Who got that job?

Were you one of the people who applied for this job and wondered who got it?

Job title: Chief executive and secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

Simon Murdoch, 52, has come back to his first love - foreign affairs. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, with 900 staff here and abroad, oversees New Zealand's relationships with other countries.

Christchurch-born Murdoch, who has a masters degree in American studies from Canterbury University, joined the foreign service in 1972, and was posted to Washington and Canberra.

He was later out of the field for 10 years, doing two stints in the Prime Minister's office and rising to become chief executive of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet.

He has just finished a three-and-a-half-year stint as New Zealand's High Commissioner to Australia, once again based in Canberra.

"I enjoy the diplomatic service and I enjoy being around foreign affairs and trade issues," says Murdoch.

"You like to feel you're contributing. "

Murdoch needs to enjoy the jobs he does - "work should be a joyful experience." But he says contact with people motivates him most.

"There are quite a lot of qualitative and 'feel' factors [in diplomatic jobs] and judgment calls that have to get made in pulling down a successful piece of diplomacy."

He started work in Wellington last week, and plan A is "walking around getting to know people and breathe through my nose for a while. I need to understand how the place ticks."

And he will be "trying to communicate a few of my values and beliefs to staff at all levels, particularly to people with management responsibility."