Policy Advisor

Discover a career with purpose at MBIE

Discover a career with purpose at MBIE
- How tightly should immigration be managed in light of the economic and social impacts of COVID-19?
- How should work visa policy settings be balanced to ensure that NZers are first in line for jobs, but NZ doesn’t miss out in the global competition for in-demand skills?
- What factors should the government consider when setting charges for visas to enter NZ? MBIE policy community: We are looking for policy advisors to join two of Immigration teams - Border and Funding Policy and Skills and Residence Policy, part of the Employment, Skills and Immigration Policy Branch. Together with the Workplace, Relations and Safety Policy Branch we are the government’s lead policy advisors on labour market issues. We focus on issues relating to skills, employment, labour market planning and immigration. As lead advisors to the Minister of Immigration, the Immigration Policy team is charged with providing advice on the end-to-end immigration process, from selection through to settlement, including border security and international obligations.

We work closely with a range of other internal and external stakeholders including other policy teams and service delivery arms within MBIE (mainly Immigration New Zealand), other Government agencies with interest in immigration and labour markets, and with unions and business organisations.

The team provides advice on border policy, immigration system funding and financial sustainability, and on immigration legislation (including a review of the Immigration Act 2009). The team also supports Branch work on developing an immigration system performance framework.
Immigration Policy - Skills and Residence looking at the settings for both temporary and residence visas covering work, partnership/family, visitor, and student policies. This is important work in a dynamic context that has a real effect on people’s lives and the economy.

**Our current work programme includes**: Implementing and monitoring outcomes of the Immigration Rebalance, a recently announce set of policy changes to improve access for highly skilled migrants to NZ.
- Reviewing the skilled migrant category for residence in line with recent Rebalance changes.
- Reviewing family and partnership immigration settings to see if they remain fit-for-purpose in a changing social context (for example, what constitutes a genuine relationship today and how do you evidence this?) Tēnei tūranga - About our Policy Advisors:
They use their strong communication skills to engage and work collaboratively with various groups. They bring a base knowledge of public policy as well as an understanding of the machinery of government, Te Tiriti o Waitangi principles, to better position New Zealand for the future.

Our Policy Advisors work across different levels to learn from experts and build their own knowledge. With the wide variety of work across the different policy areas, there are numerous opportunities to develop their policy craft and build their careers within MBIE.
Ngā pukenga me ngā wheako e hiahiatia ana - Skills and experience required:
We are looking for motivated people with some experience in problem solving problems and formulating high-quality policy advice for a range of stakeholders and projects.

Desirable Skills & Experience
- Have a good base of experience in public policy as a Policy Advisor and/or transferrable skills from an advisory, legal or similar role
- Be a logical thinker, problem solver and 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
- Have the ability to build relationships with others and work collaboratively
- The ability to work through ambiguity and deliver results

**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