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Job vacancy - statutory relationships administrator or manager

Flexible half time.
Permanent, fixed term or secondment.
Pro-rate of $45,000 - $80,000.
Wellington CBD.

A pivotal election year relationship management role, helping political parties and third parties know about, understand, and comply with their legal obligations, as well as helping manage the Electoral Commission’s own relationship, accountability and reporting requirements with the government and with parliament.

This document is also available for download as a .pdf file under Downloads to the right.

Application requirements

Please ensure your covering letter and concise CV are tailored to this vacancy and send them as email attachments (Word, Powerpoint or PDF formats only) to carole@elections.govt.nz before midday, Monday, 4 February 2008. Please note in your letter the appointment level (administrator or manager) you believe you are suited to and the type(s) of engagement (permanent, fixed term or secondment) you are interested in.

Overview

The Electoral Commission is an Independent Crown Entity responsible for supervising the compliance of political parties and third parties with their statutory responsibilities, the administration of donations protected from disclosure, and for education and information on electoral matters. The commission is one of three permanent agencies with a role in electoral administration. More information on the work of the commission can be found in our Annual Report and our Statement of Intent.

The other roles in the commission, and the people in those roles, are:

  • Chief Executive – Helena Catt (who is also one of four commissioners)
  • Communications Manager – Peter Northcote
  • Office Manager – Carole Cole
  • Resource Developer/Workshop Presenter - election year position

The Statutory Relationships position works closely with the first three positions, above, with the actual division of task responsibilities dependent on whether the appointee is at the administrator or manager level.

As the commission is a small organisation with a broad role and a three year operational cycle, it is important that we maintain capacity amongst staff to deal flexibly with the full range of work required. We rely on staff to build a broad base of skills and actively encourage everyone to add to their skill and experience base. Working as a team and being willing to muck in is an important component of the team environment. This means, for instance, that we all answer public inquiries, and cover basic office tasks when others are out of the office.

As well as relevant work experience, attributes sought in our new team member include:

  • a degree of personal resilience - the small size of the team and the fact that the Chief Executive, Communications Manager (and Workshop Presenter) spend significant periods working away from the office means that the office environment is relatively quiet and staff are required to be self sufficient and self motivating.
  • flexibility and willingness to take on, sometimes, basic administrative tasks

The role is half time but the work is not evenly spread throughout the year or electoral cycle. There are a number of busy periods around the election. The exact details of the flexible working will be negotiated with the successful candidate. Possible components are working across fewer than 48 weeks and/or non-standard hours, for instance. E-mail correspondence needs to be checked and actioned daily (this can be done from home or remotely).

Job description

 

Responsible to:

Chief Executive

Tenure:

The role is half of a fulltime equivalent.

The salary range (at fulltime rates) is from $45,000 (administrator minimum) to $80,000 (manager maximum).

Engagement will be as a permanent staff member, or on a one or two year fixed term contract or other arrangement. The latter options may suit, for instance, someone transiting to or from fulltime work or someone taking the role on a leave of absence or under secondment/development provisions from their current employer.

Functional relationships with:

Chief Executive; Commissioners; Commission staff; other electoral agencies; political parties; third parties; Ministry of Justice; other private and public sector organisations; legal professionals; Members of Parliament; select committees; members of the public.

Scope of the position:

There are two distinct roles relating to different statutory relationships the Electoral Commission has, with:

1. political parties and third parties, including administrative supervision of their compliance obligations under electoral law

2. government and parliament, including accountability and reporting obligations under electoral, crown entities, and other relevant law.

 

Responsibilities:

 

 

 

1) All matters relating to political parties and third parties

a) Manage relationships with existing and prospective political parties and third parties:

b) Administration relating to registering, and de-registering political parties and logos

c) Administration relating to list and de-listing third parties

d) Survey disclosure of parties and third parties’ election expenses and donations

e) Administer compliance checking of invoices for payment from the Broadcast Allocation monies

f) Administer reconciliation of party and candidate expense returns against broadcaster election programme returns

g) Routine administration associated with statutory functions (e.g. update register of political parties, check expense returns)

2) Statutory reporting and accountability

a) Prepare corporate planning and reporting requirements (e.g. Statement of Intent, Annual Report)

b) Draft official correspondence (e.g. Ministerials, Parliamentary Questions, Official Information Act responses)

c) Assist Chief Executive in completing reporting requirements for Commission

3) Policy and legislative:

a) Provide the Commission with policy advice on electoral matters and to recommend legislative change where appropriate

b) Assist Chief Executive in preparing policy papers

c) Maintain awareness of issues and trends relevant to the business of the Electoral Commission, in New Zealand and internationally

d) Ensure Electoral Commission perspective represented in policy and legislation development

e) Represent Electoral Commission at official committees & agencies, as required

4) Routine

a) Report to and attend Commission meetings

b) Basic administrative functions (e.g. respond to enquiries, deal with incoming routine correspondence)

c) Other projects as required – including research, report development, management planning


 

 

Performance criteria:

  • carries out responsibilities accurately, according to external and internal procedures and deadlines, within approved budgets and in accordance with legislation, Commission policies and the Electoral Commission’s code of conduct (attached).
  • maintenance of appropriate relationships with commissioners, colleagues, political parties, Ministry of Justice, other electoral agencies, staff of select committees, staff of other public and private sector organisations and members of the public.
  • an administrator would carry out tasks under direction/management of the chief executive in these areas of responsibility.
  • a manager would take greater responsibility for the planning, decision-making, and relationship management with external parties – particularly in the provision of advice or troubleshooting understanding or performance by parties.
  • (Decisions to register / list, deregister / delist and other significant decisions related to the administration of statutory functions remain the responsibilities of commissioners based, in part, on sound advice/reports of staff.)

Experience, attributes and qualifications:

The appointee is likely to have previous experience in the administration of statutory or regulatory requirements and/or in the administration of state sector accountability arrangements.

They will be comfortable working with legislation, competent in delivering considered, concise and clear communications in a range of business media, and confident to manage a range of relationships in a high profile and public context.

Any tertiary qualification from a wide range of fields would be useful, however would not be essential in the case of an appointee with sufficient relevant practical experience.

The appointee will be competent in using Microsoft Office, particularly Word and Outlook, with Excel and Access experience also desirable.

 


Electoral Commission code of conduct

The Electoral Commission’s code of conduct has three components:

  • Guiding principles of electoral administration
  • Electoral Commission statement of core values
  • State Sector standards of integrity and conduct

Guiding principles of electoral administration

Independence

  • maintain the confidence of voters, candidates, political parties and Parliament in the integrity of the electoral process by being legally and in practice independent of all political parties and interest groups
  • we are not subject to ministerial direction in carrying out our statutory functions, except as provided by law.

Neutrality

  • carry out our statutory functions in a politically neutral and non-partisan manner
  • treat all voters, candidates and political parties fairly and impartially and in accordance with the law.

Service to voters, candidates and parties

  • provide the highest quality electoral services to all voters, candidates and political parties in accordance with the law
  • provide electoral services to voters, candidates and political parties in ways which are as simple as possible, consistent with the law and minimise compliance costs
  • ensure that all sections of the community have ready access to the electoral process in accordance with their needs
  • provide an effective service to electors on the Mäori roll
  • make easily-understood information about the electoral process available to all sections of the community in accordance with their needs
  • respond promptly and accurately to requests for information about electoral matters
  • make information on our activities readily available to the public and the media
  • have transparent and fair procedures in place to deal promptly with complaints of impropriety.

Professionalism

  • a commitment to ensuring the integrity of the electoral process in accordance with the law
  • carry out our statutory functions in a fair, accurate, secure and timely manner
  • ensure that our members and employees behave in their public and private lives in ways which are consistent with the highest standards of independence and political neutrality
  • keep electoral legislation under review and report to Parliament on desirable changes to electoral legislation
  • continually evaluate our provision of electoral services and internal and external procedures to ensure they are in accordance with the law, are meeting users’ needs, are as simple, efficient and effective as possible, and use appropriate information technology
  • keep up to date with best international democratic electoral practice.

Responsibility and accountability

  • make efficient and effective use of financial and other resources to carry out our statutory functions
  • have clear financial and operational responsibilities and accountabilities under appropriate governance structures
  • set budgets according to objectives and regularly measure performance against objectives
  • have regular independent auditing of financial and operational performance
  • provide Parliament with comprehensive, accurate and timely reports on our activities, including our capacity to conduct electoral events and conduct of electoral events.

Electoral Commission statement of core values

Recognition of obligations under the Treaty to

  • Achieve outcomes that reduce the disparity between Maori and non-Maori in levels of political engagement
  • Actively protect equal citizenship rights including Maori representation
  • Act reasonably, honourably and in good faith based on reciprocity which includes making informed decisions on matters affecting the interests of Maori and recognising that Maori are not a homogeneous group.

Creativity

  • Being innovative and open to ideas
  • Sharing ideas for improvement
  • Asking “why’ we do things the way we do.

Ethic of Care

  • Showing respect for individual uniqueness, diversity and privacy
  • Offering information that we think will be useful, not just waiting to be asked.

Responsiveness

  • Being responsive to those who use our services
  • Being open to different perspectives
  • Being open to change
  • Providing information without judging the person asking for it, or their reasons for asking.

Outcome focussed

  • We care primarily about outcomes being achieved, not who does the work
  • We will work with others and share ideas
  • We are pragmatic in prioritising projects and use of resources.

Public Service

  • Providing a high level of service to the public
  • Being prudent with the use of public money
  • Being confident about being able to justify our actions.


 

State Sector standards of integrity and conduct

A code of conduct issued by the State Services Commissioner under section 57 of the State Sector Act 1988

We must be fair, impartial, responsible, and trustworthy

The State Services is made up of many organisations with powers to carry out the work of New Zealand's democratically elected governments.

Whether we work in a department or in a Crown entity, we must act with a spirit of service to the community and meet the same high standards of integrity and conduct in everything we do.

We must comply with the standards of integrity and conduct set out in this code. As part of complying with this code, our organisations must maintain policies and procedures that are consistent with it.

Fair

We must:

  • treat everyone fairly and with respect
  • be professional and responsive
  • work to make government services accessible and effective
  • strive to make a difference to the well-being of New Zealand and all its people.

Impartial

We must:

  • maintain the political neutrality required to enable us to work with current and future governments
  • carry out the functions of our organisation, unaffected by our personal beliefs
  • support our organisation to provide robust and unbiased advice
  • respect the authority of the government of the day.

Responsible

We must:

  • act lawfully and objectively
  • use our organisation's resources carefully and only for intended purposes
  • treat information with care and use it only for proper purposes
  • work to improve the performance and efficiency of our organisation.

Trustworthy

We must:

  • be honest
  • work to the best of our abilities
  • ensure our actions are not affected by our personal interests or relationships
  • never misuse our position for personal gain
  • decline gifts or benefits that place us under any obligation or perceived influence
  • avoid any activities, work or non-work, that may harm the reputation of our organisation or of the State Services.