After more than a year, the Ministry of Education has finally filled its top position permanently.

It comes after a lengthy recruitment process, since October 2024, making it one of the longest vacancies in the public service in recent history.

At present, Ellen MacGregor-Reid is the acting Ministry of Education secretary and chief executive. The Public Service Commission has now announced that her tenure in both roles will become permanent.

MacGregor-Reid has held senior leadership roles at the Ministry of Education since 2015, including deputy secretary positions responsible for curriculum, early learning and policy.

Deputy Public Service Commissioner Heather Baggott said MacGregor-Reid had shown she was a leader who could deliver on the Government’s priorities and lead significant change across the education system.

“MacGregor-Reid has led and progressed the Government’s education priorities, including major reform to the curriculum and NCEA,” Baggott said.

“MacGregor-Reid has earned the trust of successive ministers to lead changes that make a real difference for students.

“Her leadership, credibility within the sector, and focus on high-performance make her well placed to lead the ministry through its next phase.”

MacGregor-Reid held a Master of Arts with First Class Honours in human geography from the University of Auckland, Baggott said.

She has been appointed for four-and-a-half years from November 25.

The ministry’s long-term boss, Iona Holsted, left in October 2024 after eight years in the role. At the time, RNZ said Holsted had left the post two months early for family reasons.

Since then, MacGregor-Reid has been acting secretary for education.

Education Minister Erica Stanford welcomed MacGregor-Reid’s appointment, saying she had so far played a “crucial role” in driving the Government’s education agenda.

“Our reforms are about ambition, raising achievement and delivering better outcomes for our young people,” Stanford said.

“I look forward to continuing to work with her to ensure every student, regardless of background, has the chance to reach their potential at school.”

Julia Gabel is a Wellington-based political reporter. She joined the Herald in 2020 and has most recently focused on data journalism.