Advisor/senior Advisor Official Information Act

Provide specialist advice and support on the Official Information Act (OIA) across the Department, identify and evaluate risks and prepare responses for release.
- Four weeks and three days annual leave per year, flexible working options.
- Recruiting for Advisor and Senior Advisor roles.
- Preference for Wellington, other locations will be considered.

Toitū te marae a Tāne-Mahuta, toitū te marae a Tangaroa, toitū te tangata
If the land is well and the sea is well, the people will thrive
Department of Conservation Te Papa Atawhai (DOC) serves to protect and sustain nature across Aotearoa. We put nature and people at the heart of our mahi, guided by te reo Māori, te ao Māori and Te Tiriti o Waitangi. We do this by:

- protecting land, species, ecosystems, and cultural heritage for conservation purposes
- managing threats and adverse impacts
- being a voice for conservation
- connecting people to nature.

He angitūtanga | About the role
Are you politically-savvy, well-versed in government, keen to bring your OIA skills to a meaningful, high-impact role with the Department?
We are looking for Advisor and Senior Advisor eager to join us in uplifting and centralising our service delivery across the Department.
As Advisor / Senior Advisor, you will provide advice and trouble-shoot on matters that are sensitive or complex, while delivering quality OIA responses. You will lead context meetings on complex and highly contentious matters. You will work closely with the Manager and Senior leaders, providing strategic advice as required. There is also opportunity to be involved in training and some project work.
The Senior Advisor will also play a mentoring role within the team, providing advice on matters that are particularly sensitive or complex.

**The position will be focussed on**:

- working with the business to identify and evaluate risks associated with requests, and recommend preferred approaches to responses
- writing responses, providing supporting information as appropriate, and developing standard response letters
- undertaking redactions, explaining withholding grounds, and preparing responses for proactive release.

Ngā pūkenga me ngā wheako | Skills and experience
We are looking for a proactive and committed individual who is confident giving advice across the business on OIA and associated matters. The team works at pace and is an extremely responsive, deadline driven environment. Working closely alongside our legal and media teams, you will use your keen risk radar, strong attention to detail and listening skills to ensure consistent and accurate advice is given. There's plenty of interesting work and opportunities to broaden your skills and grow your career with DOC.
If you have the following attributes, we are keen to hear from you:

- Solid experience in an OIA or legal environment (Advisor: 2+ years, Senior: 4+ years).
- Proven analytical and critical thinking skills.
- Effective, articulate, and persuasive communicator both written and oral.
- Experienced developing and presenting metrics to a broad audience.
- Strong understanding of the machinery of government processes.
- High attention to detail.
- Experience of using a workflow management tool.
- Highly adaptable, strong self-awareness and a strong collaborative team player.
- Unflappable in pressurised environments.

Mō te tīma | About the team
The Government and Governance Team is in the Public Affairs group, which is responsible for building and enhancing trust and confidence with New Zealanders and Parliament, while protecting and enhancing DOC's reputation and brand.
The OIA Team forms part of the wider Government Services Team. The OIA team develop and own systems to support all of DOC with managing OIAs and ensuring appropriate engagement around information releases across DOC and with external parties, including the Minister. We are a diverse team and keep the team spirit and connection alive through real-time, daily stand ups to ensure we're all working collectively to achieve great work. We are a small team and work collaboratively to ensure we draw on the strengths of all team members.

Ngā āhuatanga kei a mātou | What's in it for you?
DOC is committed to fostering a diverse workforce that represents the communities we serve, creating an inclusive workplace culture, supporting the relationship between Māori and the Crown, and lifting our cultural capability. We encourage our people to bring their authentic self and unique perspectives to work, in pursuit of our collective aspirations. Our commitment to wellbeing and professional development includes:

- flexible working opportunities suited to your role
- Te Pukenga Atawhai - cultural capability development programme
- Te Kāwai Aho Tapu - internal Māori network
- career development, secondment, and training opportunities to help you realise your goals
- study assistance in programmes that are relevant to your work
- Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) and discou