Senior Advisor, Employment Pathways
Date: 24 Aug 2026
Location: Wellington, NZ
Company: Ministry of Social Development
We’re looking for a Senior Advisor to join us in a fixed term role until 31 March 2027, supporting the peak delivery phase of our 2026/2027 Summer Internship Programme.
Mō te tūnga | About the role
As the Senior Advisor, Employment Pathways, you’ll provide high-quality advice and support our employment work programme. This includes employment actions under the New Zealand Disability Strategy, the Disability in the Public Service Community of Practice, and the All-of-Government Disabled Summer Internship Programme.
You’ll help deliver employment initiatives, manage programme activities, risks and reporting, and coordinate work across agencies. A key focus will be supporting the Summer Internship Programme from attraction and recruitment through to programme completion.
Key responsibilities include:
- Provide high-quality advice and analysis to support employment pathways initiatives and achieve practical outcomes.
- Coordinate key workstreams within the All-of-Government Disabled Summer Internship Programme.
- Manage programme activities, timelines, risks, milestones, reporting requirements and deliverables.
- Provide guidance and support to interns, managers, buddies and mentors throughout the programme.
- Coordinate the Disability in the Public Sector Community of Practice and the All-of-Government Deaf Employee Network.
- Build strong stakeholder relationships and support contracts and partnerships linked to employment pathways initiatives.
Mōu | About you:
You bring:
- Practical experience providing advice or analysis on employment pathway programmes.
- Strong stakeholder engagement and relationship management skills.
- Excellent organisational and time management skills, with the ability to manage competing priorities.
- Cultural intelligence and experience working with diverse communities, including Māori, Pacific, disabled, Deaf and neurodivergent communities.
- An understanding of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and a commitment to accessibility and inclusion.
- An understanding of the machinery of government is desirable, but not essential.
We encourage applications from Deaf and disabled people, Turi Māori, tāngata whaikaha Māori, and those with lived experience. If you’re passionate about inclusion and ready to learn, we’d love to hear from you.
He Whakaahuatanga Tūnga | Position Description
The job description of this advertisement can be found here: Senior Advisor, Employment Pathways PD
Salary | Utu-ā-tau: $103,767.00 - $125,899.00
Mō mātou | About us:
At Whaikaha, we want an Aotearoa New Zealand where Deaf and disabled people and tāngata whaikaha Māori are thriving.
As a Ministry we are dedicated to this goal, working with government, businesses, and communities to drive real change.
We do this by investing in disability communities, providing strategic and policy advice across government, monitoring how well services are working, and identifying new, exciting opportunities to make a difference.
We care about the wellbeing and success of our people and provide a supportive and inclusive environment.
Ka kati ngā tono hei te | Applications close: Monday, 31 August 2026
Me pēhea te tuku tono | How to apply:
Click the 'Apply' button to complete the online form, or let’s kōrero about what you need to feel supported in your application. For example, you may prefer to use video instead of a traditional CV and cover letter, or you might want whānau or a friend to tell us about you.
Contact us about the best way for you to apply by emailing: PeopleandCulture@whaikaha.govt.nz.
If you work for Whaikaha please apply through the myHR portal so that your employee profile is visible as an internal candidate.
Please note, MSD applicants should apply as external candidates.
