(Thank you for all the interest in these vacancies. The deadline has since closed for applications) 

We are hiring! For the first time in ages, we have three vacancies all at once. Check them out:

• Team Leader (Policy and Technology), Wellington
• Team Leader (Investigations and Dispute Resolution), Auckland
• Investigating Officer, Wellington

Why would you want to join us?

Because you would be working with a team of highly committed and skilled professionals in a fast moving and dynamic environment, at the forefront of one of the biggest issues of our day. Privacy affects everyone – for us as individuals, for government and for business. Come join us in tackling its many challenges.

Our Privacy Commissioner has a mission to make privacy easy. He doesn’t want us to be just sitting in our offices, reacting to stuff. He wants us to be actively identifying the issues that matter and proactively designing solutions. As the privacy landscape changes, and with technology, it changes rapidly, it means we have to be nimble on our feet.

So we take a cross-functional approach to our work. What does that mean? It means that whatever role you are in, you also get to be involved in other work across the office. So whilst your regular work might be cut out for you, you might also be called on to lead and manage or be part of a project team on ad hoc or one-off special projects that sit across the whole office. We try to use the best resources we have for a project, regardless of what role someone is usually in.

It gives diversity to your work, allows you heaps of opportunities for professional development, and gives you scope to work to your full potential.

Does this actually work in practice? You bet!

Here’s what one of our team leaders has been doing over and above his usual role:

“I have been the lead in developing and running a series of regular international teleconferences between member agencies of the Global Privacy Enforcement Network. Our office was instrumental in setting up this initiative. It is a platform for privacy offices from around the world to learn from one another and to co-operate and collaborate on common interests. My involvement has allowed me to draw on the best of international privacy practice in leading my own team.”

And this is what one of our investigating officers is also doing at the moment:

“I am a key member of a special project that will change the way our office undertakes our education function. I work alongside an external consultancy to provide the subject matter expertise for a range of new training materials they are producing for us, including an online module. It’s a big project with big impacts, and it gives me the opportunity to use my skills and knowledge beyond my investigations role.”

That’s just two examples. There are plenty more across the whole office.

Have you got what it takes?

You’ll need the qualifications, skills and experience to be able to do the job of course.

For the two investigations roles, we really want to talk with you if you have experience in alternative dispute resolution. This is our new frontier – working with opposing parties to facilitate resolution, not a paper-pushing, legalistic approach as to who’s right and who’s wrong. Check out this post from one of our team leaders about our new approach.

And that’s the other thing about working here – you get to be involved in helping communicate to all our various audiences what we do and how we do it.

If you like working in a fast-changing environment (I have to be honest, we’re not the right fit for you if you are a dyed-in-the-wool, nine-to-five traditionalist!), if you thrive on new challenges, if you’ve got the smarts and common sense to boot, come join us. Oh, and you also have to be a strong team player – we have a very supportive and collegial team.

You don’t have to be a privacy expert but you do have to have a passion for it because then you’ll pick it up really fast!

Next week, also keep an eye out for another role we are looking to fill – for an Assistant Commissioner.

complaints, employment