Kaitautoko kapamatua: Ngā mahi me ngā kawenga

Executive Sponsor: Roles and responsibilities

What is an Executive Sponsor?

If your organisation is a public office or local authority (public sector organisation), it is covered by the mandatory Information and Records Management Standard. The Standard requires a designated Executive Sponsor. The Executive Sponsor role has strategic and executive responsibility for overseeing information and records management (IM) in your organisation.

An Executive Sponsor should:

• be a person reporting to the administrative head of your organisation — the Chief Executive

• have organisation-wide influence, particularly within the upper tiers of your organisation

• have appropriate strategic and managerial skills

• be able to liaise closely with information and accountability stakeholders

• understand how to promote and encourage IM in your organisation.

In a large organisation, the Executive Sponsor does not need to have specialist IM skills as they are not usually involved in day-to-day operations.

In a small organisation, the same person may be responsible for IM as well as the Executive Sponsor role. The Chief Executive may also have the Executive Sponsor role.

Ultimately, the administrative head of your organisation remains responsible for ensuring that IM is implemented and that your organisation complies with the Public Records Act 2005.

Exemption for the Courts

In 2025, the Courts were granted an exemption to sections 1.2 and 1.3 of the Standard. This exemption means the Courts Sponsor will act in place of the Executive Sponsor. The Chief Advisor Legal and Policy in the Office of the Chief Justice currently holds this role.

For more information, see Courts Sponsor role and responsibilities.

Key responsibilities of the Executive Sponsor

The Executive Sponsor champions the importance of IM among your organisation’s leadership. The aim is for everyone in an organisation to see IM as an integral part of a business operating effectively.

The Executive Sponsor is responsible for:

• ensuring that the strategy and policy adopted by your organisation supports IM

• being involved in strategic and operational planning to align IM with the corporate objectives and business activities of your organisation

• liaising with business units to ensure that IM is integrated into work processes, systems and services

• overseeing the budget for IM and ensuring the resources needed to support it are known and sought in funding decisions

• ensuring that staff with appropriate skills are available to implement IM strategies

• monitoring and reviewing IM to ensure that it is implemented, transparent and meets business needs, including issues identified through internal and external audits

• ensuring that risks to information and records are:

  • identified

  • documented in risk registers, and

  • managed

• ensuring that assurance activities around risks to information and records are completed.

The Executive Sponsor’s role extends beyond their organisation. They are responsible for cooperating and liaising with us about monitoring and reporting on compliance.

We encourage Executive Sponsors to network with other Executive Sponsors to share best practices and align on processes.

How the Executive Sponsor can fulfil this role

When an organisation aligns its IM to its business objectives, it can add value to its products and services. IM is an investment that your organisation can reuse and benefit from.

The Executive Sponsor should implement effective IM strategies and policies to:

• encourage your organisation to value IM

• align IM to business objectives

• facilitate strategic partnerships

• increase efficiency.

When your organisation is planning and developing an IM strategy, this is an ideal time to align with your organisation’s business and to ensure that information and records support business operations and service delivery. The Executive Sponsor can oversee the incorporation of IM requirements into business processes and systems design.

Position level and leading by example can influence staff attitudes

The Executive Sponsor’s position level in your organisation means they can positively influence staff attitudes to IM. They can help to develop a strong culture focused on managing information and records appropriately. They can act as a broker between business groups and IM staff to ensure that IM effectively supports business priorities.

The Executive Sponsor can change staff attitudes by leading by example. They can ensure that they understand and use organisational systems for managing information and records, and encourage staff to do likewise.

Strategic skills can help find efficiencies

The Executive Sponsor can use their strategic skills to ensure IM strategies are efficient and maximise the funds allocated to them. They can encourage effective IM practices to:

• generate savings across your organisation

• prevent information and records being kept longer than necessary

• ensure high value information and records are accessible and usable

• manage information and records risks and issues

• provide assurance that information and records are well managed.

Improved IM can help minimise costs

Your organisation can experience costs from:

• lost opportunities

• lost collaborations

• poor decision-making, and

• strategic mistakes.

These losses are sometimes due to poor IM or a lack of information and records. Improved information and records flows can:

• improve the quality of decision-making

• provide the basis to maintain products and services effectively

• drive collaboration and innovation

• improve transparency around government operations, and

• increase your organisation’s public profile.

Contact us

Contact us if you have any questions about the role or want to notify us that you have a new or changed Executive Sponsor.

Email: rkexecutivesponsor@dia.govt.nz.

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