Senior Advisor – Business Planning & Reporting | Kaitohutohu Matua - Te Whakamahere Kaipakihi & Te Whakapūrongo

• Permanent, full time
• Wellington based (will consider Auckland for the right candidate)

This is a unique opportunity to shape enterprise planning at scale, work with enthusiastic and competent planning professionals across the organisation and contribute to modernising how New Zealand’s official statistics and census work are planned and delivered.

About Us | Ko mātou  

Stats NZ | Tatauranga Aotearoa is a Central Government employer of 1200+ people across Aotearoa. We provide data and statistics to support the decisions of Government, Māori and Iwi organisations, businesses, NGOs, and New Zealanders. Our work is About Aotearoa, for Aotearoa - data that improves lives today and for generations to come. We welcome every gender, ethnicity, ability, religion, age, and background and encourage all our people to be their authentic selves.  

What's in it for you? | Ngā hua ka riro ki a koe  

We encourage you to go to our careers site to learn more about the Way We Work at Stats NZ and also check out our benefits. We want working for us… to work for you!! 

Salary: $96,307 - $113,303 + superannuation  

Other benefits of joining Stats NZ include: 

• Balance life and work commitments  
• Develop and grow your career (lead projects and initiatives) 
• Contribute to meaningful work that makes a difference to all people in Aotearoa  
• State of the art, 6-star green building in Wellington  
• A supportive, and collaborative working environment where you can be yourself 
• Opportunities to join various social groups and networks 

The role | Te tūnga   

The Senior Advisor – Planning and Reporting provides expert support to develop and monitor Stats NZ’s annual and multi-year business planning. Reporting to the Senior Manager Planning and Reporting, and working closely with the Principal Advisor Planning and Reporting, Senior Leaders and Business Planning Leads, this role develops and consolidates group and business plans into single, structured rolling planning and reporting cycles . The Senior Advisor ensures plans are aligned with the organisation’s core outputs, strategy, and resourcing, maintains a strategic financial overview to support prioritisation decisions, and translates complex information into clear planning products and briefings to support actionable advice for ELT and governance. Building trusted relationships, creating engaging narratives and delivering through others are central to success in this visible, high-impact role. 

In this role you will:

• Support and deliver the annual business planning process, integrating transformation activities, core functional strategies and operational plans across Stats NZ.
• Support the development and maintenance of planning tools and technology (Power BI, advanced Excel modelling, SharePoint, Teams, Power Automate) to consolidate planning inputs into a single, accessible framework.
• Maintain a strategic financial overview to inform investment prioritisation, resource allocation and cost-driver understanding.
• Produce practical, timely advice and reporting for ELT and governance bodies, including quarterly accountability monitoring and reforecast support.
• Support the development of performance measures and reporting frameworks to enable efficient planning, prioritisation, and monitoring of enterprise-wide activities.
• Build capability in planning leads and partners across Deputy Chief Executive portfolios and collaborate closely with Finance and People & Culture.

What you bring | Nōu te rourou   

• A tertiary qualification (or equivalent experience) and at least five years’ experience in planning and reporting, preferably within the public sector.
• You have excellent stakeholder engagement and presentation skills, and you can translate complex information into clear, decision-ready narratives and practical planning products.
• You are highly competent with Microsoft planning and reporting tools, and you operate comfortably across both technical detail and strategic intent, balancing “big picture” thinking with disciplined delivery.
• You are a collaborative, delivery-focused practitioner who builds trusted relationships and gets things done.
• Business Analyst experience is desirable, to support efficient process design and continuous improvement of the planning ecosystem.
• Knowledge and experience, or desire to learn about Te Tiriti, Tikanga, Te Reo and Te Ao Māori
• Have demonstrated, encouraged, or supported diversity and inclusion in or outside of work.

We are committed to diversity, equity, inclusion and lifting our cultural capability. You don't need to be knowledgeable in all these areas already, but you do need to be on board with learning and have a genuine interest and willingness to grow on this journey with us. 

Tell us about yourself in your cover letter, what attracted you to this role, and what you would bring to Stats NZ. 

How to apply | Me pēhea te tuku tono   

If this sounds like you, click on the Apply now button to be redirected to the application page on our careers site. The position description is located on the right-hand side of the page. 

We will be screening applications as we receive them to move swiftly to interview. Please let us know in your application if we need to make any specific accommodations during our process. 

Please reach out to recruitment@stats.govt.nz  if you have any questions.  

You must have a valid work permit or visa to live and work in Aotearoa New Zealand. Background and various pre-employment checks are part of our recruitment process.

Note to Recruitment Agencies: unsolicited CVs will not be accepted.