Executive Assistant/Kairuruku Tautoko

at  Massey University

Job Description: Executive Assistant/Kairuruku Tautoko
Position Purpose: Provide dedicated, professional, proactive and discrete personal
assistance and administrative support to the Vice Chancellor and the
Provost. This includes complex diary management and appropriately
managing the needs of a range of internal and external stakeholders in
respect of appointment scheduling; editing executive level documents;
proactively preparing and/or drafting correspondence for and on behalf
of the Vice Chancellor and the Provost. This role is part of the VC &
Provost Business Services Hub Team.
Department: Provost Business Services
Location: Manawatū/Palmerston North
Reports to: Business Services Manager (with dotted line service rela onship to the
Vice-Chancellor and the Provost)
Responsible for: Nil
Delegations: Band D
Job Title: Executive Assistant
Key relationships: Internal External
Vice Chancellor and the Provost Corporate Partners (including local
SLT members and central government)
VC & Provost Business Hub Institutional Partners
Principal Advisors External Service Providers
Heads of Departments within the
Vice-Chancellor & Provost offices
Executive Assistants
Massey University: We are a world-leading university in many academic disciplines and fields
of research. Our point of difference is research that is connected to
community and industry. Our researchers are developing expertise and
skills to advance human knowledge and understanding. Working together
across disciplines and locations, we solve national and global problems
through fundamental, applied and interdisciplinary research, while
culturally and artistically enriching our world.
We are deeply committed to being a Te Tiriti-led university,
demonstrating authentic leadership in contemporary Aotearoa New
Zealand as we uphold Te Tiriti o Waitangi, the founding document of our
nation, and its principles through our practice. We embrace this not just
as an obligation but as a real opportunity for the nation and its people.
Our educators are preparing a new generation of global leaders. Our
students are diverse and are attracted to Massey because they want to
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achieve their personal goals or make their mark in the world. They
experience world-class learning that recognises their intellectual and
cultural strengths, expands their horizons and prepares them to
contribute to a rapidly transforming world with skills, critical and creative
thinking and leadership.
We will be renowned for our passion and caring attitude. All Massey
campuses will be innovation ecosystems, acting as magnets for smart
enterprises. Wherever we are, we will operate in partnerships founded
on respect, trust and mutual benefit. Massey is not only defined by what
we do, but by how we do it.
About this area The Vice Chancellor undertakes the chief executive role in the
management of Massey University. Portfolios within the Vice Chancellor
Office include the Massey Foundation, Governance and Assurance,
Strategic Planning, and the Transformation Project.
The Office of the Provost is responsible for the strategic leadership to the
University across the areas of research, learning and teaching, enterprise
and Pacific student success to drive the development and
implementation of strategies, policies and standards that underpin the
delivery of quality research and teaching across the institution.
The role is collocated with the Office of the Provost, and forms part of the
Vice-Chancellor & Provost Business Services Hub Team.
Massey core capabilities

At Massey we are Tiriti-led, upholding Te Tiriti o Waitangi principles through our practice, we:

• Demonstrate awareness of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and its contribution to Aotearoa New Zealand

society.

• Understand the relevance of Te Tiriti o Waitangi in relation to the work of the University and

the people we serve.

• Embracing Te Reo in relevant and practical ways in our workplace interactions and engagement

with external stakeholders, giving expression to Tikanga Māori and protocols that
demonstrates that we respect and value Māori conventions in appropriate settings.

At Massey we work together with mutual respect and caring. we:

• Act with integrity and trustworthiness and give credit to others for the work they do.
• Work cooperatively and inter-dependently to foster and promote the One University approach.
• Share knowledge and communicate professionally with courtesy and mutual respect.
• Are ethical in all transactions, working within the parameters of our policies and procedures.
• Are direct, truthful and maintain confidentiality.
• Seek to understand and appreciate our differences.
• Keep ourselves and others safe; work together to embrace with the University’s health, safety

and wellbeing policies, procedures and programmes; display commitment by actively
supporting all safety and wellbeing initiatives: and by actively engaging in health and safety
improvement opportunities.
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At Massey we are future-focused, results- oriented and strive for excellence. we:

• Take ownership and responsibility for delivering results to support achievement of University

objectives.

• Provide the best quality services to our customers (internal and external) ensuring our

students/ stakeholders are at the heart of everything we do.

• Deliver or support world-class research, teaching and learning and citizenship.
• Take personal responsibility for our performance, take pride in doing our job well, and commit

to ongoing personal and professional development.

• Are motivated and create a positive working environment where our values are reinforced.
• Anticipate and respond with agility and resilience to the changing needs of the University and

the communities we serve.

• Seek ways to improve our services to deliver in an efficient and effective way.
• Embrace technology and apply this innovatively to better meet the needs of those we serve.
• Challenge ourselves to reach our potential and help bring out the best in others.
• Understand how what we do contributes to the objectives of the University.

Accountabilities
Executive Support • Ensure the smooth running of the day to day opera ons of the Vice-

Chancellor and Provost offices.

• Maintain confidentiality and handle sensitive information and

relationships observing appropriate protocols and with discretion.

• Ensure urgent issues are effectively identified and resolved and

sensitive information appropriately handled.

• Identify matters that require urgent action and prepare the

groundwork ready for response.

• Acting as first point of contact for the Vice Chancellor and the

Provost which may include (but is not limited to) monitoring and
responding to written correspondence as appropriate and, where
required, referring enquiries to the relevant manager or staff
member.

Planning

• Maintain annual calendar of management events, meetings and

activities.

• Undertake planning of Vice-Chancellor and Provost schedules with

due regard to commitments, priorities, preparation and balancing the

urgent with the important.

• Proactively forecast upcoming demands on the Vice Chancellor and

the Provost and schedule bring ups and adherence to ac on points.

• Provide notification of upcoming deadlines for submission of reports,

plans, appointments, and meetings.

Diary and Meeting Management

• Undertake complex diary management.

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• Manage the Vice Chancellor and Provost upcoming deadlines,

workload, scheduling appointments, meetings and travel (and
undertaking occasional travel between campuses in a support role as

required).

• Undertake organising meetings/events as required including booking

travel, accommodation, rooms and equipment, ordering catering,
distributing meeting papers and taking minutes. Delegating some

tasks to the Business Services Hub as appropriate.

• Supporting meetings – including drafting agendas, circulating papers,

minutes/action points, and ensuring all actions are monitored and
completed on time. Managing the distribution of materials and

documentation in soft and hard copy, as required.

• Liaise with appropriate staff for action in the event of a manager’s

absence.

Correspondence and reports

• Respond to, and action work on behalf of, the Vice-Chancellor and

Provost as appropriate, undertaking responses on their behalf,

including preparation of correspondence, briefings and presentations.

• Monitor distribution and processing of incoming correspondence and

other documentation as required by the Vice-Chancellor and Provost

daily, ensuring timely response including by others.

• Manage and prioritise communications received, including scheduling

actions to be taken, replies without intervention when appropriate,

drafts responses and items for consideration and signature.

• Maintain appropriate working files and “bring up” systems mainly

comprising of electronic file management.

• Draft and or send routine correspondence in accordance with the

Vice Chancellor and the Provost’s preferences. Type and format
documents, prepare papers and material required for meetings and

appointments, and proofread documentation.

• Draft, format, collate, and disseminate management reports and

committee papers.

• In a timely manner and in advance of commitments, prepare

documents and briefing materials required to enable thorough

preparation for meetings and appointments.

• Assist with area communications and information dissemination.

Secretary to Senior • Act as secretary to the Senior Leadership Team and key formal
Leadership Team and committees as required. For each, manage complex tasks such as:
Committees o Provide guidance and advice to staff who seek to submit papers
or proposals for the committee meeting,
o Prepare meeting agenda and associated paperwork on a timely
and accurate manner, and

o Set and distribute annual committee meeting timetable.

• Manage committee documentation in a manner that reflects the

requirements for accuracy, reliability, transparency, and timeliness,
including maintaining practice which reflects the policy of the
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University Offices (including retrieval and archiving), privacy law and

the Local Government, Official Information and Meetings Act.

• Manage travel arrangements if requested for all Senior Leadership

Team members if they are travelling to the same location. Delegate
work to the business hub team as required.
Administration • Develop and maintain comprehensive understandings of key
University policies and business systems and promote and support
their use and consistent application to office processes and

procedures.

• Ensure the Vice Chancellor and the Provost’s office and area is

maintained in a secure fashion.

• Develop, maintain, continuously improve, and manage efficient and

secure office, communication and business processes.

• Use automation and technology whenever possible to improve

efficiency and effectiveness.

• Liaise with the Business Services Hub regarding travel and service

requests and ensure office supplies are maintained at appropriate

levels.

• Provide support to the development of wider business hub processes

and procedures, including learning and using office automation and

generative AI tools.

• Role model professional behaviour including integrity, collaboration,

respect, ethical conduct and taking personal responsibility.

• Co ordinate group events and mee ngs in conjunc on with the Vice

Chancellor and the Provost and their leadership teams.

• Management of record keeping requirements for the

Vice Chancellor’s Office and Office of the Provost.

• Maintain knowledge of financial policies and processes to support the

financial function of both the Vice-Chancellor’s Office and Office of
the Provost.
Human Resources • Provide support as requested for Vice-Chancellor and Provost
recruitment processes, such as organising interviews and preparing

paperwork.

• Manage the induction and exit procedures for new permanent and

contract staff as requested.

• Support the Vice-Chancellor and Provost in the active management of

annual leave of direct reports, and their management of their staff’s

leave liabilities.

• Follow Massey University health and safety policies and practices

within own work area.
Relationship • Develop and maintain effective liaison networks across the wider

Management University.

• Liaise with other SLT members’ offices as necessary.

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• Maintain positive and collaborative professional relationships and

networks across the University, including but not limited to Colleges
& Schools, Massey Contact Centre, the Travel Management Provider.
Qualifications and Experience
Qualifications: A relevant higher level qualifica on such as in Cert in Business
Administration, or working towards one, would be desirable.
Experience: • Significant executive assistance experience at a senior level is

essential.

• Demonstrated ability to discretely handle sensitive information.
• Experience in business services and process improvement using

automated tools including Microsoft 365 e.g. SharePoint, Teams,

Power Automate.

• Significant administration experience and the ability to manage

multiple projects/initiatives at the same time.

• An understanding of the University regulatory, academic, financial

and strategic context is desirable.

• Ability to work as part of a team to achieve necessary outcomes.

Capabilities - Behaviour
Communication • Possesses written and oral communications that produces clear and

Essential complete communication for stakeholders.

• Capability to understand an intended audience/readership, their

composition and perspectives.

• Recognises which communications need to be formalised to provide

clarity, including when escalation is required.

• Conducts discussions in a respectful manner, that are sincere and

professional.

• Adapts listening and facilitation styles to others’ communication styles.

Working Together • Establishes and maintains productive working relationships with key

Essential stakeholders internally and externally.

• Contributes as a member with multiple teams that span function, issue and

location.

• Establishes and maintains credibility and appropriate confidentiality with

stakeholders.

• Proactively identifies and addresses potential issues with stakeholders.
• Leverages partnerships to improve the performance of programme or

portfolios and works to resolves conflict and other obstacles to team

performance.

• Able to coach and influence internal and external stakeholders, building

constructive working relationships.
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Continuous • Implements new systems, procedures and tools efficiently when changes
Transformation occur in the work environment.
Essential • Works with agility, adjusting current working processes or adopting new

approaches in response to changes in the organisation environment.

• Seeks challenging opportunities or assignments to grow and develop one’s

own knowledge, skills and abilities.

• Uses digital tools to innovate programme, processes, systems or services.
• Communicates and analyses assumptions about a particular issue with

colleagues to gain new perspectives or more effective solutions.
Delivering Results

Essential • Maintains focus on critical work and expectations.

• Ability to track and complete agreed work in planned timeframes.
• Takes responsibility for escalating issues that impact on planned work and

outcomes.

• Documents how results were obtained to support knowledge transfer and

best practices.

• Supports self during change by remaining flexible, focusing on the

positives, and proactively seeking out opportunities to get involved.
Service Centric
Essential • Provides a level of customer-centric service excellence that contributes to

the department’s objectives.

• Acts with the internal/external stakeholder or customer in mind, seeks to

understand and deliver on customer perceptions and expectations.

• Able to respond to common stakeholder queries and problems or escalate

if required.

• Responds to unexpected stakeholder requests with a sense of urgency and

positive action.
Capabilities - Technical
Accuracy and • Identifies tasks or outputs that require accuracy and detail-level attention.
attention to detail • Processes large amounts of detailed information with good accuracy.
Essential • Utilises specific approaches and tools for checking and cross-checking

outputs.

• Accurately gauges the impact and cost of errors, omissions, and oversights.
• Learns from mistakes and applies lessons learned.
• Evaluates, and then makes contributions, to development of best

practices.
Calendaring • Creates multi-level and repeating tasks for self and others.
Essential

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• Adds notes, attachments or reminders to tasks or appointments for self

and others.

• Prints using varied and complex setup, designs and page combinations.
• Manages multiple calendars using features such as ‘scheduling assistant’,

‘recurrence’ and adding rooms.

• Compares and contrasts functionality among different software releases.

Digital Skills • Working knowledge of core Massey University systems.
Essential • Proficient in the use of Microsoft Office 365 suite including in the use of

SharePoint, Teams, and preferably Power Automate.

• Uses preferences and other tools to customer computer

software/hardware appropriate for function.

• Identifies and resolves common software and usage problems.

Document • Identifies major document management categories and functions.
Management • Checks documents thoroughly according to standard processes and

Essential procedures.

• Follows security and version management guidelines and practices.
• Creates, stores, retrieves and archives electronic documents.
• Uses software tools and technologies for document management.
• Tracks document management’s existing issues and best practices.

Priority Setting • Demonstrates an expectation that there will be ongoing shifts in demands

Desirable and priorities.

• Clarifies and handles multiple concurrent and diverse activities.
• Addresses potential conflicts that impact current delivery commitments.
• Works with or leads others to re-prioritise work and reschedule

commitments as necessary.

• Responds to shifting priorities while maintaining progress of regularly

scheduled work.
Problem Solving • Describes problem reporting and escalation practices.

Desirable • Uses fact finding techniques and diagnos c tools to iden fy problems.

• Identifies and documents specific problems and resolution alternatives.
• Uses initiative to develop alternative techniques for assessing accuracy and

relevance of information.

• Helps to analyse risks and benefits of alternative approaches and obtain

decision on resolution.

• Examines a specific problem and understands the perspective of each

involved stakeholder.
Pre-employment checks
Essential  Requirement to pass a Criminal and Traffic Convictions (Security)
Check performed by the Ministry of Justice.

• Supporting meetings – including drafting agendas, circulating papers