NHRI Leadership: an introductory guide its accountability obligations. They must also ensure that the NHRI and all its leaders and staff comply fully with the highest ethical standards of integrity, honesty and transparency. They are the custodians of the NHRI’s values. The governance responsibilities of the top leaders include • acting consistently with the NHRI’s founding law, vision and mission, objectives and functions • complying with high ethical standards in the spirit of service to the public • monitoring and enhancing performance and encouraging high performance • safeguarding the integrity of the NHRI’s reporting • ensuring that gender issues and gender perspectives are mainstreamed throughout the NHRI’s work and in its policies and procedures inside the NHRI • fostering constructive relationships with the NHRI’s stakeholders to encourage them to engage with the NHRI • laying solid foundations for management, oversight and standards, and for efficient and effective working • ensuring accountability and transparency • guarding the NHRI’s reputation • recognising and managing risk • acting diligently and prudently and in a financially responsible manner • acting honestly, with integrity, in good faith and not contrary to the NHRI’s interests • exercising the responsibility to be a good practice employer • reporting publicly on the NHRI’s performance and its use of financial, personnel and other resources.13 3. Strategic planning and direction Governance responsibilities include strategic planning and direction but here the responsibilities are shared with the SEO and the staff leadership team. In general, the process of strategic planning is managed by the SEO and the product, the strategic plan, is the responsibility of the commission in a commission-model NHRI and the ombudsperson in an ombuds-model NHRI, as appropriate. They alone have the authority to approve the strategic plan for the whole NHRI and then monitor and report on its implementation. The strategic plan includes the NHRI’s vision, mission, goals and objectives, strategies and priorities. It should also include its performance indicators so that success can be measured and reported. It should identify the groups that will receive particular attention from the NHRI due to their experience of human rights violations or risk of human rights violation. The situation and perspectives of women should be given specific attention and the plan should ensure gender mainstreaming throughout the NHRI’s work. Strategic planning, the process by which the strategic plan is produced, should be a wide, consultative exercise to which every member of the NHRI’s leaders and staff is able to contribute. 13 16 Drawn from New Zealand Human Rights Commission Commissioner Handbook 2008.