From 2009 to 2014 he served as chief executive of the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
[1] Allen had previous worked as chief executive of NZ Post.
In April 2009 he was appointed chief executive of the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade,[2] becoming the first non-diplomat to lead MFAT.
[5] In 2014 he was forced to apologise to rape victim Tania Billingsley over his handling of the 2014 Malaysian diplomat indecent assault case.
[12] In January 2025 the Officers of Parliament Committee recommended that he be appointed as the next Chief Ombudsman.