Council Governance Lead

About us 

The Nursing Council of New Zealand is the independent regulator for nurses in Aotearoa, with our purpose being Safe nurses, safe public. We have an important mission and working for the Nursing Council is an exciting opportunity for you to use and grow your skills, while working with a team that has a true purpose and take pride in the work they do.       

Our work is varied and is focused on protecting the health and safety of the public by setting and monitoring standards to ensure nurses are registered, competent and fit to practice.

We strive to lead health professional regulation.Our values are important to us and guide the way we work.

• We are RESPECTFUL –He WHAKAKOHA mātou. We act with integrity, upholding the highest ethical standards, seeking out and listening to the views of others. We ensure our processes are fair, impartial and equitable
• We Are COLLABORATIVE –Ka mahi NGĀTAHI mātou. We foster strong relationships with each other and our stakeholders. We work with our regulatory partners in Aotearoa and internationally, to enhance nursing practice and protect public health and safety
• We are ACCOUNTABLE –Ka noho HAEPAPA mātou. We promote honesty and transparency in all regulatory activities. We hold ourselves and the nursing profession to account for meeting high standards of professional conduct and competence. We place safety and well-being of the public at heart of what we do.
• We are INCLUSIVE – He TĀPITI mātou. We value diverse perspective and experiences. We make our processes and information accessible, understandable and user-friendly

About the role

This is an opportunity for an experienced governance professional to help us strengthen the way governance works across the Nursing Council.

Reporting to and working closely with the Chief Executive, you’ll be the organisation’s internal governance lead and a trusted partner to the Council Chair, committee chairs and Council members. You’ll attend all Council and committee meetings and take responsibility for ensuring the systems and disciplines around them work well.

The role goes well beyond coordinating meetings. You’ll manage the governance cycle and forward workplans, help ensure Council and committee papers are timely and decision-ready, provide constructive support to senior leaders preparing governance material, maintain key governance controls including conflicts of interest and action registers, and help embed good governance practice across the organisation.

You’ll also deliver the professional secretariat function: coordinating agendas and papers, managing Diligent Boards and governance records, producing high-quality minutes, maintaining decision and action records and ensuring agreed actions are followed through.

We’re looking for someone who understands what good governance looks like, can build trusted relationships with senior people, and is comfortable improving processes rather than simply administering them. The role also contributes to continuous improvement and upholds the Council’s commitments to Te Tiriti o Waitangi, strong information management and high standards of professionalism and confidentiality. 

About you

You’re an experienced governance practitioner who understands both the practice and the discipline behind effective governance.

You’ll have experience supporting a board, Council or governance committees and be comfortable working directly with chairs, members, chief executives and senior leaders. You understand governance cycles, agendas and workplans, conflicts of interest, quality governance papers, minutes, decisions and action management, and you know how these pieces fit together to support good governance.

You’re a strong writer and a careful thinker. You can review a paper and recognise when the decision, analysis or recommendation needs strengthening, and you can work constructively with the author to improve it. You’re confident enough to provide advice while being pragmatic, discreet and easy to work with.

You’ll bring relevant governance training or professional development and an understanding of working within legal, regulatory or policy frameworks. You don’t need to be a lawyer or accountant, but you do need to recognise when an issue requires specialist advice.

The role may be appointed at 0.8 or 1.0 FTE. If working 0.8 FTE, you’ll need flexibility in how your days and hours are arranged so you can work around Council and committee meetings and governance deadlines rather than having fixed availability that leaves gaps in support.

Benefits  

As well as a supportive team and collaborative environment, we also offer:

• Health insurance
• Additional leave days
• Flexibility and support for study
• Opportunities for ongoing professional development and training
• Long service leave
• Flexible working policy

What next? 

If this role sounds like you then apply now with your CV and a cover letter telling us what makes you right for this role. You must be based in Wellington and hold a valid working visa to be considered for the role. If you have any questions, please contact Kevin Keane on kevin@nursingcouncil.org.nz.  

We will be reviewing CVs as we go so apply now!