Principal Advisor - Geospatial

This influential role sits at the heart of strategic direction, policy development, and evidence-based insights, offering you the chance to provide technical leadership and thought partnership across a diverse range of projects and programmes. You will be instrumental in driving continuous improvement through spatial thinking and geospatial intelligence, collaborating with internal teams and external partners to deliver fit-for-purpose solutions that benefit both the organisation.

What you'll do:

As Principal Advisor - Geospatial, you will play an integral role in guiding the strategic use of geospatial intelligence across the organisation. Your day-to-day activities will involve close collaboration with colleagues from various disciplines as you provide expert consultancy on complex projects that influence national transport outcomes. You will be responsible for nurturing relationships with both internal teams—such as Insights & Analytics Managers—and external partners including government agencies and industry groups. By promoting enterprise-wide adoption of advanced geospatial solutions, you will help ensure that decision-making is informed by robust evidence bases. Your ability to coach others will be essential as you mentor emerging talent within the team. Success in this role requires a proactive approach to risk management, effective workload prioritisation without close supervision, and a genuine passion for fostering inclusive partnerships—especially those that honour Te Tiriti o Waitangi principles.

What you bring:

To excel as Principal Advisor Geospatial, you will bring substantial experience advising on geospatial strategy at senior levels—ideally within government or similarly complex environments—alongside exceptional interpersonal skills that allow you to build trust-based relationships across varied stakeholder groups. Your background should include hands-on involvement in business planning cycles as well as financial oversight for major projects. You are adept at translating intricate technical information into actionable insights for non-specialist audiences. Your approach is grounded in empathy; you value collaboration above all else when engaging colleagues or external partners. Familiarity with leading GIS platforms such as ArcGIS is important; additional exposure to data analytics or science would further enhance your contribution. Most importantly, you demonstrate cultural sensitivity by embracing Māori worldviews (Te Ao Māori) in your work while upholding public service values rooted in integrity, respectfulness, inclusivity, and shared purpose.

• Demonstrated experience providing strategic geospatial intelligence advice at a senior level within large or complex organisations.
• Extensive relationship management skills with proven ability to engage stakeholders at all levels—including government agencies, vendors, and industry representatives—in a collaborative manner.
• Advanced written and verbal communication abilities enabling you to convey complex concepts clearly across diverse audiences.
• Strong background in business planning, financial management, procurement processes, and successful project delivery within agreed parameters.
• Expertise in applying rigorous logic to solve multifaceted problems using data-driven approaches while navigating ambiguity effectively.
• Ability to anticipate trends over time through pattern recognition in spatial data sets for improved forecasting and modelling outcomes.
• Track record of influencing organisational change by enabling delivery of complex strategic objectives through others’ efforts.
• Working knowledge of ArcGIS Enterprise and ArcGIS Online platforms; familiarity with data analytics or data science fields is desirable but not essential.
• Tertiary qualification in GIS, Geography, Information Technology or a closely related discipline is required for this position.
• A willingness to develop understanding of Te Ao Māori perspectives while actively promoting tikanga Māori values; appreciation for Te Tiriti o Waitangi obligations within public sector contexts.

Robert Walters endeavours to review all applications in a maximum of five working days. If you have not received correspondence in this timeframe please do not hesitate to contact Sean Caulfield on +64 4 471 9732.