Information on senior managers in the Public Service and the Public Service Leaders Group.

Seniority profile

As at 30 June 2025, 11.9% of the Public Service workforce were management staff, led by 42 Public Service leaders (40 secretary and chief executive and 2 Deputy Public Service Commissioner positions), 4 of whom were in acting positions. 

In total, there were 1,231 senior managers (tiers 1, 2 and 3), and 6,421 other managers. The remaining 88.1% (56,511 staff) were non-management.  

Senior manager metrics (tiers 1 to 3)

As at 30 June 2025, there were 1,231 senior managers in the Public Service (defined as the top 3 tiers of managers with chief executives being tier one). This compares to 1,327 senior managers last year. 

The percentage of women in the top 3 tiers of senior management was 56.5%, very slightly down on 56.7% last year, but following increases each year since 2013, when the proportion was 41.5%. Male representation in senior management is 42.8%.   

Senior managers reported being 76.8% European, 17.3% Māori, 4.8% Pacific peoples, 3.8% Asian and 0.8% Middle Eastern, Latin American or African (MELAA). These add to more than 100% as it includes those with multiple ethnicities. Although Pacific and Asian managers continue to remain under-represented compared to either the Public Service workforce or the New Zealand population, there has been improvement in representation over the past five-years: 

  • Māori representation is now 17.3% (up from 17.1% in 2024 and 12.4% in 2020).   
  • Pacific representation is now 4.8% (down from 5.3% in 2024 but up from 3.4% in 2020). 
  • Asian representation is now 3.8% (up from 3.3% in 2024 and 2.5% in 2020). 

Annual sick and domestic leave usage for senior management was 4.8 days in 2025. This is low compared with the 8.1 days for the other managers group and 10.6 days on average for non-managerial staff. The usage of sick/domestic leave by senior management in 2025 represents a second small annual drop, following the record high seen in 2023 (5.1 days).  

Senior leaders comparison(CSV, 703 bytes)

Senior leaders data table by agency(CSV, 73 KB)

Senior leaders trends(CSV, 149 KB)

Te Pae Turuki Public Service Leaders Group metrics

Te Pae Turuki Public Service Leaders Group (PSLG) was formed in 2017 with criteria revised in early 2024 to focus more on “system” leadership. Chief Executives identify which of their senior positions meet PSLG criteria. Leaders in these positions make up the membership of PSLG. 

A position will be designated as being in PSLG when it is: 

  • Based in an agency where the Chief Executive is part of PSLT – any departmental agency or functional chief executives that sit outside of PSLT are also members of PSLG: 
    • and is either a tier 2 Executive Leadership Team (ELT) position, or, 
    • another senior-level position with a significant system leadership component i.e. is: 
      • responsible for initiating, shaping, and/or driving a strategy, public policy or initiative that is a Government, PSLT, or regional priority; and 
      • mostly focused outwardly on achieve those joint outcomes by: 
      • working collaboratively with senior leaders beyond its agency e.g. representatives from other agencies, sector/regional organisations, Māori, community groups, NGOs, business, etc; and/or 
      • representing this work as the key interface with Government. 

As at 30 June 2025, there were 660 members of PSLG, 49.5% male and 47.3% female (gender was unknown for the remainder of the members). 

Information on Te Pae Turuki Public Service Leadership Group is available here: Public Service Leaders Group

Public Service leaders metrics (tier 1) 

As at 30 June 2025, the 42 Public Service Leaders reported being 79.5% European, 15.4% Māori, 5.1% Pacific Peoples, 5.1% Asian and 2.6% MELAA (these add to more than 100% as it includes those with multiple ethnicities). 

At that same point in time, women held 19 of the 42 Public Service Leader roles, or 45% (the same as in 2024, although down from 54% at the same time in 2023). Current information can be found on the Public Service Leaders page. 

The latest leader profiles are available here: Who leads the Public Service