Principal Advisor Performance & Reporting

Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency; Wellington; Hybrid; NZD 110,000 - 140,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Five weeks annual leave

Life insurance

Income protection

Critical illness insurance

Job summary

Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency is seeking an experienced Principal Advisor to lead the Regulatory Group’s performance, reporting and assurance activities. This position focuses on evidence-based oversight of New Zealand’s land transport regulatory system, delivering strategic advice to senior leaders and governance bodies.

The role requires strong analytical and communication skills, the ability to influence at senior levels, and a commitment to Te Ao Māori and Te Tiriti o Waitangi within the

Qualifications

• Proven experience in performance monitoring and reporting in complex environments.
• Experience providing strategic advice to senior leaders, governance bodies and executives.
• Knowledge of regulatory or public sector accountability frameworks is preferred.

Responsibilities

• Lead regular performance reporting on the regulatory system, including risks and improvement opportunities.
• Provide objective monitoring and reporting to NZTA leadership, Regul ACTION governance bodies, and ministerial audiences.
• Deliver high-quality, evidence-based advice and briefings for senior leaders and boards.
• Engage with internal and external stakeholders to support insight sharing and practice improvement.

Skills

Performance monitoring

Reporting

Strategic advisory

Education

Tertiary qualification in relevant discipline

Job description

Bring your Principal Advisory expertise to regulatory performance and reporting Support evidence-based oversight across New Zealand’s land transport regulatory system Permanent, Full Time based in Wellington Te Whiwhinga mahi

The opportunity

We are looking for a highly experienced and dedicated Principal Advisor to join Te Rōpū Waeture – Regulatory Group as Principal Advisor, Performance and Reporting. This opportunity requires someone who is currently operating confidently at a Principal level. You will need to bring strong experience in performance monitoring, reporting, assurance, regulatory systems or public sector accountability, and a proven track record of providing strategic advice to senior leaders, governance bodies and executive audiences. You will need to deliver high-quality advice and outputs with limited ramp-up time. The role is responsible for providing objective monitoring and reporting on regulatory performance, supporting strong oversight of activities across the regulatory system, and enabling the Director of Land Transport and governance bodies to be successful in their roles.

Position Description Ko koe tēnei |

In this role, you will:

• Lead regular performance reporting on the regulatory system, providing evidence of strengths, risks and areas requiring improvement.
• Ensure robust monitoring and reporting is provided to NZTA leadership and Regulatory Governance Bodies, including Regulatory, Executive and Board audiences.
• Demonstrate experience providing strategic advice and recommendations to senior executives, Boards, governance bodies or Ministers.
• Have exceptional written, verbal and visual communication skills, with a proven ability to prepare reporting and briefings and tailor messages for Executive, Board and Ministerial audiences and ensuring outs are timely, tailored and aligned with NZTA’s strategic direction.
• Provide evidence-based insights and recommendations to senior leaders and managers on areas for improvement.
• Build and maintain strong relationships across regulatory, transport and public sector networks to support insight sharing and evidence-informed practice.
• Have highly developed stakeholder engagement and influencing skills, with a demonstrated ability to build credibility and effectively influence at senior levels.
• Champion risk-informed regulation by embedding hindsight, insight and foresight into operational and strategic decision-making.

About you

To be successful in this role, you will bring the judgement, credibility and delivery focus needed to work across complex regulatory, performance and governance environments. This opportunity will suit someone who brings:

• Proven experience leading performance monitoring and reporting in complex environments, ideally within the public or regulatory sector.
• Strong systems and strategic thinking, with the ability to anticipate impacts across a regulatory system.
• Strong critical thinking and analytical skills, including experience using relevant methodologies and analytical approaches to support performance reporting.
• Exceptional written, verbal and visual communication skills, with the ability to tailor messaging for senior leaders, external stakeholders and ministerial forums.
• Strong stakeholder engagement and influencing skills, with proven ability to build relationships across internal and external networks.
• Experience working in a regulatory environment, with a solid understanding of government systems, accountability frameworks and public sector decision-making.
• Confidence supporting assurance, monitoring, reporting or quality improvement activity in a complex organisation.
• A tertiary qualification in a relevant discipline, or equivalent experience gained through senior roles in regulatory or public service environments where performance monitoring and quality assurance were key components, is required.
• You will demonstrate knowledge of, or a willingness to gain an understanding of Te Ao Māori and promote tikanga and Te Reo Māori.
• You will also have knowledge of, or a willingness to gain an appreciation of Te Tiriti o Waitangi as it applies in the public sector.

Mō mātou | About us

Te Rōpū Waeture – Regulatory Services is the lead regulator for land transport. Its purpose is to ensure the system is safe, efficient, effective and operates in the public interest. The Regulatory Performance, Risk and Insights group provides system-wide oversight to ensure NZTA Waka Kotahi and the Director of Land Transport have a clear, evidence-based understanding of the performance, risks and outcomes of the land transport regulatory system. The Regulatory Performance, Reporting and Assurance team is responsible for monitoring regulatory performance across the land transport system, evaluating the effectiveness of interventions and providing assurance to internal and external stakeholders.

Ka whiwhi koe i te aha | What you will get in return

This is an opportunity to contribute to work that supports strong regulatory stewardship, public trust and better outcomes for Aotearoa New Zealand. You will work on meaningful, high-impact regulatory performance activity, supporting evidence-based decision-making across senior governance forums. You will also have the opportunity to work with colleagues across Regulatory Services, Organisational Performance, Enterprise Risk and Assurance, and wider public sector partners.

Benefits

• From five weeks’ annual leave through to Life, Income Protection and Critical Illness Insurance for our permanent employees, you will be well looked after here.
• Our benefits are designed to support our people and provide a happy, healthy and high-performing environment.

Rā Katinga | Applications close: 20 September 2026

For further information, email: [e-mail]

To be considered for this position you must have a legal right to live and work in New Zealand.

Waka Kotahi is an equal opportunity employer (EOE). We recognise the importance of diversity and inclusion and are committed to providing a working environment that embraces these values.

Please let us know if you need any support or have any access requirements that will help you through the recruitment process.

Please note that we may begin shortlisting as we receive applications.

We encourage early applications as we may withdraw the advertising at any time.

Ko wai mātou | About us

At Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency, it all starts with our people. The organisation's performance and success depends on the people who choose to make this a great place to work and make a difference for Aotearoa. Waka Kotahi has a strong future focus, understanding that new technologies and changing customer expectations mean the transport system we know today will not be the one we deliver in ten years time.