Lead Advisor, Policy

Lead policy projects that lift regulatory quality across government

Collaborate in an environment that values your expertise and ideas

Join a small, agile central agency with a big mission.

This is a full-time fixed term position or secondment opportunity until 31 August 2026, in central Wellington.

About us

The Ministry for Regulation is a small government agency with a big job to do.

We’re focused on lifting quality across all regulatory systems and supporting agencies with regulatory responsibilities to align with good practice. We want it to be easier for businesses to innovate, grow and comply, while still ensuring the benefits from regulation that we take for granted won’t change.

We are a small group of dedicated professionals, working in a 'can do' environment.

About the Role

As Lead Advisor, Policy, you’ll provide authoritative advice to Ministers on regulatory proposals with significant economic impact. Reporting to the Manager, Regulatory Policy Design, you’ll shape and develop policy, oversee work programmes, and provide thought leadership that contributes to the Ministry’s strategic direction. You’ll lead external engagement across government, industry and communities, and draw on deep expertise in regulatory policy, regulatory economics, or fee and levy structures to deliver robust, influential second‑opinion advice on major proposals.

During the course of this fixed term role, you will play a key part in the Ministry’s work to implement the Regulatory Standards Act. In particular, you will lead work on the design and implementation of support for the Regulatory Standards Board (in relation to their consideration of consistency accountability statements for Bills).

About you

You bring experience in public policy (including regulatory policy) and excel at critical thinking, communication, and relationship‑building. You work collaboratively to deliver complex, impactful advice. Ideally, you also bring:

Outstanding written and verbal communication and numerical literacy, with a knack for simplifying complex issues

Learning agility to quickly acquire knowledge across diverse policy domains

A track record of coaching, mentoring and supporting team members

Project leadership experience in complex, multi‑stakeholder work

Sound judgement, political nous, and strategic agility

Experience building trusted relationships across agencies and sectors

Cross‑agency/system engagement that achieves tangible outcomes.