Lead Advisor ICT - Wellington

Kumara Vine; Wellington; Hybrid; NZD 141,000 - 171,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible working environment

Career progression

Job summary

The Ministry of Education is seeking a Lead Advisor - ICT within the Digital Procurement team to drive sourcing strategy and end-to-end procurement activities across large-scale initiatives. You will mentor team members, manage supplier relationships, and ensure compliance with Government Procurement Rules while delivering best commercial outcomes.

Based in Wellington, this role requires strong negotiation, policy development, and capability-building across the procurement function to elevate

Qualifications

• Experience leading end-to-end procurement projects in a complex organisation.
• Ability to build partnerships to achieve outcomes with stakeholders.
• In-depth knowledge of government procurement and leading open tender processes.
• Understanding and applying Government Procurement Rules.
• Track record of coaching and mentoring procurement teams.
• Ability to use data and insights to guide decisions and strategy.

Responsibilities

• Promote procurement best practice in line with policy for supplier selection, tendering and end-to-end lifecycle.
• Develop and maintain effective procurement policies, processes and systems.
• Investigate technical/commercial options and select preferred sources with business.
• Engage in planning to meet evolving needs and priorities in procurement.
• Advise senior leaders on procurement strategy and policy.
• Ensure procurement compliance and quality through reviews and audits.
• Lead high-value procurements including needs analysis, drafting docs, evaluations, negotiations and risk management.
• Maintain knowledge of supply markets through research and supplier engagement.
• Lift procurement capability across the organisation and mentor team members.
• Use data to identify market trends, risks and opportunities to inform decisions.

Skills

Procurement strategy

Stakeholder management

Contract management

Sourcing

Data-driven decisions

Job description

We work to shape an education system that delivers equitable and excellent outcomes

Our organisation is made up of talented and committed people around Aotearoa, from a wide range of backgrounds and cultures. While we work in different groups and on different things, we all strive every day to make the biggest difference we can for our students in our education system.

The Lead Advisor - ICT will be part of the Ministry's Procurement team and will report and provide support to the Digital Procurement team. The Lead Advisor - ICT will bring considerable sourcing expertise, extensive experience in delivering ‘end to end' procurement activities and a strong understanding of contract management. The Lead Advisor - ICT will ensure that the Ministry has an informed approach to strategic sourcing, achieves the best possible commercial outcomes, promotes procurement leadership and supplier relationship management. They will also identify and implement areas of improvement via the procurement process relating to various complex and large-scale activities. They will also actively mentor and coach other members of the team.

The Lead Advisor - ICT must be able to build strong working relationships with a selection of key stakeholders and will have the ability to prioritise and multi-task in an environment where workloads can escalates quickly.

In this role, you will:

Promote good procurement practice in line with the Ministry's procurement policy providing advice on policy and procedures covering the selection of suppliers, tendering and the end-to-end procurement life cycle.

Contribute to the development, utilisation and maintenance of effective procurement policy, processes, practices and systems.

Investigate the technical and commercial options for fulfilling the requirements, including possible sources of supply, and agree the preferred options and potential suppliers with the business.

Engage in the business planning cycle to assess, determine, specify and initiate procurement processes to meet changing or evolving needs and priorities.

Act as a trusted advisor to senior leaders and stakeholders on procurement strategy and policy.

Contribute to providing assurance of procurement compliance and quality by reviewing/endorsing procurement documentation (in line with the Ministry's procurement policy) and other auditing.

Lead/conduct high value/complex procurements including undertaking needs analysis and procurement planning, drafting procurement documentation, managing the procurement process, facilitating evaluation, contract negotiations, risk management and awarding.

Maintain a good understanding of relevant supply markets through market research and appropriate engagement with suppliers and industry associations.

Play a key role in lifting procurement capability across the organisation and influencing sector-wide procurement strategies.

Mentor other Procurement team members to contribute to developing their procurement capability.

Salary range: $141,146 - $171,196 per annum + Kiwsaver. The successful candidate will be appointed at a salary which reflects individual skills and experience.

For more details about the role, you can view the Job Description here Lead Advisor ICT

About you | Mōhou ake

You’ll need to be adept at working in a fast-paced complex environment and be able to deal with change, so pragmatic problem solving is a must have.

You will also offer:

Experience in a complex organisation and managing significant procurement projects end-to-end.

Experience building effective relationships and partnerships to achieve shared outcomes with stakeholders.

Strong influencing and negotiations skills with both internal and external stakeholders

In-depth knowledge of and substantial experience with government procurement and with leading open tender processes

Understanding of and experience with applying the Government Procurement Rules.

Strong knowledge and experience of the practical application of current procurement good practice.

A track record of bringing people together and leading, coaching and mentoring others to achieve outcomes.

A proven ability to use data and insights to identify current and future market trends, risks and opportunities, to influence and guide organisational and system-level decision making.

Excellent interpersonal and both written and oral communication skills.

Strategic thinking and analytical capability.

High level of integrity.

A commitment to ongoing personal and professional development.

The Digital procurement team is a well trusted, diverse, and dedicated group of individuals. The Ministry offers a highly flexible, family friendly working environment with great opportunities for building capability and career progression.

The Ministry procurement team is recognised as a leader in government procurement, working closely with MBIE and other core agencies to develop the procurement function in NZ.

We welcome candidates from diverse backgrounds, including Māori, Pacific and those with disabilities, who will enrich our understanding of the education system.

As a government agency, the Ministry is committed to keeping to the Treaty of Waitangi’s guiding principles in our work for and with Māori students, their whānau, hapū and iwi

We want our people to feel valued for their unique qualities and have a sense of belonging. If you require assistance or adjustments to fully participate in the recruitment process, please let us know.