Senior Advisor – Capability Development

New Zealand Government; Wellington; On-site; NZD 120,000 - 128,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical Insurance

Kiwisaver contributions

Additional leave

Childcare allowance

Career growth opportunities

Job summary

New Zealand Government is seeking a Senior Advisor – Capability Development in Wellington to drive strategic workforce evolution across the intelligence community. You will lead discovery, design and evaluation of capability-building initiatives that align with national security objectives.

You will collaborate with senior leaders to create learning pathways, map critical skills, and develop progression tools to attract, engage and retain specialised talent.

Qualifications

• Experience with Learning & Development roles and the ADDIE model (or similar).
• Strategic track record partnering with senior leaders to align learning outcomes with organisational goals.
• Mastery in creating competency frameworks and mapping skills to complex roles.
• Ability to apply evaluation methodologies and data visualisation to measure impact.
• Experience managing projects or programmes within complex, multi‑agency environments.

Responsibilities

• Lead discovery, design, and evaluation of capability-building initiatives aligned with national intelligence objectives.
• Partner with senior leaders to design learning pathways and progression tools.
• Map critical skills to ensure operational effectiveness and talent retention.

Skills

ADDIE experience

Strategic mindset

Competency frameworks

Data visualization

Project / programme delivery

Job description

Secure our future by developing our people, an exciting pivotal role that will provide strategic partnership across both GCSB and NZSIS to ensure our workforce remains resilient, skilled, and future-ready. Mō te tūranga mahi – about the role You will lead the discovery, design, and evaluation of capability‑building initiatives that directly align with our national intelligence and security objectives. This isn't just about training; it is about strategic workforce evolution. You will partner with senior leaders to design learning pathways, develop progression tools, and map critical skills to ensure our operational effectiveness. Using evidence-based evaluation and rigorous learning needs analysis, you will drive targeted solutions that help us attract, engage, and retain the specialist talent essential for safeguarding New Zealand.

Ko wai koe – about you You will be a proactive L&D professional who thrives on turning learning needs into engaging, learner‑centric solutions and can partner confidently with stakeholders and third‑party vendors.

What you will bring:

• Proven experience: in a Learning & Development role, with a deep understanding of the ADDIE model (or similar).
• Strategic Mindset: A proven track record of partnering with senior executives to align learning outcomes with organisational goals.
• Technical Expertise: Mastery in creating competency frameworks and mapping skills to complex role requirements.
• Analytical Rigour: The ability to use evaluation methodologies and data visualisation to measure the real-world impact of learning on performance.
• Delivery: Experience managing projects or programmes within complex, multi-agency environments.

The expected appointing range for this position is $120,359 - $128,383.

Why join us? Alongside getting to work with other talented people, we also offer a range of comprehensive benefits which include:

• Medical Insurance and Vision Care packages
• Enhanced employer contributions to your Kiwisaver
• Generous Leave benefits, including additional paid days off and enhanced sick and parental leave
• Childcare allowance for your preschoolersOpportunities for personal and professional growth and career pathways across the intelligence community
• Great work-life balance

If you thrive on collaboration, love turning ideas into measurable results, and want to grow your expertise in a supportive, forward‑thinking environment, we want to hear from you!

Before you apply Working within our unique environment means we have to ensure you're eligible for employment. You must:

• Have been a New Zealand Citizen for at least 10 years OR hold a current NZ Residency Class Visa and ideally have been a citizen of the UK, USA, Canada or Australia for at least 10 years, AND
• Be eligible to obtain a Top Secret Special (TSS) security clearance
• Ordinarily, this means you'll have a 15 year checkable background in countries NZSIS Vetting can make meaningful and reliable checks.

Still unsure? Use this online tool to self-check your eligibility for a TSS security clearance: http://www.protectivesecurity.govt.nz/eligibility-tool

The NZIC treats all applications for employment in the strictest confidence and we expect that you maintain a similar level of confidentiality during the recruitment process and throughout your career. We’ll provide you with information and tips throughout the recruitment process, but in the meantime check out our tips on applying and the security clearance process here. You can also learn more about our work and understand our areas of focus by reading New Zealand's Security Threat Environment | New Zealand Security Intelligence Service.

Senior Advisor – Capability Development • Wellington, Wellington - Wairarapa, NZ