Summary curriculum vitae

Work record

2017 – now Independent advisor and consultant on tertiary education

I have undertaken work for Universities New Zealand, the OECD, the Tertiary Education Commission, the Fiji Higher Education Commission, the Primary Sector Industry Training Organisation, the Ministry of Education the Ministry for Ethnic Communities and the University of Otago.

2002 – 2017 New Zealand Ministry of Education

2013 – 2017          Group Manager, Tertiary Education Policy

2002 – 2013          Senior Manager, Tertiary Sector Performance Analysis

1987 – 2002 Lincoln University, Canterbury, New Zealand

2001 – 2002           Assistant Vice-Chancellor

1989 – 2001           Academic Registrar

1987 – 1989           Assistant Registrar (Academic)

1976 – 1986 Xavier College, Christchurch, New Zealand

1976 – 1986           Maths teacher/ Dean/ Head of Department/Deputy Principal

Principal responsibilities as Group Manager, Tertiary Education Policy at the Ministry of Education

Leadership of the Ministry of Education’s tertiary education policy and research and analysis programmes

Leadership of the Tertiary Education Group’s management team

Leadership of work on youth policy, working alongside the labour and social welfare ministries

Management of the relationship between the Ministry of Education and the Minister for Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment.

Previous Ministry of Education management responsibilities

Government agency performance oversight

Between 2006 and 2010, I led the Ministry of Education’s Crown entity monitoring programme, responsible for overseeing the performance of the government’s four education agencies – the NZ Qualifications Authority, the Tertiary Education Commission, the NZ Teachers Council and Careers NZ. 

In this role, I was responsible for analysing and reporting on organisational performance and developing advice to ministers on the roles of the organisations, on their governance and on machinery of government questions.  This work also involved advice to ministers on appointments to the agencies’ governing boards.

As Manager, Tertiary Sector Performance Analysis

Development and leadership of the Ministry of Education’s programme of tertiary education research, analysis, monitoring, forecasting and policy costing.

Building linkages between the research and analysis work and the tertiary education policy programme – anticipating the emerging policy questions, producing policy-relevant evaluative analysis and advocating for the use of analytical results in support of policy advice.

Leadership in the development and enhancement of the tertiary education data infrastructure and of analytical approaches.

Leadership of information system development projects – particularly, the integration of education data with data from other government agencies.

I have been active as an analyst and researcher on tertiary education. I have published more than 30 papers and journal articles and written a large number of book chapters.  My published work has focused on the outcomes of tertiary education, research performance and student support.

International roles and projects

In 2018 and 2019, I was engaged by the Fiji Higher Education Commission to conduct a review of the country’s higher education funding model, to recommend changes, to create a new funding model, to develop the system to implement the model and to train the staff in the model. 

In 2019 and 2020, I advised the Fiji Higher Education Commission on the development of a new system for monitoring higher education institutions.  The system was trialed in 2019 and implemented in 2020.

In 2019 and 2020, I was technical lead on the team developing a graduate outcomes survey for Fiji, under contract to the Fiji Higher Education Commission.

In 2020, 2021 and 2022, I undertook a range of policy projects for the OECD’s higher education team. I worked as a researcher, analyst and technical editor on projects that explored higher education resourcing, structure and digitalisation in the European Union, Ireland, Finland, Hungary and Germany. I was also engaged as a researcher on the OECD’s project to investigate how labour market information can be used in systems for advising students’ on their choice of post-compulsory education and careers.

In 2017, I was an expert member of the OECD team reviewing the Japanese education system, developing advice for the Japanese government on the medium-term direction for education in Japan.   In 2017/18 was also an expert member of the OECD’s review of the Greek education system. In 2005, I was a member of the OECD expert panel that reviewed the tertiary education system of Iceland.

University management experience

Before joining the Ministry of Education, I had a number of senior management roles at Lincoln University in Canterbury, New Zealand.

Management of the programme approval and quality assurance processes

Development and oversight of the academic performance framework

Management and quality oversight of student administration processes.

Managing the development of the university’s annual plan.