Outgoing Reserve Bank Governor Alan Bollard will become the new executive director of the APEC Secretariat.
A statement released by APEC ministers on Thursday from Vladivostok says Dr Bollard will begin his three-year term on January 1.
He has been the governor of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand for the last decade and steps down from that role on September 25.
He makes his final decision the official cash rate next Thursday.
His new job will see him head the Singapore-based secretariat, the coordinating, technical and advisory body that supports sustainable economic growth and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific.
"I am honoured to join the Apec Secretariat to help drive forward APEC member economies framework and initiatives for achieving reinvigorated growth and development through greater cooperation," said Dr Bollard.
Russian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Igor Morgulov, who chairs the APEC 2012 Senior Officials group, says Dr Bollard is one of the region's "key economic architects".
"Dr Bollard's astute management of financial and economic policy and experience running policymaking institutions, even during volatile times, adds value to APEC's shared commitment to sustainable growth and development," Mr Morgulov said.
"Over the past 20 years, Dr Bollard played a role in helping guide New Zealand's development to a more sophisticated and globally integrated economy. These reforms ushered in significant change that transformed its technological capabilities."
The New Zealand delegation to APEC, led by Prime Minister John Key, arrived in Vladivostok on Thursday.
NZN