Principal Advisor - Transformation

About UsThe Ministry for Cities, Environment, Regions and Transport (MCERT) takes a long-term view of how New Zealand’s towns, cities and regions grow and change. We work across housing, transport, the environment, urban development, infrastructure and investment, and partner closely with local government.

MCERT is leading the implementation of the Planning System Transformation Programme, a significant, long-term programme to support the shift to a new planning system. The transformation will affect a wide range of people and organisations across the planning system and requires practical, coordinated change support.

About the role

We’re looking for an experienced Transformation Lead to join the People, Readiness and Change function within the programme and help deliver a practical, well-managed transition for the people and organisations that will work within the new system. This is a fixed term / secondment role to 30 June 2028.

This is a senior, hands-on change management role. You’ll lead and deliver work across the programme, identifying change impacts, assessing people readiness, capability, support needs and adoption, and supporting delivery. Working across a complex programme, you will be leading change planning within multidisciplinary delivery teams to make sure change activity is planned, coordinated and delivered at the right time.

You will bring strategic thinking and a system perspective to the work, while remaining firmly focused on delivery.

What you’ll do

Leading and delivering change management from early analysis and preparation through to implementation, transition and adoption, you will:

• identify and validate change impacts and translate these into the change activity needed for affected groups
• build and enable people readiness, identifying gaps and delivering the activity needed to prepare people and organisations for transition
• develop and deliver practical change and transition plans aligned with wider initiative delivery plans
• drive and integrate the engagement and communications needed to support change, working closely with specialist teams and functions
• work with specialists to identify capability and learning needs and ensure the right responses are developed and delivered
• design practical support so affected people and organisations have what they need through the transition to the new planning system
• identify and manage change risks, issues and dependencies, including the cumulative impact of other changes across the system
• actively support adoption, using readiness measures, feedback and evidence to respond to emerging needs and adjust change activity
• bring change expertise and a system perspective to planning and decision-making, identifying wider impacts, dependencies and readiness considerations.

You will work closely with colleagues across the People, Readiness and Change function and wider programme to bring the right expertise together to deliver coordinated and practical change.

What we’re looking for

We’re looking for a highly experienced change practitioner with a strong track record of leading and delivering complex change. You will be experienced in applying an established change approach and methodology in a practical way, using your judgement to make sure the right change activity happens at the right time and adjusting delivery as impacts, readiness and delivery needs evolve.

You will bring:

• significant experience leading and delivering change in complex transformation, reform or programme environments
• strong practical experience across change impacts, people readiness, engagement and communications, capability and learning, transition, support and adoption
• experience working as part of multidisciplinary teams and integrating change management into delivery
• strong system thinking, with the ability to understand connections, dependencies and wider change impacts
• the ability to work effectively across multiple priorities and maintain momentum in an evolving environment
• excellent collaboration and relationship skills across different disciplines, organisations and stakeholder groups
• sound judgement and the ability to turn complexity into clear, practical action
• confidence working with senior leaders and with the people and organisations directly affected by change
• strong communication and facilitation skills.

Ideally, you'll also have

• Experience working within government, public sector reform, or large-scale transformation programmes.
• Experience working across multiple organisations, agencies or system partners.

Why join us?

This is an opportunity to contribute to a once-in-a-generation reform programme that will have lasting impact across New Zealand. Help shape the future of how communities, environments, and regions are supported across New Zealand. Bring your expertise, curiosity, and passion for transformation, and help us turn reform into reality.

Apply now

Apply directly by completing the online application form and submit your CV and cover letter. Note: your cover letter will be a key part of our assessment process, so please highlight how your experience relates to the key skills required for this role.

For more information on this role contact Sally Morison via email sally.morison@mcert.govt.nz

The location for this role is Wellington, other major centres considered for the right candidate.

Applications close: Sunday 18th October 2026