Work for us

Principal Advisor, Security and Risk - 15 Month fixed term

Join our team as a Security and Risk Expert!

The Office of the Auditor-General | Te Mana Arotake (the Office) provides New Zealanders an independent view on public spending and performance. As the statutory auditor of all public organisations, we play a vital role in ensuring that New Zealand’s public sector remains one of the most trusted in the world.

As Principal Advisor, Security and Risk, your responsibilities will include overseeing the Office’s security, risk, and business continuity programmes. You will directly advise senior leaders and the Auditor-General, as well as lead risk and security awareness initiatives across the Office.

Why you should apply:

• Collaboration: Work closely with senior leaders and staff to enhance and maintain the Office’s security and risk management.
• Impact: As the Principal Advisor, Security and Risk, you’ll directly advise senior leaders and the Auditor-General, shaping critical decisions.
• Leadership: Lead risk and security awareness initiative across the Office, making a difference every day.

What we’re looking for:

• Experience: 5+ years’ experience working in a senior advisory position, with knowledge of all three areas of the government’s protective security requirements, and a focus on information security.
• Education: a tertiary qualification in business, management, or a related field.
• Expertise: a qualification or extensive training and experience relating to implementing risk management frameworks and standards.
• Skills: experience developing and testing business continuity plans, along with strong written and oral communication skills.

Benefits we offer:

• Learning and growth: Opportunities to expand your knowledge and skills.
• Flexibility: Supportive, flexible working.
• Well-being: Health benefits to support you in staying at your best.

What we stand for:

People matter | Our independence is critical | We act with integrity and courage | We’re here to make a difference.

Be part of our diverse and inclusive team that reflects contemporary New Zealand. We welcome applicants from all backgrounds. If you have specific support or access requirements, let us know – we’re here to assist you throughout the recruitment process.

For this role, you must be able to gain and maintain a Secret national security clearance. Ordinarily, this means that you must be a New Zealand citizen, a permanent resident, or hold a current residency class visa and intend to become a citizen when eligible. You must have a ten-year checkable background in New Zealand, the UK, the USA, Canada, or Australia.

For more information, please contact Sandy Hoggarth on 04 917 1500 or recruitment@oag.parliament.nz.

Apply online through jobs.govt.nz (you'll find the application form and position description there, too).

Applications close Monday 29 April 2024.

Performance Auditor

A job you never knew existed

Jobs with unmatched variety and intellectual stimulation are rare. Here’s your chance to join a respected and influential organisation focused on improving the performance of, and the public’s trust in, the public sector. If you’re passionate about making a difference alongside talented and committed colleagues, performance auditing at the Office of the Auditor-General could be a new career path for you.

Performance audits are not financial in nature – instead, they report on issues that are important to New Zealanders. Currently we are looking at a range of issues including climate change in local government, cyber security, immigration, and child poverty. You can read more about our work programme in our annual plan.

We currently have a vacancy for a 12-month fixed term or secondment as a Performance Auditor. In this role, you’ll be assisting others in the team to produce performance audits on behalf of the Controller and Auditor-General. From day to day, you could be carrying out fieldwork in different parts of the country, analysing large amounts of information, or interviewing people from a wide range of organisations, from frontline public servants to politicians. It’s a challenging and varied role that gives you a unique view of the public sector. 

If this sounds like the job for you, we’d love to hear from you, especially if you have a good understanding of te Tiriti o Waitangi and the machinery of government and have experience in supporting:

• large research or evaluation projects in the public sector;
• the development of public policy; or
• significant government reviews or inquiries.

In your cover letter, please provide specific examples that show where you have:

• analysed and evaluated information;
• written coherently and concisely;
• organised and managed your work; and
• collaborated in a team.

This role is ideally suited to someone early in their public sector career with about three to five years’ relevant experience.

The Office is committed to a diverse workforce and an inclusive workplace, and we welcome applicants from all backgrounds. If you have any support or access requirements, we encourage you to tell us when you apply so that we can assist you through the recruitment process. 

You can also hear directly from our Performance Auditors about what they do and the work they’re involved in.

We offer our staff:

• Learning and development opportunities.
• Flexible working.
• Health and well-being benefits.
• A unique operating environment with Parliament.

For more information about this role, please contact recruitment@oag.parliament.nz.

You must apply online through jobs.govt.nz (you'll find the application form and position descriptions there, too).

Applications close Sunday 28 April 2024.

Notes for applicants

1. We usually ask candidates to apply through the jobs.govt.nz website. We'll use the information you provide through that site to help us consider your suitability for the position you've applied for. (If your application is successful, we'll put this information on your personnel file. You can ask to see the information in that file, and to seek any correction you think necessary to ensure accuracy.)
2. If the advertised position doesn't include a link to the jobs.govt.nz website, please email your curriculum vitae and a covering letter to the Advisor, Talent and Recruitment.
3. Many positions in Audit New Zealand and the Office of the Auditor-General require you to have a satisfactory security clearance. Therefore, any offer of employment might be conditional on a satisfactory security clearance.
4. If we proceed with your application, we'll ask for the details we need for your security clearance and details of any criminal convictions.
5. Please note that if you've given incorrect or misleading information, or have left out any important information or fail to obtain a security clearance, you may be disqualified from appointment. If you've already been appointed, your employment may be immediately terminated.
6. If your application is successful, we'll need to see:
   • certificates of your educational qualifications;
   • if applicable, evidence of your New Zealand Citizenship, residency, or work permit.
7. All employees of the Controller and Auditor-General must be independent of the organisations we audit. Accordingly, as an employee you will be required to complete an independence declaration. This declaration includes the disclosure of a financial interest of you (or a family member) in an audited organisation, or a personal relationship with a member of that organisation’s executive or staff.
8. If your disclosure reveals an existing or potential problem you won't be assigned to any project where your independence as an employee could be compromised, or where a conflict of interest situation might arise. At the extreme end of the spectrum, you might be asked to divest yourself of any investments in an organisation under audit.

What we stand for: People matter | Our independence is critical | We act with integrity and courage | We’re here to make a difference

Page last updated: 22 April 2024