Daniel Neho
- Wellington, NZ
- +64 27 258 9289
- daniel.neho@hotmail.com
Profile
I’m a senior communications advisor with more than seven years in the New Zealand public sector. I lead communications for high-profile, politically sensitive announcements – from the Budget to legislative change – and work directly with Ministers’ offices, journalists, senior leaders and subject matter experts.
I regularly step up as media lead, handling live and reactive media alongside planned announcements. I lead across agencies, manage reputational risk calmly and at pace, and bring a strong digital background, so my communications plans are delivered across every channel.
I’m ready for a principal role: owning the strategy, advising senior leaders and Ministers’ offices, and developing the people around me.
Key strengths
- Strategic communications planning for major and sensitive announcements
- Media management, including live enquiries and proactive and reactive lines
- Advising senior leaders and Ministers’ offices
- Reputational risk and issues management
- Cross-agency communications leadership
- Writing for Ministers: speeches, Q&As, talking points and key messages
- Digital, social media and publications
- Coaching and developing others
Current role
Senior Advisor Communications
My role at HUD moved to MCERT when the Ministry was set up on 1 July 2026. I provide communications and digital advice across the Ministry, with a focus on local government, digital product management and brand development.
Local government
- Digital lead: moving the Department of Internal Affairs’ (DIA) local government web content into MCERT’s new local government function
- Provide communications and digital support for local government work, including city and regional deals, the Local Government Commission and local government policy
Communications operations
- Contributed to discovery for combining the media monitoring services inherited from four agencies, gathering requirements and reviewing supplier contracts, licences and renewals
- Designed a media enquiries management system in SharePoint and Power Automate
- Contributed to communications planning and dashboard reporting, and to communications during the Ministry’s set-up
Lake Taupō Harbourmaster team
- Product owner and project lead: leading the requirements, procurement and delivery of a new boat ramp permit system
- Redesigning the boat ramp permit
- Developing the team’s brand, including its logo and brand guidance
Digital channel strategy and governance
- Co-wrote a proposal for a Digital Channels Transition Project to review, govern and reduce the number of MCERT’s digital channels
- Developing an interim digital channels approach for MCERT, with a decision framework and investment options
- Advise on the future of MCERT’s digital channels, including websites, intranets, social media, consultation platforms, newsletters and digital services
- Contributed to governance, ownership and publishing frameworks, a channel inventory and a future digital operating model
- Contributed to the intranet work programme, including governance, information architecture, moving content from old intranets and recommending which old platforms to retire
- Designed an interim release process to make the best use of the quarterly vendor support retainer
Digital product management and delivery
- Lead digital product management and continuous improvement for mcert.govt.nz, the Community Housing Regulatory Authority website (chra.hud.govt.nz) and hud.govt.nz
- Responsible for a portfolio of more than 25 government websites, including transport.govt.nz
- Leading the move of stv.govt.nz into mcert.govt.nz, including its calculator
- Leading user acceptance testing for the transport.govt.nz upgrade to Silverstripe 6.2
- Contributed to business cases, statements of work, risk assessments and delivery plans for website and digital service projects
Publishing and accessibility
- Publish and manage content across the housing, transport, environment and regional development websites, and advise business groups on publishing, document structure and accessibility
- Provided urgent publishing support so statutory and Cabinet material was published on time
- Track accessibility across MCERT’s websites using automated scan data, working towards sites with no issues
- Preparing MCERT’s websites for the new secondary legislation publishing requirements, which start on 2 November 2026
Previous roles
Senior Advisor Communications – Communications and Government Services
I led communications for major housing announcements, gave strategic advice to the Ministry, senior leaders and Ministers’ offices, and led digital and communications work to set up MCERT.
Media and ministerial communications
- Media lead: regularly acted as media lead when the communications manager was away, handling the day’s live enquiries and proactive and reactive lines, and working directly with journalists, subject matter experts and Ministers’ offices
- Developed and led communications plans for the Ministry and Ministers’ offices for major housing announcements, including the Government Policy Statement on Housing and Urban Development (GPS-HUD), the Housing Investment Plan, pet bonds, Going for Housing Growth, regulating residential property managers, the Retirement Villages Act, methamphetamine contamination and Budget 2025
- Budget 2026: communications and digital lead for housing announcements, including pre-Budget announcements
- Drafted speeches, reactive Q&As and media responses for Housing Ministers and the Ministry
Strategic and cross-agency leadership
- Led the cross-agency communications approach for Auckland city centre initiatives
- Led communications for move-on orders
- Led and designed the short-term actions factsheet
- Led internal communications while the internal communications role was vacant, including for the Microsoft Copilot rollout
Setting up MCERT
- Led the MCERT website, intranet, social media and brand work, delivering mcert.govt.nz and the MCERT intranet for launch on 1 July 2026
- Set up MCERT’s Facebook, X and LinkedIn channels, with a social media strategy, setup guides and a channel register
Digital and publications
- Managed production of the annual report, and designed the GPS-HUD and Housing Investment Plan publications
- Led the redevelopment of the secondary legislation section of hud.govt.nz
- Improved the accessibility of hud.govt.nz (completed April 2026)
Developing others
- Coached and trained a colleague in communications and digital work
Communications Advisor
I provided communications advice and support to the Chief Ombudsman and the Office.
- Led strategic communications and media management for the Chief Ombudsman, including high-risk announcements
- Advised the Chief Ombudsman and senior managers on risk, relationships and external stakeholders
- Wrote communications and engagement plans, speeches, talking points, Q&As, media releases, web content, social media posts, newsletters and presentations
- Provided media and social media support at the Chief Ombudsman’s external events
- Championed plain language and good web content practice across teams in Auckland and Wellington
Analyst – Intranet Content
Promoted from Communications Advisor (April to June 2022) after proposing a better content design process, including content strategy and governance.
- Redesigned the SharePoint document library and knowledge base, and planned how to move existing content into them
- Planned, managed and published all intranet content in SharePoint, and handled content requests from business units
- Trained staff across the organisation in SharePoint, plain language and the NZ Government Web Standards
- Managed quality management system review cycles and version control, and reported on usage with recommendations for improvement
- Mentored technical writers and led a community of practice on content design, plain language and WCAG
Internal Communications Advisor (secondment)
- Coordinated internal communications for MSD’s COVID-19 welfare response, including the COVID-19 Protection Framework
- Sent a twice-daily email newsletter to all MSD staff during the August 2021 lockdown
- Planned and developed communications for a restructure across a business group
- Ran a weekly live online forum with the Acting Deputy Chief Executive, and managed content for four internal digital channels
Online Content Advisor
- Helped create and put in place the content strategy for a new knowledge base, including training, processes, content plans and audits
- Turned complex technical information into clear, easy-to-find content, working with subject matter experts
- Published content in TeamSite and Confluence, and created Google Data Studio reports
- Trained advisors in TeamSite, Confluence and Google Analytics, and contributed to the knowledge management style guide
Web Content Coordinator
- Subject matter expert for the redesign of the SuperGold website and mobile app
- Wrote, managed and published content for the SuperGold website and the team’s knowledge base
- Planned and ran a one-day event to launch the new SuperGold website and app
- Processed SuperGold and Community Services Card applications, and wage subsidy applications during the COVID-19 response
Other roles
- Website Content Manager and Consultant – New Zealand Uniforms, Wellington (November 2018 to June 2019)
- Assistant Manager – The Brand Outlet, New Zealand-wide (June 2017 to September 2018)
- Retail Assistant – The Brand Outlet, Wellington (May 2017)
Certifications
- Change Management Foundation – APMG
- Yellow Belt, Lean Six Sigma – Kāinga Ora
- Web Content Writing – Contented
- The Fundamentals of Digital Marketing – Google
- Graphic Design and Web Design packages – Yoobee
- Automotive Engineering – Whitirea Polytechnic
Referees
Available on request.