POSITION DESCRIPTION

Position:Human Resources Director, Business Partnership

Location:National Office, Wellington

Business Unit:Human Resources

Group:People Capability and Resources

Reporting to:General Manager Human Resources

Issue Date:September 2014

Delegated Authority:Human Resources / Financial

Staff Responsibility:Yes

The Ministry of Social Development (MSD) is the lead agency for the social sector. We help the Government to set priorities across the sector, co-ordinate the actions of other social sector agencies and track changes in the social wellbeing of New Zealanders.

The Ministry provides policy advice, and delivers social services and assistance to children and young people, working age people, older people, and families, whānau and communities. We work directly with New Zealanders of all ages to improve their social wellbeing.

We serve over a million people, working out of more than 250 centres around the country. It is likely that every New Zealander will come into contact with the Ministry at some point in their life.

Our work, together with our social sector partners, is essential to achieving a sustainable and prosperous future, where all New Zealanders are able to take responsibility for themselves, be successful in their lives and participate in their communities.

Our Purpose

We help New Zealanders to help themselves to be safe, strong and independent.

Ko ta mātou he whakamana tangata kia tū haumaru, kia tū kaha, kia tū motuhake.

Our Principles

MSD people: All own what we all do | Take responsibility for what we do | Understand our role in the big picture, who can help us and who we can help | Navigate through ambiguity and the opportunity it brings to create better ways of doing things | Act with integrity, courage and transparency | Celebrate our achievements and those of our clients.

PositionDescriptionApprovedBy:

______
Deputy Chief Executive, People, Capability and Resources
Date: ……/……/……
Group: People, Capability and Resources (PCaR), together with the Corporate and Governance and Risk and Assurance groups, form the Corporate Centre which supports the Ministry’s operating model and frontline services, promotes collaboration and collective leadership and gives the Leadership Team clear oversight of the Ministry. PCaR provides essential support to the whole Ministry for all the work that it does in the areas of Finance, Human Resources (HR), Information Technology (IT), Insights MSD, Procurement, Workplace Services, Information Services, Legal Services, Information Security and the Property Management Centre of Excellence. It has a strong focus on smart solutions, “backing the business to win”, sustainability and value for money.
Business Unit: The role of the Human Resources (HR) Team is to ensure that the Ministry has the organisation, people and culture capable to deliver on the Government’s outcomes and priorities. HR provides high level strategic advice and support to the Chief Executive and the Leadership Team to ensure that effective HR strategies are developed and properly integrated into all business strategies and plans.
HR is also responsible for the design and delivery of a range of Ministry-wide HR policies, operational HR processes and systems aimed at ensuring that managers have access to the best possible advice, support and systems to lead, motivate, develop and manage their people.
The Ministry is a complex and diverse organisation and it is the biggest Public Service employer. The provision of best practice HR advice and services to client managers is critical if the HR team is to retain its position as a public sector benchmark.
HR is structured into the following key areas:
  • Human Resources Strategy and Policy
  • HR Strategy and Policy
  • Remuneration Strategy
  • Employee Relations Strategy
  • Organisational Development
  • HR Shared Services
  • Payroll and HR Systems
  • HR Business Advisory
  • HR Consultancy
  • Recruitment
  • HR Reporting and Analysis
  • Business Partnership
  • People Capability and Resources; Corporate and Governance; Social Policy and Knowledge; Chief Policy Advisor; Risk and Assurance
  • Work and Income incorporating Students, Seniors and Integrity Services
  • Child, Youth and Family; Community Investment; Children’s Action Plan.
Purpose of the Position: The Human Resources Director, Business Partnership(HRDBP) will provide strategic thinking and leadership in the design, development, implementation and articulation of workforce strategy and organisational design, including managing organisational change and people capability/development strategies to ensure that the designated business groups are aligned to the Ministry’s operating model, and achieve their strategic outcomes and business plan goals.
In addition, the HRDBP will support the Ministry’s desire to be a great employer, will ensure the framework and foundation of our people related policies, procedures, practices and services (including:may lead and manage service line learning and development activities where appropriate) are maximised within the designated business groups, and will anticipate and mitigate people risks across the whole organisation.
As member of the designated business groups’ senior management teams, the HRDBP will contribute to the business group’s strategies, turn strategy into practice, and provide advice and a consultancy service to the management teams.
The HRDBP, as a key member of the HR senior management team, will promote and contribute to the achievement of Ministry-wide outcomes, the Ministry’s people-centred, four-year strategic priorities, and whole of MinistryHR strategies and policies. The HRDBP is a critical and important link between HR and the Ministry’s business groups.

Working Relationships

Internal:

  • General Manager Human Resources
  • Deputy Chief Executives of designated business groups
  • Other members of the Ministry’s Leadership Team
  • HR Strategy and Policy and HR Shared Services Teams
  • Members of the designated groups’ senior management teams and peers
  • Line managers and other Ministry staff.

External:

  • Central agencies and other government organisations, particularly the State Services Commission
  • Relevant Crown entities, other agencies and associations
  • HR professionals in both the public and private sectors
  • Union officials (including PSA and NUPE) as necessary.

Key Accountabilities:

Key Result Area / Accountabilities
HR Strategy and Advice /
  • Work with the Deputy Chief Executives and senior managers in the designated business groups to develop and clearly articulate long range workforce strategies and plans to ensure HR initiatives, strategies and programmes of work support the organisational outcomes
  • Develop HR strategic and business plans consistent with the whole of Ministry strategies and those of the designated business groups, and ensure their effective implementation
  • ProvideHR leadership to the management teams by keeping fully informed and aware of wider HR trends and developments
  • Member of the designated service line/corporate senior management teams;actively contributing to the success of each team.

HR Services /
  • Provide appropriate, professional, expert and timely advice and support on HR matters to the designated business groups’ Deputy Chief Executives and management teams
  • Lead and manage the provision of high quality HR customer service, analysis, and advice within the designated business groups using best practice approaches, knowledge of the organisation, and key MSD HR processes
  • Ensure effective delivery of HR operational support in partnership with HR Shared Services
  • Provide a sound business-focused HR service by understanding the context in which the designated business groups are working
  • Lead and manage service line specific learning and development initiatives and activities where appropriate
  • Use knowledge, expertise and experience to define and understand issues and to identify and anticipate customer needs
  • Develop and maintain quality assurance systems to enable the monitoring and evaluation of HR customer service and delivery
  • Enable the Deputy Chief Executives, senior managers and other clients to achieve HR related business objectives and outcomes through coaching and mentoring
  • Ensure line ownership of HR initiatives and encourage leaders to act as role models in implementing the initiatives
  • Ensure all people risks within the designated business groups are well managed for the Deputy Chief Executives, and that all parties are aware of the relevant risk mitigation strategies.

HR Projects / Change Management /
  • Lead and manage key HR change projects as part of delivering the designated business groups’ workforce strategies and HR plans
  • Develop terms of reference and project plans in line with the Ministry's project management methodology
  • Prepare the business for the transition to new ways of working especially in terms of new HR systems and processes
  • Manage the HR change and communication process to ensure initiatives are well understood and supported, agreed milestones and targets are met, and risks are actively managed
  • Ensure the early identification of issues and risks so that project goals are met
  • Work with HR staff to successfully implement, and evaluate HR projects.

People Development /
  • Assist the designated business groups to create a performance and development culture based on the Ministry-wide and business groups’ values
  • Ensure organisational development strategies and plans are in place across the designated business groups
  • Ensure leaders optimise the development and potential of their people to create a succession pipeline through the effective use of talent management, L&D and career development actions
  • Lead key organisational development initiatives for the Deputy Chief Executives
  • Enable compliance with HR policies and practices throughout the designated business groups.

Employee Relations /
  • Ensurethat managers seek timely advice and support from the wider HR group on employee relations issues.
  • Encourage the designated business groups to develop effective relationships with employees and their representatives.

Management and Reporting /
  • Manage and report on allocated HR budget, finances and resource utilisation and identify and report on critical budget variances
  • Report on progress against projects as required
  • Work with the designated business groups’ Deputy Chief Executives to prepare, negotiate and establish appropriate resource allocation and associated budgets for the individual business groups
  • Seek out cost savings and efficiencies and use continuous improvement to enhance achievement of HR related goals
  • Use delegated financial authority where appropriate
  • Ensure reporting and audit standards are met in all aspects of work.

Stakeholder Management /
  • Assist the General Manager Human Resources to identify, build and manage relationships as well as maintaining effective associations with internal and external stakeholders, such as:
­The SSC and government departments
­Representative unions, including the PSA
­Key internal stakeholder managers (Leadership Team, GMs).
HR Team Leadership and People Development /
  • Actively contribute to the Ministry’s HR strategy, planning and implementation programmes
  • Work as an integral part of the HR senior management team to contribute positively to the overall effectiveness of the HR group and the achievement of its objectives
  • Develop and maintain open, constructive, collaborative and collegial working relationships with HR colleagues
  • The HRDBP will create a high performance and development culture within their team and:
­ensure learning and development strategies, and plans are in place
­actively coach, mentor and support direct reports
­maximise team engagement
­build team capability and ensure successors are developed.
Risk Management /
  • Identify any organisational risks and take action to minimise their impact
  • Effectively manage risks and establish and maintain a risk management framework.

Health and Safety /
  • Ensure health and safety procedures, policies and practices are implemented, followed and understood by all staff
  • Complete Health and Safety scheduler tasks within specified timeframes and ensures evidence appropriately filed in the site health and safety folder.

Technical/Professional Knowledge and Experience
  • Outstanding knowledge and experience of HR strategic planning and implementation
  • Extensive change management/project management experience
  • Experience at senior HR management level, preferably with exposure to strategic workforce design and planning
  • Understanding of the implications of employment law and the State sector operating environment
  • Wide ranging business knowledge and experience within a large complex organisation, preferably has worked in areas other than HR at some point in career
  • Demonstrated ability to plan and manage large scale programmes of work and deliver on outcomes within agreed timeframes and budget
  • Relevant tertiary qualification(or equivalent).
Attributes/Success Factors
  • Excellent leadership skills combined with a drive for results
  • Strong partnership building, negotiation and influencing skills
  • Exercises sound judgement and political sensitivity
  • Analytical capability
  • Flexible, adaptable and pragmatic
  • High integrity
  • Welcomes and values diversity, and contributes to collaborative and inclusive working environment where differences are acknowledged and respected.
Other Requirements
  • Willing to travel occasionally to fulfil job requirements
  • Under the State Sector Act, the Ministry is responsible for developing its senior leadership and management capability. Therefore, the Human Resources Director, Business Partnership may, from time to time be required to rotate or be reassigned to a different position within the Ministry to:
­meet changing departmental needs
­broaden the HRDBP’s skills and experience
­develop the HRDBP’s ability to fill different roles.
Human Resources Director, Business Partnership / 1