Head of Enterprise Strategy

New Zealand Super Fund; Auckland; On-site; NZD 180,000 - 290,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive remuneration

Discretionary bonus programme

KiwiSaver matching

Professional development

Leave and benefits

Flexible work environment

Job summary

NZ Super Fund is seeking a Head of Enterprise Strategy to provide strategic leadership and advice for the organisation’s long-term direction, working with the CEO, Leadership Team and Board to shape priorities and outcomes. The role leads the development of enterprise strategy, tests assumptions, and translates strategy into execution plans across the enterprise.

The role also leads the Enterprise Strategy Office, develops strategic scenarios, advises at board level, and drives prioritisation

Qualifications

• Significant experience leading enterprise strategy in a complex organisation.
• Ability to advise executive leadership and Boards with strategic judgement.
• Proven capacity to frame ambiguous problems and develop credible options.
• Experience in strategy across capability, operating model, technology and risk.
• Desirable background in long-term institutional, investment or public sector contexts.
• Strong Board-level written and verbal communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Lead the development, refresh and evolution of the Guardians’ enterprise strategy.
• Assess changes in environment and stakeholder expectations, outlining implications.
• Develop strategic scenarios, test assumptions and identify opportunities and risks.
• Act as a trusted strategic adviser to CEO, Leadership Team and Board.
• Translate enterprise strategy into clear priorities and outcomes.
• Lead ESO and ensure portfolio execution and project delivery as a connected system.
• Provide visibility of execution status and escalations for decisions and trade-offs.

Skills

Enterprise strategy

Executive advisory

Strategic thinking

Board communication

Facilitation

Cross-functional leadership

Risk & opportunity framing

Governance

Stakeholder management

Job description

Haere Mai!
Ko ia kāhore nei i rapu, tē kitea - A person who does not seek will not find.

We are the Kaitiaki / Guardians of New Zealand Superannuation. We are proud of our Te Whāinga / Our purpose: Sustainable investment delivering strong returns for all New Zealanders. We invest government contributions to the NZ Super Fund, a global investment fund helping to ensure the country can pay for the growing cost of universal superannuation (New Zealand Superannuation) in the future. We also oversee the Elevate Fund, which invests in small, fast-growing New Zealand companies.

At the Guardians there’s an energy, passion and a shared commitment to excellence: in 2024 the NZ Super Fund was named the world’s best-performing sovereign wealth fund. The work is complex, innovative and intellectually stimulating. Sustainable finance, including a commitment to being net zero by 2050, is core to our Mātāpono / way of working.

The Role

The Head of Enterprise Strategy provides strategic leadership and advice to support the Guardians to make clear, forward-looking choices about its long-term direction, strategic choices and enterprise priorities.

The role leads the development and ongoing evolution of enterprise strategy, working closely with the CEO, Leadership Team and Board to identify emerging opportunities and risks, test strategic assumptions and frame choices and trade-offs. It ensures strategic direction is translated into clear enterprise priorities and intended outcomes and remains connected with organisational execution.

Key accountabilities

Enterprise strategy and foresight

• Lead the development, refresh and ongoing evolution of the Guardians’ enterprise strategy.
• Assess changes in the operating environment, mandate, scale and stakeholder expectations and identify their strategic and organisational implications.
• Develop strategic scenarios and options, test assumptions and maintain a view of emerging opportunities, risks and questions requiring leadership attention.
• Bring relevant external perspectives and peer insight into enterprise thinking and ensure enterprise strategy complements investment strategy.

Strategic advice and decision support

• Act as a trusted strategic adviser to the CEO, Leadership Team and Board.
• Frame complex enterprise issues and clarify the strategic choices, implications and trade-offs involved.

Strategy translation and prioritisation

• Lead the translation of enterprise strategy into clear priorities, intended outcomes and enterprise-level choices.
• Lead the development of enterprise prioritisation principles and support the Leadership Team to make strategic choices and trade-offs across competing demands.

ESO leadership and strategic governance

• Lead the Enterprise Strategy Office and ensure strategy development, portfolio execution and project delivery operate as one connected system.
• Ensure visibility of overall execution through clear and transparent information on status, progress and escalation of required decisions and trade offs

Desired Skills & Experience

• Significant experience leading enterprise strategy in a complex organisation, including advising executive leadership teams and Boards.
• Strong strategic judgement and the ability to integrate complex information into clear enterprise insights, choices and recommendations.
• Proven ability to frame ambiguous problems, develop credible options and support difficult trade-offs.
• Experience considering strategy across organisational capability, operating model, technology, people, risk and external positioning.
• Experience in a relevant long-term institutional, investment and/or public-sector context is desirable.
• Highly capable facilitator with excellent Board-level written and verbal communication skills.
• Collaborative, intellectually curious and able to lead and influence without relying on formal authority.
• High integrity, sound judgement and commitment to the Guardians’ values.

What we offer

• A dynamic, exciting place to work with a team united by our common purpose of sustainable investment delivering strong returns for all New Zealanders.
• Competitive remuneration package including base salary, discretionary bonus programme, and up to 8% KiwiSaver matching.
• World class professional development, career pathways and job rotation opportunities.
• Comprehensive leave and benefits programme including strong parental leave package and insurance cover.
• Flexible and accessible work environment that reflects our commitment to equity and an inclusive team.

We are committed to diversity, equity and inclusiveness, recognising transferable skills, discussing flexible work options and/or specific disability needs at any stage of this recruitment or employment. As a proudly committed equal opportunity employer, we challenge discrimination and actively work to eliminate bias in our hiring practices. Diversity of experience and diversity of background help us to solve complex problems and deliver on our purpose.

We recognise the importance of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and invest in partnership with a range of Iwi/Māori organisations. We warmly welcome and value Mana Whenua who wish to work with us. We are committed to understanding Te Ao Māori and integrating it into our workplace culture, for the benefit of all future generations in Aotearoa.

This role is being recruited exclusively through our partner, Kerridge & Partners.

Please note that the Guardians will not review applications submitted directly to us.