Senior Data Specialist (Outcomes)

Type: Fixed term (until June 2026)
Hours: Full time
Location: Wellington
Business Group: Community Operations/Hapai Hapori
Branch: Partnerships and Commissions
Salary: $117,734 - $146,513

We are seeking a Senior Data Specialist with significant strategic leadership ability to influence how hundreds of millions of dollars a year are deployed for community grant funding across the country. Help lead the shift to a more strategic, data-informed and adaptive lottery grants system.

As our Senior Data Specialist (Outcomes), you'll lead systemic data capability uplift, both technically and strategically. As product manager of sophisticated BI dashboards that use the IDI, you'll lead our move to Microsoft Fabric, implement your UX and strategic product vision, and develop new public-facing dashboards from design to launch. As the senior data expert for lotteries, you'll influence key decision-makers, use data storytelling to inspire action on data-driven insights, determine metrics to achieve strategic outcomes, and drive increasing data maturity across the system.

What you'll bring:

Ability to lead innovation through technical, operational, relational and strategic complexity
Strategic leadership skills to achieve measurable outcomes in a large, evolving system
Technical chops in Power BI, SQL, ArcGIS, UX, and data visualisation
Strong skills in communication, stakeholder relationships, and collaboration
Experience translating data into meaningful, accessible insights for a variety of audiences
Appreciation of Maori data sovereignty principles and social impact theory of change
Role details

This is a fixed term role ending June 30, 2026. It will be established first within Planning Governance and Support, then shift with the whole Outcomes team to the Strategic Programmes and Partnerships team in Community Operations Hapai Hapori, as part of a planned departmental reorganisation.

Why join us?
The Department of Internal Affairs-Te Tari Taiwhenua is committed to being a high performing organisation and a great place to work, and provides opportunity for our people to experience genuine job satisfaction and contribute to making New Zealand better for New Zealanders. We support a culture of development and continuous improvement.

We are an equal opportunity employer that recognises that a diverse and inclusive workforce contributes to better outcomes for New Zealand and are committed to creating a workplace where all employees have equal access.

To learn more about the diverse, important mahi we do at The Department of Internal Affairs -Te Tari Taiwhenua and see why we're a great place to work, click here.

We work to make New Zealand better for New Zealanders through our four outcome areas:

People can easily access the services and information they need
Iwi, hapu and communities across New Zealand are safe, resilient, and thriving
People's sense of belonging and collective memory builds an inclusive New Zealand
New Zealand is a well-functioning democracy across central and local government
Applications close: 5pm, 21 August 2025.
For more information please contact: Alanna.Irving@dia.govt.nz
Job description: To review the full job description, please click here.