Being on a board FAQs

A board is a group of people who provide leadership, strategic direction and financial oversight for an organisation. Board members will focus on the high-level and strategic planning, providing advice and making decisions, rather than day to day operations on the ground.

The board will make sure that:

• Finances are sound.
• Operations are legal.
• Procedures are working.
• Assets are safe.
• All tasks are carried out in the public interest.

Learn more about governance and board roles on the Institute of Directors New Zealand website

It depends on how well your skills and experience match that of the position. A single vacancy can receive 100 nominations.

Several government agencies may provide nominations, as well as non-government organisations. Some positions are also advertised on social media channels and newspapers inviting people to apply directly.

There are a number of things you could do to increase your chances of being appointed:

• Provide as much detail as you can when you fill out our nomination’s application form. Our Nominations Service can only work with the information you provide, so it is essential that you complete all parts of our form.
• Talk to people who have held governance roles and become familiar with the responsibilities and commitment required.
• Become involved in governance roles in local community organisations or professional associations and build your way up to regional and national level roles. For example, you may consider standing for your children’s schools board of trustees, or the board of a local community organisation.
• Keep an eye out for upcoming governance roles that interest you where you can show that you meet the requirements.
• Look out for any training opportunities in governance, including professional development courses by the Institute of Directors in New Zealand and Governance New Zealand.
• Sports New Zealand offers a free Governance 101 online training.
• Community Aotearoa is an online hub of resource designed to strengthen communities. You can find useful information to assist you on your governance and leadership journey.

• Follow the Ministry for Pacific Peoples on Linkedin where we will share governance opportunities as we become aware of them.
• State sector board roles are often advertised under the “Boards and Governance” category on the jobs.govt.nz website.
• Sign up to receive updates from Appoint Better Boards about current governance vacancies.
• Seek Volunteer is a useful place to search for current voluntary and entry level community governance opportunities.

We don’t appoint Public Servants to government boards and committees, unless they have a specific skillset required that cannot be provided by candidates outside the public service.

Most appointment terms are for two to five years.

Most positions on boards pay meeting fees, and most reimburse travel expenses. It is important to consider the commitment and financial cost of an appointment before you agree to it.

This depends on the board and role. It is common for boards to meet for a half or whole day each month. Preparation time might add another one to two days’ work per month.

The information on your form is stored in our database. When the Ministry nominates you for a role, we send a copy of your details to the appointing agency and possibly to Ministerial Offices that are involved in the appointments process.

Contact us as soon as the information on your CV changes, but particularly if your contact details change, otherwise we will not be able to contact you if a suitable position becomes available.

Yes. We are always happy to hear from people on our database who express an interest in a particular Board or portfolio as this information helps us identify suitable vacancies for you.

We may be in contact:

• If we receive nominations requests that matches your skills and experience.
• To invite you to directly apply for nominations opportunities that may be available on other Appointing Organisations websites.
• If we require your updated CV.
• At least every 6 months or more regularly depending on the type of nominations requests we receive.

We are one of several government agencies who nominate people for positions on government boards and committees such as:

• Ministry for Women: Nominations Service
• Te Puni Kōkiri: Governance and Appointments
• Office of Ethnic Communities: Nominations Database
• Office for Disability Issues
• Ministry of Consumer Affairs