Waipapa Taumata Rau | The University of Auckland

The University of Auckland creates globally transformative impacts through our distinctive strengths in world leading research, scholarship, teaching and collaborative partnerships, inspired by our unique position in Aotearoa New Zealand and the Asia-Pacific. 

Our mission and values place a strong emphasis on both our student body and our scholarly community, and we work with both communities and enterprise to advance the well-being of the peoples of Auckland and New Zealand, with a clear commitment to pursuing sustainability.

Te Whiwhinga mahi | The opportunity

We are seeking a Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) Experience Advisor to partner with our Associate Director of DEI to run our operations and build our centralised Diversity, Equity and Inclusion capabilities. You will do this by acting as our first point of contact and central hub for advice, policy guidance and project work for the University's staff.

The purpose of this position is to contribute to the design and delivery of an outstanding DEI employee experience. You will be responsible for ensuring that processes, policies, and regular interactions with staff DEI are cohesively mapped and delivered through excellent service standards. This front-facing position is also responsible for engaging with all DEI staff-related networks and providing technical and logistical advice and support.

You will add the most value to this role in the short term with your ability to take ownership of requests and questions, using your research and information finding abilities to help our staff find what they are looking for. By doing this you will quickly become a subject matter expert who will then develop processes and guidance documents to help our staff self-serve, whilst enhancing our capabilities in this area over the long term.

This is a mid-level role for a person who is comfortable creating their own methods of working and who recognises that challenging questions are a great opportunity to reflect and find proactive and adaptive solutions and answers which can then be referred to in the future. You will be joining a newly formed team of two so you will be well placed to work closely and learn from our Associate Director of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion.

Your core responsibilities will be to:

• Act as the first point of contact for the delivery of support services related to DEI policies, procedures, and related initiatives.
• Liaise with different areas of the University to ensure the adequate and efficient delivery of DEI support services.
• Identify DEI needs opportunities for enhanced policy and practice in staff diversity, equity and inclusion.
• Respond appropriately to staff equity enquiries and complaints, exercising excellent judgement whilst maintaining impartiality and confidentiality.
• Assist with the collection, processing and dissemination of relevant DEI data, metrics and analytics.

For more detailed information, please refer to the Position Description.

Mō tō mātou rōpū | About the team

Our Human Resources team contributes to the University’s mission to be:

“A research-led, international university, recognised for excellence in teaching, learning, research, creative work, and administration, for the significance of its contributions to the advancement of knowledge and its commitment to serve its local, national and international communities”.

We achieve this by providing professional, innovative and efficient services and programmes. We develop partnerships based on trust and integrity to foster excellence, productivity and fairness as we work to strengthen the University’s ability to recruit and retain high-quality staff, and develop a culture that encourages and supports staff to reach their full potential.

He kōrero mōu | About you

To be considered for this position you will need to demonstrate a passion for and experience in Diversity, Equity & Inclusion and ideally have a tertiary qualification relating to Human Resources (HR) or another relevant subject.

You will thrive in this role if you understand and have experience in a customer/stakeholder focused service delivery role and are interested in process improvement and the design of methodologies as well as current HR practices. We are keen to see a level of comfort with NZ employment legislation relating to DEI, or a commitment to deep diving into these subjects whilst you are settling into the role.

If you are looking to help us implement change and are comfortable taking on a developing body of work by being the main point of contact for all things DEI for our staff, then we would love to hear from you.

Ideally, you will be able to show experience in line with most of the below points, but we are willing to consider anyone who is excited by our project and able to demonstrate experience of working in a professional environment where you have managed a diverse number of responsibilities and a large group of stakeholders.

We are seeking someone with:

• Demonstrable, experience of working in DEI within an office environment. You will be able to give examples of improvement processes or projects that you have worked on.
• At least 5 years’ professional experience in a customer experience or employee experience related role.
• At least 3 years of experience in events planning/project management/consulting or advisory role.
• Excellent relationship management skills with a proven track record of achieving results focussed solutions, and partnering with multiple stakeholders in a large, complex environment.
• Ability to handle confidential and sensitive matters with discretion and application of judgment.
• Medium level MS Office literacy (Word, Excel, PowerPoint).

Ngā āhuatanga kei a mātou | What we offer

The University of Auckland is New Zealand’s leading university and maintains significant computational, laboratory and analytic facilities. Auckland itself is frequently rated as one of the world’s most liveable cities. 

The salary range for this role is between $80,000 and $94,000, there is some flex on what we can offer that goes beyond these numbers, but our offer is likely to be within these figures. 

The University is committed to providing an excellent working environment through:

• Flexible employment practices (including working from home (WFH), flexible hours)
• Up to 6.75% company superannuation scheme
• A 37.5 hour work week for professional staff
• Five weeks’ annual leave

In addition, we also offer career development programmes, discounted car parking, a generous parental leave allowance, childcare and a number of other discounts on internal and external services. 

For more information, please visit Staff Benefits.

Me pēhea te tuku tono | How to apply

Applications must be submitted online, by the closing date of 28 August 2022 to be considered. Please include your cover letter and your CV highlighting how you can meet the skills and experiences detailed above.

Please reach out to Neil Constable (Senior Internal Recruiter) via [email protected] for a confidential conversation. Please note we are happy to answer your questions but we do not accept applications by email

Overseas Applicants

In response to COVID-19 the New Zealand Government imposed travel restrictions but have recently announced a five-step plan for a phased border re-opening. This phased re-opening will take some time and this may alter the nature of the standard interview process for offshore candidates, particularly at the on-site interview stage. To see how this might affect your application and for more information and updates on the border restrictions and phased re-opening, please visit the Immigration New Zealand website or the New Zealand Government's official Covid-19 website.

Equity

The University is committed to meeting its obligations under the Treaty of Waitangi and achieving equity outcomes for staff and students in a safe, inclusive and equitable environment.  For further information on services for Māori, Pacific, women, LGBTQITakatāpui+, people with disabilities, parenting support, flexible work and other equity issues go to www.equity.auckland.ac.nz