Chief Strategy and Growth Officer

Posted on SEEK - closes 21 July 2026. Mō mātou | About us The Institute of Directors (IoD) is Aotearoa New Zealand’s leading professional body for directors and is at the heart of the governance community. We are dedicated to advancing governance excellence and play a central role in shaping the country’s governance landscape, fostering strong and inclusive director networks and helping directors navigate complexity, strengthen decision-making, and create positive impact across business and society. We lead governance excellence by setting and upholding the highest standards of governance practice, responding to and advocating for the evolving needs of directors, setting the benchmark for governance education in Aoteaora and support and enabling directors to positively transform their organisations. Te aronga o te tūranga | Position purpose The Chief Strategy and Growth Officer is a vital member of IoD’s senior leadership team. The role leads the development and performance of the organisation strategy, strengthens IoD’s brand and partnerships, and positions IoD as the leading voice on governance in Aotearoa New Zealand. The role accelerates growth across partnerships, national events and commercial learning portfolios, ensuring our programmes are market informed and future focused. The role leads teams in brand, marketing and content; strategic partnerships and business development and learning delivery operations. This role requires an innovative and futurist mindset, creativity and vision, commercial acumen and a commitment to transformative change in governance. Coupled with strong leadership and operational excellence, the Chief Strategy and Growth Officer is a key contributor to building a strong, sustainable and high performing IoD. Ā mātou uara | Our values Māiatanga | CourageManaakitanga | Support Kaitiakiatanga | StewardshipWhakautetanga | Individual He pukenga wai | Learners for Life Key responsibilities | Ngā haepapa matua Organisational leadership Contribute to building a strong, sustainable and innovative organisation recognised as a benchmark for good governance. Work collectively with IoD’s senior leadership team, board, council, branch network and other stakeholders to develop, deliver and achieve IoD’s strategy and annual plans - and take accountability for achievement of activity in relevant areas. Report to the chief executive, board and council on relevant matters ensuring transparency and robustness of information and accountability. Motivate, develop and lead direct reports to achieve their goals and effectively lead their own teams to deliver IoD’s strategic objectives and annual plan. Strategy leadership Provide insight, strategic advice, challenge and thought partnership to the chief executive, leadership team, board and council. Lead strategy planning, setting, monitoring and driving the implementation of the strategy. Lead or sponsor strategic and special projects as agreed with the chief executive (e.g. new commercial programmes or membership markets, or digital experience uplift). Brand and reputation leadership Own IoD’s brand strategy—positioning, promise, strength and identity—ensuring IoD’s reputation as the leading voice on governance in Aotearoa. Ensure activity to enhance the brand position and remedy issues as required to safeguard IoD’s brand Oversee marketing, member and customer research and develop strategies to enhance or improve these, including growth and engagement targets, business model, member/customer segments and tailored solutions. Oversee the development of content streams to grow engagement with members and the wider governance community Ensure brand and communications risks are identified, and risk management plans are in place. Oversee IoD’s content strategy including quality of content, strategic positioning and distribution channels – including digital channels (e.g. website, social media and direct marketing). Corporate communications Oversee the development and delivery of the corporate communication strategy including planning, positioning, media, spokespeople positioning, and crisis communications. Ensure IoD has a strong and influential presence in the media and with key stakeholders, progressing IoD’s policy, advocacy and thought leadership programmes. Partnerships, sponsorships and national engagement Build and nurture strategic relationships to strengthen and leverage IoD’s role in governance and business networks. Identify opportunities to grow IoD’s partnerships and lead the development of proposals that effectively position the IoD and clearly articulate the value proposition and opportunities Oversee the sponsorship strategy, growth and achievement of sponsorship income, including identification and negotiation of new sponsorship opportunities as required. With the Chief Executive, Leadership Team and Corporate Communications Lead, develop and deliver a strategic stakeholder engagement plan. Commercial growth and portfolio performance Own P&L for Sponsorship, National Events and the Professional Development portfolio (Courses, In-house and online learning). With portfolio leads and cross-IoD teams, develop commercial strategies and new products informed by market insights and governance best practice. Identify opportunities and support the growth in commercial partnerships and major proposals; ensure propositions are commercially robust and aligned to IoD’s purpose and commercial ambitions. Collaborate across the IoD, bringing together intellectual property, knowledge, services and products in a holistic way to meet client’s needs. Delivery excellence Oversee the positioning and delivery of the annual Leadership Conference and other flagship events (e.g., Leading Director/Chair’s forums) supporting brand, engagement and commercial targets. Oversee the delivery of and engaging, innovative and high-quality professional development programme ensuring it is aligned to director best practice expectations and meets market/customer needs. Ensure strong collaboration with the Learning Team so market insights inform new learning product development – and new products are commercially viable. Ensure robust planning, budgeting and resource allocation across the portfolio. Embed fitforpurpose processes, quality assurance and vendor/contract management. General Positively contributes to a collaborative and high-performing ‘one IoD team’ that focuses on outcomes, impact, effectiveness and delivering value for our members and customers Prioritises the health, safety and wellbeing of self and others Undertakes other activities as are reasonably required to carry out the functions of the position. Person Specification | Mōu ake Qualifications and experience A tertiary qualification, preferably in the areas of Marketing or Communications Several years’ general management experience reporting to a chief executive Demonstrated experience in brand creation and management, marketing and communications, media communications and content including online production Experience in setting or leading the development of organisational strategies. Good commercial nous, able to set commercial goals and budgets and deliver on these Experience leading multi-disciplinary teams and building high-performance cultures Skills and knowledge Strong ability to think strategically Innovative thinking and able to lead change Confident being the digital and content voice of the organisation Excellent communications and interpersonal skills with the ability to interact effectively with people at all levels of the organisation and represent IoD professionally and diplomatically in external settings Culturally aware and competent and able to build authentic and respectful relationships with people of all cultures and backgrounds Excellent analytical skills and a good understanding of research methodologies and techniques Able to understand and utilise data, metrics and analytics Excellent reporting skills The ability to prioritise and manage conflicting demands A strong focus on quality, delivery and outputs A strong collaborator who works effectively in a small team He whakahounga ki ngā haepapa| Amendments to the responsibilities The responsibilities of this position are expected to change as the IoD responds to the changing environment. This position description will be updated as required to reflect these changes. The incumbent will need flexibility to adapt and develop as the environment evolves. Rangatiratanga | Authority The Chief Strategy & Growth Officer has the authority to make decisions and carry out actions in all matters related to the responsibilities and deliverables of the position consistent with IoD policy, delegations and agreed budget approval. #J-18808-Ljbffr