POSITION DESCRIPTION
TITLE: Head of Strategic Policy and Resilience
VACANCY NO: (applicable for recruitment only)
UNIT: Strategic Policy and Resilience
GROUP: Strategic Policy & Performance
REPORTS TO: Assistant Chief Executive, Strategic
DIRECT and INDIRECT REPORTS: approx. 1-5 (approx.
Policy and Performance
20-30 indirect)
LOCATION: Any Council Location
DATE: November 2021
Purpose of the position:
This position leads the development and delivery of strategic advice to support Council’s strategic framework,
policy and regulatory agenda, anticipating and responding to external trends and opportunities. The role provides
robust strategic thinking, analysis, and policy and implementation advice to decision makers and stakeholders,
working collaboratively inside and external to Council. The role includes:
Ensuring that Council’s policy frameworks and strategies evolve to reflect changing circumstances and
requirements and are aligned to agreed strategic outcomes and priorities.
Leading the development of Council’s 30 year Infrastructure and Climate Resilience Strategies and
implementation plans and other large, complex projects where sound technical knowledge, judgement on
policy areas and stakeholder engagement and collaboration are required.
Preparing for significant policy and legislative change and collaborative initiatives relating to Government
reform agendas and under the Greater Christchurch Partnership umbrella.
Quality assuring strategies, policies and plans with sound knowledge and experience in all strategic policy areas
in particular asset, resilience, environmental and sustainability matters.
The role will also lead and drive improvements to the asset management frameworks, processes, systems and
data to ensure consistency and integration of all asset management and planning activity into the organisation.
Ensuring that operational policy development undertaken in other units is aligned strategically.
General:
As an employee of the Council you are required to:
Respond to the changing needs of the Council, performing other tasks as reasonably required.
Maintain a strict sense of professional ethics, maintaining confidentiality and privacy as per the Privacy Act and
abiding by Council Policy.
Be responsible for meeting the provisions of the Public Records Act 2005 (PRA) and the Local Government
Official Information and Meetings Act 1987 (LGOIMA) in respect of Council information, and for following related
Christchurch City Council policies and processes.
Be associated, as required, with
CIVIL DEFENCE or any exercise that might be organised in relation to this
council function.
Assist, support and respond to, as reasonably required, any event where the Business Continuity Plan is
activated.
Key Areas of Accountability
Leadership
Own and demonstrate the vision and values of the Council and provide clear and
inspiring leadership to all staff.
Strategic Policy & Performance Group
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Key Areas of Accountability
Provide direction, empower, motivate and develop others in order to achieve team,
business group and organisational goals securing a positive outcome for the people of
Christchurch.
Embrace and role model Council’s new collaborative, community-centric and
responsive ways of working to ensure they become embedded within your team, unit
and across Council.
Ensure that people policy and practices are consistently implemented and observed
and that opportunities exist at all levels for ongoing professional growth and
development.
Lead team members to ensure a high-performance culture and address any issues
impacting team or individual performance in accordance with relevant policies.
Be an effective, consultative, and proactive member of the senior leaders.
Have a ‘visible’ presence within your team, the wider Council and with external
stakeholders. Role model clear, open and professional communication.
Engage and collaborate with Elected Members, providing quality oral and written
advice, supporting them in their roles and providing relevant and timely
communications.
Represent the Council, ELT and senior leaders as required, or as requested by the Chief
Executive. Act as a spokesperson for your functional area including with media as
appropriate and as authorised.
Champion an open and transparent culture to reflect the intent of the Local
Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987.
As a senior leader you will be self-aware and able to regulate your behaviours and
actions, take an empathic approach to dealing with challenging staff issues, remain
motivated under all situations and utilise appropriate humour to help create an
enjoyable work environment.
Ensure professional legal services are delivered in line with NZ Law Society Code of
Conduct, lead and manage the legal service team to achieve productive and efficient
workflow through people, process, and information and technology systems. This
includes optimising the timeliness, service cost, quality of advice and customer
satisfaction in accordance with service delivery protocols
Treaty
Demonstrate a commitment to and respect for Te Tiriti o Waitangi and incorporate
Relationships
into your and your team’s daily work the principles of being a good Treaty partner.
Undertake and encourage your teams to undertake professional development and
practice in Te Tiriti o Waitangi, the Māori Relationship and diversity and inclusion.
Identify opportunities to demonstrate inclusiveness and diversity across your team.
Strategic &
Work with Councillors, key stakeholders and across the Council to develop and
Operational Policy,
articulate the Council’s strategic direction to anticipate and respond to customer and
Advice and
community needs and aspirations
Management
Integrate agreed strategic directions into appropriate policy frameworks to guide the
operational activities of the Council organisation in collaboration with other Council
Groups and Units.
Ensure evidence informed advice is provided to support the Chief Executive and
Council in the development of Long-term plans and Annual Plan, strategic plans and
other policy statements.
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Key Areas of Accountability
Ensure your function’s strategic direction & plans align at all times with that of the
Council and Local Government Act and work actively, agilely, and cooperatively to
swiftly resolve or address strategic or operational disconnects between teams or
Groups.
Ensure data, information and intelligence gathering systems are established and that
robust and evidence based policy analysis and policy advice on issues facing Council
including national, regional and local context trends, risks and potential solutions.
Lead major policy and implementation development including Infrastructure Strategy,
Climate Resilience Strategy, in alignment with Council planning processes, securing
buy-in and establishing accountability and reporting frameworks.
Responsible for the overall development and management of Council bylaw and other
policy and regulatory framework development in conjunction with relevant general
managers and heads of units.
Work collaboratively with Council’s asset owning and service delivery units to design
strategy, policy information and advice to enable successful operational outcomes.
Maintain knowledge of trends and changes in the professional and specialist areas of
local government planning, infrastructure and assets, climate change, resilience and
policy development.
Lead a centre of excellence for policy advice and implement agreed industry
standard/best practice methodologies for policy development and advice.
Oversee asset management framework and functions to ensure they align to the
Infrastructure Strategy and are informed by policy development.
Sponsor projects, establish and provide direction, leadership and advice to the
Assistant Chief Executive, and Executive Leadership Team.
Asset Management
Ensure that the implementation of Council’s 30 year Infrastructure and Climate
Leadership
Resilience Strategies reflects appropriate asset management planning, ensuring
through collaboration, coaching, support and reporting, that asset managers, and
other leaders in the organisation, are engaged and deliver their components.
In consultation with asset owners, oversee the development of the LTP delivery
framework for vertical and infrastructure asset management, monitoring and
reporting on exceptions and opportunities for additional value add; ensuring
performance and accountability frameworks are in place to monitor progress.
Lead and develop best practice in the Council’s understanding of asset management
and resilience principles, integrating them and evolving climate change impacts and
mitigations into business processes and systems, within the umbrella of the
Infrastructure Strategy;
Ensure that organisation-wide frameworks relating to asset management such as risk
assessment and monitoring, financial benefits and valuation are developed in
collaboration with relevant functional areas such as Risk and Finance;
Ensuring that asset data and information management strategies and systems are
established and that appropriate programmes of work are implemented to deliver
consistent, integrated information;
Lead programmes of change that drive improvements across Council and the
management of its assets;
Work collaboratively with asset owners to deliver successful outcomes through clear
roles, responsibilities, reporting, monitoring and assurance;
Ensure that overall quality assurance processes are in place to provide comfort to
management, elected members and communities that Council’s guardianship of
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Key Areas of Accountability
assets is appropriate, professional, financially robust and in accordance with best
practice principles.
Change Leadership
Proactively look for continual opportunities to improve the performance culture,
services, operations systems, and processes of the Council to benefit the communities
it serves.
Lead and support organisational transformation. Encouraging a culture of innovation
and continuous improvement.
Climate Resilience
Provide leadership and advocacy to drive the implementation of Kia Turoa te Ao –
Otautahi Christchurch Climate Resilience Strategy, to embed greater climate resilience
throughout the organisation and beyond.
Develop the centre of excellence and drive learning and development across Council
units
Customer &
Drive a customer and community centred approach to decision making and service
Community Focus
delivery.
Partnerships and
Develop and maintain sound and mutually respectful working relationships, networks
Collaboration
and partnerships with key stakeholders both locally and nationally, including
counterparts in other government agencies, and business and industry
representatives, NGO’s & Community.
Understand the community and local setting and be able to establish and maintain
strong engagement from municipal leaders, city residents, and key stakeholders.
Address differences and conflict issues with internal and external stakeholders and
identify constructive solutions.
Serve as primary point of contact for the 100 Resilient Cities membership and relevant
Climate Resilience partnerships, ensuring that monitoring and reporting are
undertaken as required
Risk Management
Build collective understanding and “buy in” of risk management.
Take a proactive and open approach to risk management and resolution, collaborating
across teams and Groups to identify and manage risks cohesively and well.
Promote and role model a ‘no surprises’ approach to escalate and share any
significant risks.
Health & Safety
Promote a culture of wellbeing across all levels of the Council.
Responsible for providing a safe work environment, implementing Council health and
safety systems, encouraging employee participation and striving for continuous
improvement in health and safety including utilising the reporting of near misses to
promote continuous improvement.
Budget
Accountable and responsible for developing robust advice on investment decisions.
Pursue value for money (VfM) from all activities undertaken within your function and
across Council, regardless of the method of funding.
Accountable and responsible for managing a budget of $TBC.
Delegations
Delegated authority is as per the Register of Delegations on the Christchurch City
Council website
Key Relationships/Customers:
Internal
Nature of the Relationship
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Chief Executive and wider Executive Leadership Team
Seek and provides advice, share information.
Assistant Chief Executive Strategic Policy &
Reports to, seek and provide advice, share information.
Performance
Fellow Leaders & Heads of Service
Peers, provide information and support openly and
transparently, work in close liaison on strategic and
operational goals as a united and cohesive team.
Wider Council Organisation team leaders and members
Provide leadership, information and support and foster
openness, transparency, collaboration, and cross-
functionality.
Mayor, Councillors and Community Board members,
Provide quality oral and written advice, support, and
engagement to build collaboration and improve
outcomes.
Multi-disciplinary teams
Contributes to, fosters collaboration and cross-
functionality.
Internal services, (I.E. HR, finance, I.T, legal, comms,
Seeks and provides advice, share information. Adopts
procurement…..)
frameworks and processes established by these
functions.
External
Nature of the Relationship
Industry Groups
Interface between business groups and Council.
Vendors & Private Business Owners
Interface between business and Council. Provide and
exchange information and services e.g. contracted
external legal advisers to Establish and manage
relationships and to instruct external lawyers as
required.
Residents and Ratepayers
Provide information and liaise with. Primary customer
relationship.
Other Local Authorities
Establish and manage relationships in order to share
knowledge, coordinate consistency in approach.
Crown entities
Establish and manage relationships in order to provide
advice for Crown / Council projects and initiatives
Ngāi Tahu and Rūnanga
Establish and manage relationships in order to provide
and gain advice.
Formal Qualifications and Training
Required
Desirable
A relevant degree in policy/management, engineering, social science, economics
and/or planning
Demonstrable practice to keep knowledge up to date and relevant
Strategic Policy & Performance Group
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Key Experience/Knowledge/Skills/Competencies
Required
Desirable
At least 12 years of relevant industry experience, including at least 5 years' experience
in a similar role in a large scale/complex organisation; operating at a strategic level
Experience and knowledge of developing and leading people, process and
information and technology systems within relevant delivery environment.
Ability to build, maintain and leverage relationships with key internal and external
contacts, including with leaders across business and political environments
Practical experience in financial management and budgetary control, including
oversight of the monitoring and reporting of programme and project financial
progress
Demonstrated experience of achieving results and managing the performance of
projects.
A working knowledge of key legislation relevant to the role. E.g. Local Government
Act, Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Act, and ability to identify and utilize key
legislation that may impact on the role from time to time e.g. Health Act, Prostitution
Reform Act, etc.)
Leadership: Motivating and empowering self and others.
Creates an engaging environment where people want to do their best.
Is a visible leader engaging with people inside the organisation and externally.
Supports people, at all levels, to be empowered and accountable.
Tailors leadership style to the situation and has a range of persuasion and
influencing techniques.
Creates a safe and healthy work environment, characterised by genuine staff
involvement and ownership.
Strategic Focus: Anticipating the changing requirements of customers and
communities.
Sets the direction of the organisation and creates alignment to the Council’s
strategic framework.
Ensures Groups and Units maintain alignment to the Council's strategic
framework and organisational vision and goals.
Interprets complex information and creates open discussion to form business
plans, goals, and priorities.
Considers external factors and scenarios which may affect the
unit/group/organisation in future.
Working Collaboratively: Working together within and across the organisation
Takes a visible, lead role in driving cooperation and collaboration between units
and groups.
Supports and enables multi-disciplinary teams to work together to get things
done.
Encourages dialogue to remove barriers between teams, units and groups.
Builds effective relationships between Elected Members and the organisation.
Customer Focus: Focusing on our internal and external customers.
Ensures teams/units/groups and organisation stay focused on the agreed
customer priorities.
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Key Experience/Knowledge/Skills/Competencies
Required
Desirable
Creates an environment where effective relationships with customers and
communities are developed, maintained and encouraged.
Includes customer and service focused outcomes in strategies, organisation wide
planning and policy making.
Partnership & Consultation: Working with our stakeholders to encourage
contribution and involvement.
Enables and facilitates multi-stakeholder groups to reach agreement.
Builds a wide network of constructive, effective external networks/relationships.
Evaluates performance of relationship with stakeholders to inform future
working practices.
Negotiates to achieve positive win-win outcomes skilfully and effectively working
through complex conflict and disagreements.
Ensures transparency and sound research-driven approach to consultation.
Uses knowledge and understanding of cultures, political environment and issues
to influence successful outcomes.
Communication: Sharing information, ideas and suggestions.
Ensures relevant organisation wide perspectives, information, strategy and plans
are disseminated.
Communicates strategic/complex information in a way that can easily be
understood.
Opens up cross-organisational communication and eliminates silos.
Actively encourages feedback/ideas/suggestions from all levels and provides
opportunities for this to occur.
Embracing Change: Initiating and being part of change.
Creates an environment where curiosity, ideas and continuous improvement is
encouraged.
Initiates and drives strategic change which enables better delivery for the group
and organisation.
Plans change taking all factors into account.
Champions change through implementation and into business as usual.
Monitors the amount and pace of business change and takes appropriate action.
Focus on Results: Delivering what has been agreed and celebrating
outcomes/results.
Maintains commitment and focus on what has been agreed.
Creates a climate where high performance is enabled and results can be
delivered.
Encourages the sharing of progress and achievements across
unit/group/organisation.
Takes calculated risks in order to enable the delivery of better results.
Strategic Policy & Performance Group
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POSITION DESCRIPTION
How the position fits into the organisation:
Chief Executive
Principal Advisor Ngai
Tahu Relationships
Head of Risk & Assurance
Team Leader Executive
Support
General Manager
General Manager
Infrastructure,
General Manager
Assistant Chief
Resources
Planning & Regulatory
Citizens & Community
Executive Strategic
Services
Policy & Performance
Head of Strategic Policy
& Resilience
Strategic Policy and Performance
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