Associate Professor Jennifer Susan Lees-Marshment

Biography

Jennifer Lees-Marshment is a research-led but practice-oriented cross-disciplinary academic working in the areas of Political Marketing, Political Management and Political Leadership. She is author/editor of 15 books, a world expert in political marketing and A-rated in the NZ research assessment (PBRF 2018/2012). Jennifer was Academic Advisor to TVNZ’s Vote Compass (2014, 2017) and Kiwimeter (2015) initiatives, engaging over a million members of the public in discussing politics and policy and facilitating the University and TVNZ partnering to host the first ever 1 News Young Voters Debate in 2017. Jennifer won the International Association for Public Participation Research Award for Australasia and was appointed to Chair the NZ Magna Carta 800th anniversary committee in 2015. She currently leads the University's Community of Interest in Employability.

Research | Current

Jennifer is a world expert in Political Marketing, being author/lead editor of the textbook, Routledge Handbook, and Palgrave Book series in the field. She also completed an award-winning book The Ministry of Public Input on how public input can be integrated into political leadership. She has interviewed over 200 political practitioners including govenrment ministers and advisors to Prime Ministers and Presidents. Her most recent edited book Political marketing and management in the 2017 New Zealand Election (Palgrave) utilises Vote Compass survey data of 250,000 respondents. Currently Jennifer is writing a book Political Management: core principles and functions of managing government and politics to define the emerging field, covering: strategic planning, political HR, organisational behaviour, leadership and evaluation. 

Nurturing research leadership is fundamental to her work, through event and network organisation, editorial work, and mentoring other scholars. She is also involved in engagement through media work and impact through applied research and advice on political strategy and engagement.

See www.lees-marshment.org for further details.

Teaching | Current

In her teaching Jennifer seeks to develop employability with applied assignments.

POLITICS 315 The Practice of Politics explores the nature, suitability, skills and ethics needed to get and succeed when working in politics, government and IR - see resource centre at  https://www.coursebuilder.cad.auckland.ac.nz/flexiblelearning/practice-of-politics/ (Auckland login only)

POLITICS 345 Political Marketing - see www.political-marketing.org

POLITICS 704 Political Management in Government 

Postgraduate supervision

Dr Lees-Marshment can supervise graduate research in political marketing, political management, government management, political parties and elections, political communication, political leadership, government and public consultation, public administration, government marketing, policy marketing and nation branding. Current PhD students include:

• Luna (Liang) Zhao, National and Labour Parties use of political marketing to target Chinese New Zealanders
• Bey Widodo, The Understanding and Overcoming Resistance to Change in Public Sector Reform: the Case of Indonesian Government
• Joyce Manyo, The Design and Delivery of the Political Brand promise in Ghana
• Salma Usman Malik, Online media and the political knowledge of the young in New Zealand
• Andrew Lim Political marketing and nation branding by NZ and Australian advocacy groups to support Israeli and Palestinian governmental public diplomacy

Previous students have worked on topics such as market-oriented parties, market-oriented communication of leaders, political public relations, branding government departments, e-marketing, party participation, e-consultation, nation branding and tourism marketing. Research can explore a range of countries including the United States, New Zealand, UK, Australia, Canada, Ghana, Indonesia, Malaysia and China.

Jennifer also supports graduate students in running Political marketing and management network for current and former students, encouraging her graduates to be an active group and attend events such as campaign launches and TVNZ debates in elections.

Her Masters students often obtain jobs immediately after completing their thesis. Check out this video with MA student Tom James who developed a passion for working in market research whilst studying under Jennifer, and got a job with Colmar Brunton with his role including research for government.

Distinctions/Honours

• Visiting Fellow at the Crawford School of Public Policy, ANU, 2019
• Visiting Professor at the University of Ghana Business school, 2019
• Invited Plenary speaker for the International Association for Public Participation Australasia Conference, Brisbane, 2018
• Academic Advisor to TVNZ's Vote Compass, 2017
• Academic Advisor to TVNZ's Kiwimeter, 2016
• Keynote (English language) for the Canadian Communication Association conference, ‘Everybody's talking at me: managing the incessant communication of public input to our political leaders.’ 2016
• CLeaR Fellow in Teaching and Learning for 2015 on the theme Student engagement and achievement, completing an online resource to help academics teach the practice of politics
• Appointed Chair of the Magna Carta 800th Committee for New Zealand, 2015
• Academic Advisor to TVNZ's Vote Compass for the 2014 New Zealand Election (see research works wonders video). 
• Fellow of the Political Management Programme at Carleton University in Canada, 2013
• Political Science Keynote at the Contested Democracy Conference, University Paris Sobonne Nouvelle, Paris, 2012
• President of the NZPSA (New Zealand Political Studies Association) 2011-2012
• Distinguished Visiting Scholar, University of Suffolk, Boston, USA, sponsored by the College of Arts and Sciences, the John Joseph Moakley Institute, and the Institute for Diversity in Civic Leadership, 2011
• Visiting Professor, Political Science, Masaryk University; Politics/European Studies, Palacký University Czech Republic, 2010
• Keynote, UiTM, Malaysia, 'The Political Marketing Game', 2009
• Visiting professorship, Centre for the Study of Democratic Citizenship, McGill/Laval University, and Keynote, Political Marketing Practice and Research in Canada Workshop, Canadian Political Science Association (CPSA), 2009
• Keynote, The Democracy Week Conference, Mid-Sweden University, Sundsvall, Sweden ‘Political marketing: the key to electoral success or cause of democratic turmoil?’ 2004

Responsibilities

Employability

• Co Co-ordinator of the University Community of Interest in Employability, 2019 onwards
• University of Auckland Representative on the Universities NZ Work Integrated Learning Working Group, 2019 onwards​
• Member of the Future Ready Grads project https://www.futurereadygrads.ac.nz/about-us/, end 2018 onwards
• Employability Advocate for the School of Social Sciences, 2017 onwards. See online resources:
  • For staff: Teaching Employability in the Arts: resources and guidance https://coursebuilder.cad.auckland.ac.nz/flexicourses/teaching-employability-in-arts/
  • For students: Careers and Employability in the Arts for students https://www.coursebuilder.cad.auckland.ac.nz/flexiblelearning/arts-students-employability/  with links to workshops in 2019

Impact

• Member of the Convening Group for the University Community of Interest in Impact, 2019 onwards
• Academic lead on the University of Auckland Working Group on Impact, 2018 

Areas of expertise

• Political marketing
• Political management
• Political leadership
• Political communication
• Parties and elections
• Media, consultation, deliberation and public input

Committees/Professional groups/Services

Current activities:

• Associate Editor for the European Journal of Marketing, 2018 onwards
• Editor of the book series Palgrave Studies in Political Marketing and Management, 2015 onwards
• Editorial board member for the Journal of Public Affairs, 2019 onwards
• Editorial board member for the International Review on Public and Nonprofit Marketing 2009 onwards
• Communications officer for the PSA Political Marketing Group

Past activities include:

• Lead, Embedding Employability, Faculty of Arts BA Renewal, 2016-17
• Editor of special issues of the Journal of Non-profit and Public Sector Marketing (2016), Journal of Non-profit & Public Sector Marketing (2005), International Journal of Non-profit and Voluntary sector marketing (2003) and Journal of Public Affairs (2003)
• Member of the Reference Group on the University Graduate Profile, 2014
• Member of the internal social sciences committee for the PBRF research exercise, 2012
• Member of IAP2 Auckland branch organising committee
• Chair of the Department of Political Studies Research Committee, 2013
• Training on the Practice of Political Marketing delivered to Carleton University political management graduate students, 2013
• Invited trainer for the Government of Macedonia’s Training for Young Leaders, to teach Political Marketing and Leadership, 2012
• Postgraduate enrichment co-ordinator Political Studies Auckland University 2010-2011
• Founding Chair of the Departmental Learning and Teaching Committee Political Studies Auckland University 2006-7
• Director of Quality, Management Department, during Institutional Quality Audit Discipline Audit Trail 2003-4