Capability Engagement Specialist
Wellington City Council
- Think strategically, move fast, innovate and make confident decisions
- Lead high impact work that designs solutions, drives change, and delivers results
- Navigate complexity, create clarity and simple solutions
Kia mahi ngātahi mō Pōneke mō tōna āpōpō - Working together for Wellington's future
Our team is supported and embraced by our leadership and SMEs, to drive innovation and to make a genuine difference to lift our culture, performance and accountability across the Council.
You do not have to be an OD or L and D professional to shape this role, we are more interested in the skill set and transferrable skills you bring, the mindset you have and your experience in innovating, designing, and delivering at pace.
We're looking for a sharp mind, and sound business acumen to enable you to hit the ground running in a high-performance, high-pace environment. This is a strategic, delivery-focused role at the heart of Wellington City Council's Capability and Enablement Business Unit, where we build, refocus, and future-proof our workforce.
As a strategic business partner focusing on future capability readiness, your role will encompass:
- Designing future-focused capability solutions that enable our teams and leaders to deliver high performance and high accountability, all day every day
- Leveraging deep people-system specialist knowledge and a strong understanding of organisational dynamics and systems to design and deliver solutions that support our long-term workforce strategy
- Supporting the delivery of our work programme aligned to the Chief Executive's vision of a performance culture which demonstrates affordable cost and restores and builds public confidence
This role is ideal for someone who thrives in complexity, working at pace, able to quickly form highly collaborative relationships, and is ready to make a real impact from day one.
The team
No egos here - the team operate with mutual respect, are highly engaged in their work and bring a collection of skills, leveraging off each other for outcomes. They are real people, humble go-getters who can deliver in a fast-paced way and are driving a comprehensive work programme. They love the mahi!
Āu ake mahi - What you'll do
As the Capability Enablement Specialist, you will bring a strategic lens to the development of learning content as well as systems and technology integration, ensuring our solutions are user-friendly, future-ready, and powered by automation and data insights.
Initially, you will lead the development and integration of talent planning and succession management solutions that align with the Council's Strategic Workforce Plan. You'll refresh our performance management and development approach to ensure clarity of accountability and meaningful growth opportunities for kaimahi. You will also update our core capability framework (Ki Te Hoe), develop future-focused leadership capabilities, and manage the design and delivery of 360-degree feedback tools to measure leadership effectiveness.
You will create and manage a Council-wide recognition framework that celebrates achievement and fosters a culture of appreciation. You will lead our Kōrero Mai engagement surveys, analyse insights, and advise on action planning to drive measurable improvements in engagement and retention.
You will also champion continuous improvement and innovation, applying ideation and fresh thinking to how solutions are developed, implemented, and evolved.
Tight collaboration is key in this role. You will work closely with the Capability Enablement team, and key SMEs to implement solutions that are people-centred and fit for purpose.
Ngā tohu me ngā wheako - Qualifications and experience
It's the transferrable skills that we are most interested in coupled with your confidence in managing complex projects, engaging diverse stakeholders, and applying best practice approaches to people capability systems. If you are a design thinker, are structured and methodical and keen to deliver on lifting culture, performance and accountability, you'll thrive here!
Nōu te rourou - What's in it for you
Working for the Council offers you a range of benefits including 5 weeks annual leave, flexible working options, health and wellbeing support, Council staff discounts and a range of learning and development programmes and opportunities.
View our Employee Value Proposition Video to see what our employees say about working at WCC.
Diversity
We want your application to enable you to portray the real you. Skills are gained across many areas of our life, not just formal employment. If you can demonstrate the skills listed in the advert through whānau life, community or mahi aroha (volunteering) we encourage you to apply and share your story with us in your cover letter.
We welcome applications from all people and like our workforce to reflect the diverse communities we serve.
Accessibility support
We want to make sure any accessibility requirements you may have are well supported so the selection process is equitable for everyone. Please let us know if there are any adjustments or support we can offer to make our process more accessible to you by emailing: recruitment@wcc.govt.nz
Applications close Monday, 17 August. Please note that we may engage with applicants prior to the vacancy closing and/or close applications ahead of this date, so we encourage you to submit your application as soon as possible.
Interviews will be conducted the week of 24 August.
All applications must be submitted online - we will not accept emailed applications.
All applicants must have the right to work in New Zealand.
If you have questions, please contact Sarah Dick, Team Leader Capability Enablement, sarah.dick@wcc.govt.nz
