Programme Director Future Services

Discover a career with purpose at MBIE

•    Provide senior leadership of a complex, multi year transformation programme 
•    Lead delivery across multiple workstreams through direct leadership accountability as well as influence in a matrixed environment 
•    Partner with senior leaders and central agencies to achieve agreed outcomes
•    Wellington based
•    Salary midpoint of $319,373(including Kiwisaver)

Tēnei tūranga - About the Role:

We are seeking an experienced Programme Director Future Services to provide senior leadership and delivery accountability for Our Future Services. This role is accountable for delivering a high profile programme that is modernising how immigration services are designed, delivered, and supported.

As a specialist leadership role, the Programme Director is responsible for ensuring the programme is strategically aligned, well integrated, rigorously tested, and successfully delivered. This includes ensuring the right work is underway and coherently connected across workstreams, managing internal and external stakeholders, making programme performance visible, and providing robust monitoring and reporting to support effective governance and oversight.

About the programme:

The Future Services programme is responsible for leading the successful delivery of a transformation programme for the Immigration System. The programme is a large, multi-year programme to transform INZ’s service model to deliver better outcomes for New Zealanders, including through planned migration of well-designed visa products to the ADEPT system and corresponding decommissioning of legacy systems for the submission and processing of visa applications. The Future Services programme will incorporate work on how INZ assesses risk to determine appropriate service levels and verification requirements for different customers, and future workforce capability requirements, with a focus on supporting quality decision making and embedding a culture of continuous improvement. 

Ngā pukenga me ngā wheako e hiahiatia ana - Skills and Experience Required:

You bring:

• Strong judgement, credibility, and momentum, enabling you to lead at pace while effectively navigating risk, complexity, and interdependencies. 
• Demonstrated experience leading large scale, complex programmes or significant investment initiatives
• Senior leadership experience in the public sector, with a sound understanding of policy, regulatory, and financial management processes and government decision making frameworks
• Strong programme and project management capability, with proven delivery in a public policy or regulatory environment
• Experience integrating multiple workstreams into a coherent, aligned programme of change
• The ability to balance technical detail with strategic and business outcomes, including decisions with financial impact
• Proven experience managing programme risk, including aggregated and cross programme risks
• Demonstrated benefits management and performance monitoring capability
• Strong interpersonal and influencing skills, with the ability to build trust and credibility with senior leaders and stakeholders
• The ability to work independently for extended periods, managing challenges as they arise while delivering high quality outcomes to deadlines

NOTE: You must be a New Zealand citizen or Permanent Resident visa holder. 

Ētahi kōrero mō MBIE - About MBIE:

MBIE's goal is to create a resilient and high-performing economy that delivers real and ongoing quality of life for all New Zealanders.

We do this by working with others to create an environment that supports businesses to be more productive and internationally competitive, enables all New Zealanders to participate in the economy through improved job opportunities and by working to ensure quality housing is more affordable.

People are at the heart of our mahi, our way of working is guided by our values which shape our behaviours.

• Mahi Tahi – Better Together
• Māia – Bold and brave
• Pae Kahurangi – Build our Future
• Pono Me Te Tika – Own It

Our aspirations are echoed in our Māori identity – Hīkina Whakatutuki – which broadly means ‘lifting to make successful'.

MBIE recognises the partnership founded under Te Tiriti o Waitangi between Māori and the Crown and is committed to giving effect to Te Tiriti o Waitangi. We will do this through enduring, meaningful and effective partnerships with iwi, Māori, other Māori groups/organisations and the Crown, as this is critical to enable economic and social development, both for Māori and for wider Aotearoa New Zealand. We are committed to continuing to partner with iwi in order to find new sustainable solutions to address long standing systemic and cross-cutting issues facing Māori and wider Aotearoa New Zealand and we are also committed to identifying opportunities for iwi to lead and creating an enabling environment for iwi to leverage these opportunities.

E mōhio ana a Hīkina Whakatutuki i puea ake te kōtuinga I waenganui i a ngāi Māori me te Karauna i Te Tiriti o Waitangi, ā, kei te whai ia ki te whakaū ake i Te Tiriti o Waitangi. Mā te whai kiko o ngā kōtuinga ahungaroa o ngāi wi, o ngāi Māori, me ētahi atu rōpū Māori ki te Karauna, katutuki tēnei. He āhuatanga nui tēnei e āhei ai ngā mahi whanaketanga ā-ohanga, ā-pāpori hoki ki a ngāi Māori me Aotearoa whānui. E whai tonu ana mātou ki te kōtui atu ki ngā iwi mō te rapu huarahi hou ki te whakaara i ngā kaupapakua roa nei e tāmi ana i a ngāi Māori me Aotearoa whānui, ā, e whai ana hoki ki te tautohu i ngā āheinga kōkiritanga mā ngā iwi, me te tautoko i ngā iwi kia whai mana ake ai ēnei āheinga.

Me pēhea te tono - How to Apply:

Click here to view a position description. 

When you are ready to apply please send a CV and cover letter telling us why you're the perfect fit for this role.

All applications must be submitted via our online process.

We can't wait to hear from you!

Email Roxana Anderson at roxana.anderson@mbie.govt.nz quoting ref MBIE/19478 if you have any further questions.

Applications close on 25th May 2026