- Strategic leadership opportunity in SI’s largest Regional Council
- Develop and deploy strategy across the whole organisation
- Well respected council with a strong employment brand
Aronga | About The Role
Working closely with the Chief Executive, the Director leads a team of 80 across the strategy and planning group, ensuring the organisation has clear strategic direction with defined priorities, integrated work programmes, and a Resource Management planning framework, enabling the Canterbury community to thrive. Your focus will be to develop and deliver robust strategic purpose to manage the region's natural resources, guide Council’s broad range of services and functions, and drive collaboration across the organisation.
You will:
- Provide strategic advice, direction and support to the CE, ELT, Chair and Councillors, uplifting strategic capability in a political environment;
- Ensure the functional alignment of strategy and planning across Environment Canterbury, integrating programmes of work, creating direction and focus to ensure progress and performance is on track;
- Apply a practical and pragmatic lens to the deployment of strategy and change leadership;
- Encourage the development of capability across your teams, creating vision, direction, harnessing their energy and creativity to deliver business outcomes;
- Lead development of effective future-focused policies, transforming practices and systems to enhance business performance, progress a values-driven culture and support the cultural capability journey;
- Provide regional leadership, developing relationships with key people and organisations in Canterbury and throughout New Zealand, building valued relationships with Papatipu Rūnanga and Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu.
Mātau ā-wheako | Skills & Experience
Candidates of interest will have high strategic acumen, with significant success in developing and deploying strategy aligned to organisational purpose and stakeholder expectations. Success in this role will rely upon authentic leadership and your ability to interpret strategy through an operational and cultural lens, using high levels of political awareness, resilience and mana.
You will have:
- Significant executive leadership experience ideally within strategy, planning, or programme delivery functions in a complex stakeholder environment;
- An understanding of the machinery of Local Government;
- Experience engaging and influencing Boards at a strategic level, along with proven ability to successfully lead, develop and motivate large scale and complex teams;
- Proven experience successfully leading change, understanding which levers to pull and be comfortable in a dynamic changing environment;
- Strong relationship management skills, with a track record of successfully partnering with a broad range of stakeholders;
- Compelling verbal communication skills with strong written communication skills, and the demonstrated ability to engage and influence to achieve organisational outcomes;
- An understanding of the evolving public sector obligations under the Treaty of Waitangi; experienced in integrating Māori perspectives and values into organisational practice;
- A bachelor’s degree in a related field and a post graduate level specialisation is desirable.
Kaunihera Taiao ki Waitaha │ About Environment Canterbury
Environment Canterbury governs the largest region in New Zealand, with its area of jurisdiction comprising all river catchments on the east coast of the South Island from the Clarence River, north of Kaikoura, to the Waitaki River in South Canterbury. The region includes the Canterbury Plains, North and South Canterbury and the major braided rivers of the South Island. With a vision and purpose of “Taking action together to shape a thriving and resilient Waitaha / Canterbury, now and for future generations” Environment Canterbury is responsible for managing the region’s natural resources – the air, soil, water, and the impact of land use on the environment.
Whanonga Pono | Values
Manaakitanga | People first – people, customers and staff come first
Whanaungatanga | Collaboration – together works best
Kaitiakitanga | Stewardship – good decisions today for tomorrow
Pononga | Integrity – trust in us and our information
Māiatanga | Can do – be brave and make it happen