships with internal and
external stakeholders, ensuring that relationships with key
stakeholders are professional, positive and constructive
• Accompany the Chief Executive to meetings to take notes and carry
out any follow-up actions as required
Corporate
• Build commitment of our vision, strategic directions, values and
Responsibilities
services
• Willingly undertake any duty required within the context of the position
• Adhere to our Code of Conduct
• Undertake civil defence and emergency management tasks as directed
including participation in pre-event training and rostered duties during
an emergency event
Your skills, experience and qualifications
It’s essential that you
• Demonstrable experience in researching, drafting, writing and editing a
have:
wide range of written material
• A relevant tertiary qualification (or equivalent experience)
• The ability to clearly, concisely and accurately express sometimes
complex material in an easily understandable manner
• The ability to think strategically and tactically
• Strong problem solving, trouble shooting, planning and analytical skills
• Demonstrable ability in thinking laterally and presenting information in
new and interesting ways
• Time management and multi-tasking skills and ability to meet deadlines
• The ability to develop and foster excellent working relationships
• Political awareness and skill in dealing with sensitive issues
• Excellent oral and written communication skills
• Excellent interpersonal skills and the ability to work well with others and
the ability to persuade and influence people
• Highest standards of conduct and probity
• Understanding and commitment to health and safety in the workplace
• Understanding and commitment to diverse workplaces
• Understanding and commitment to the Treaty of Waitangi and bicultural
issues
It’d be great if you also
• A background in working in a similar position (e.g.: Executive Officer or
have:
Senior Private Secretary for a Cabinet Minister) is desirable
• Experience in policy or research is desirable
Last updated 21 August 2020
