You may have heard about the CO interviewing applicants for Residence under SMC. The only interview there HAS to be is when an applicant doesn't have a job, or job offer, in NZ, which is for the CO to judge if the person knows enough about NZ conditions (in their career, and in life in general) to be likely to be able to get a job and settle into life. Obviously, this isn't necessary for someone who has a job, because they've already proved it.
In your partner's situation, if the CO wants to - and it's not certain that s/he will - s/he can speak to him about his responsibilities at work, and the same with the employer. The purpose of this interview would be to make sure that 1) they are both saying the same thing, and 2) that what they say about the job agrees with the description given by ANZSCO.
http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@....etail+Managers