Executive National Director
Public Health, Funding and Community
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Executive Summary
- Lead one of New Zealand's most strategically significant health portfolios, shaping how public health, commissioning and funding support better outcomes for communities.
- Partner with the Chief Executive and Executive Leadership Team to strengthen national commissioning, funding and public health capability while shaping critical services and Government priorities.
- Build trusted relationships across government, providers and the wider health sector while leading a nationally significant portfolio with influence across policy, investment and service delivery.
Shape the Future of Healthcare
Few executive opportunities offer the chance to shape the future of healthcare for an entire nation.
Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora is seeking an exceptional executive to establish and lead a newly formed national business group that brings together public health, commissioning, funding and service planning into a single portfolio responsible for improving health outcomes across New Zealand. Reporting directly to the Chief Executive and joining the Executive Leadership Team, you will lead one of the organisation's most strategically significant portfolios.
Leading a workforce of approximately 2,500 people you will influence national health priorities, investment decisions and models of care that will shape healthcare for current and future generations.
Beyond leading one of the country's largest executive portfolios, you will have the opportunity to establish a new senior leadership team and set the foundations for how this critical business group operates into the future. Success will come through strong relationships, sound judgement and the ability to build confidence across government, the health sector and communities.
This is a rare opportunity to help build a health system that is more accessible, sustainable and prevention-focused while delivering meaningful and lasting impact across Aotearoa New Zealand.
The Role
As Executive National Director, you will establish and lead a newly integrated national business group responsible for public health, planning, funding and commissioning.
Working alongside the Chief Executive and Executive Leadership Team, you will help shape Health New Zealand's strategic direction while strengthen commissioning capability, improve contracting approaches and continue evolving models of care that deliver better outcomes for New Zealanders.
A key early priority will be rapidly understanding the operating landscape, maintaining delivery against Government health targets, ensuring continuity of critical commissioning and funding functions, and building trusted relationships across the sector.
You will work across government, iwi and Māori partners, clinicians, providers and communities to influence system-wide change, balancing strategic leadership with operational excellence to deliver better outcomes for New Zealanders.
Why This Role?
This appointment sits at the centre of some of the most important conversations facing New Zealand's health system, how services are planned, how investment decisions are made, how inequities are addressed, and how prevention is embedded across the continuum of care.
It is an opportunity to influence healthcare at a national level while leading meaningful reform that will improve outcomes for communities today and for generations to come.
For an executive who enjoys operating at the centre of government, building trusted relationships and improving how complex systems perform, this is a rare opportunity to influence health outcomes at a truly national level.
For a confidential discussion, please get in touch with:
We invite you to discuss this exceptional leadership opportunity with David Price from the HardyGroup. M. +64 (0)21 0239 2211 | E. dprice@hardygroupintl.com
Health New Zealand |
Te Whatu Ora
Health New Zealand was established in mid-2022 to replace the country’s 20 District Health Boards (DHBs), eight other health agencies and absorb some functions from the Ministry of Health.
The change was to strengthen health outcomes for New Zealanders and improve access to the right healthcare at the right time, no matter where they live.
Our role is to deliver quality, compassionate and affordable healthcare for everyone in New Zealand.
We lead the day-to-day planning and delivery of publicly funded hospital, primary and community health services. We:
- design, arrange and deliver health services to achieve Healthy Futures (Pae Ora) for everyone in New Zealand
- encourage, support and maintain community participation in health improvement and service planning
- promote health and prevent, reduce and delay ill-health, and collaborate to address the factors that influence health
- achieve the best possible health outcomes for all
- ensure that planning and service delivery responds to the aspirations and needs of New Zealanders.
The services we fund and deliver include:
- public health services
- primary and community care services
- hospital and specialist services
- mental health and addiction services
- Hauora Māori health services.
The Health System in New Zealand is focused on implementing the Healthy Futures (Pae Ora) vision, meeting the objectives of the Health Delivery Plan and delivering on the clearly defined Health Targets to reduce waiting times and improve access to care which are:
- Faster cancer treatment
- Improved immunisation for children
- Shorter stays in emergency departments
- Shorter wait times for specialist appointments
- Shorter wait times for elective treatments
We want to build a healthcare system that works collectively and cohesively around a shared set of values and a culture that enables everyone to bring their best to work and feel proud when they go home to their whānau, friends and community.
Role Specification
The Executive National Director, Public Health, Funding and Community reports to the Chief Executive and leads the newly established Public Health, Funding and Community business group.
The role will:
- Ensure that the prevention, promotion and protection focused activities of public health are well integrated into longer-term health system service planning delivery.
- Lift Health NZ's commissioning capability in response to developments in the funded sector, and support better outcomes for patients and providers.
- Develop and oversee national health service delivery frameworks and new models of care to support a more seamless, coordinated healthcare journey for patients, better tailored to their needs.
- Lead a multidisciplinary national business group including planning and funding leads for Hospital & Specialist Services, Mental Health & Addiction, Primary and Community, and Public Health.
- Drive the development and implementation of national public health strategies aligned with government priorities and Pae Ora Act objectives.
Leads the transition to permanent structure
- Working with the Design Committee, Executive Regional Directors and other ELT colleagues to complete the establishment of the permanent Group.
Public Health, Funding and Community
- Overseeing the transition to the new structure, including leading an appropriate change management process to transfer teams into, or out of, the new Group.
- Ensuring that any planning and delivery activities of existing functions continue to be delivered during the transition, including:
- public health vaccination and increasing immunisation activity to achieve outcomes set by the Board
- health promotion, health prevention, environmental health including border health and notifiable diseases, health regulatory services and district nursing services
- community and Hospital funding and investment planning, screening and associated Aged Residential Care (ARC) and NGO contracts.
Leadership & Integration
- Lead a multidisciplinary national business group including planning and funding leads for Hospital & Specialist Services, Mental Health & Addiction, Primary and Community, and Public Health.
- Integrate public health planning and funding within the broader health system service and planning.
- Partner with HNZ Hauora Māori, Pacific Health teams, and other critical stakeholders to ensure culturally responsive service delivery.
Operational Strategic Planning & System Design
- Drive the development and implementation of national public health strategies, aligned with government priorities and Pae Ora Act objectives, in partnership with the Ministry of Health and the Strategy, Performance and Improvement team.
- Develop and oversee national health service delivery frameworks and models of care
- Lead long-term (5-10+ years) planning for sustainable and affordable service delivery, including the development of a foundational National Clinical Service plan alongside the Executive National Director, Clinical.
- Align service design with population health gain, equity, and clinical priorities.
Intelligence & Evidence
- Oversee health data insights and intelligence, equity analysis, and clinical research to inform planning and investment.
- Support strategic workforce planning and system adaptability through data-driven insights
Programme Development and Oversight
- In partnership with Executive Regional Directors, lead national programmes for:
- Prevention – screening and immunisation programmes
- Promotion – health promotion activities tailored to local leads
- Protection – responses to communicable diseases, environmental health risks, and harmful
- Implementation and delivery of other national programmes, for example Mental Health, Cancer, diabetes, Planned Care.
Funding & Investment
- Improving HNZ’s approach to commissioning by integrating public health and primary & community commissioning and lifting commercial capability to respond to developments in the provider market (including the increased role of private equity-owned providers).
- Manage national, and set policy for regional, funding systems across all health domains (hospital and specialist services, mental health & addiction, MHA, primary & community and public health).
- Support regions to operate effectively within national parameters.
- Oversee investment planning, funding analytics, and contracting systems.
- Ensure funding mechanisms support innovation, equity, productivity and long-term system resilience.
Collaboration and Working in Partnership
- Work closely with national, regional and district leaders to support them to undertake their functions and ensure they are actively involved in the work of the business group.
- Foster strong partnerships with the Public Health Agency, Iwi-Māori Partnership Boards, sector groups and other national and regional stakeholders
- Collaborate with the Ministry of Health, HQSC, Treasury, and other central agencies to ensure alignment and coherence in performance expectations.
Health outcomes
- Commits to helping all people achieve equitable health outcomes.
- Remains focused on the pursuit of Māori health gain as well as achieving equitable health outcomes for Māori
Culture & People Leadership
- Lead, nurture and develop our team to make them feel valued
- Prioritise developing individuals and the team so Health NZ has enough of the right skills for the future, supporting diversity of leadership to develop – Māori, Pacific, people with disabilities and others
- Provides leadership that shows commitment, urgency and is visibly open, clear and innovative while building mutually beneficial partnerships with various stakeholders both internally and externally
- Implement and maintain people strategies and processes that support an environment where employee experience, development and performance management drive achievement of the organisation’s strategic and business goal.
Innovation & Improvement
- Actively supports and galvanizes new ideas and create a culture where individuals at all levels bring their ideas on how to ‘do it better’ to the table
- Model an agile approach, tries new approaches, learns quickly, adapts fast
- Develops and maintains appropriate external networks to support current knowledge of leading practices
Health & safety
- Exercises leadership and due diligence in Health and Safety matters and ensures the successful implementation of Health and Safety strategy and initiatives
- Taking all reasonably practicable steps to eliminate and mitigate risks and hazards in the workplace that could cause harm, placing employee, contractor and others’ health, safety, and wellbeing centrally, alongside high-quality patient outcomes
- Lead, champion, and promote continual improvement in health and wellbeing to create a healthy and safe culture
Compliance and Risk
- Takes responsibility to ensure appropriate risk reporting, management and mitigation activities are in place
- Ensures compliance with all relevant statutory, safety and regulatory requirements applicable to the P&C Business Unit
- Understands, and operates within, the financial and operational delegations of the role, ensuring peers and team members are also similarly aware
View the full scope of these in the Position Description.
Essential
- Relevant graduate and post-graduate qualification or related business subject.
- A background in Public Health and/or health contract funding.
- Significant experience at an executive level within a large health sector organisation.
- Demonstrable system-wide experience in leading and managing through transformational system change.
- Considerable experience in overseeing the design and negotiation of large complex contracts that balance cost, quality, equity, and innovation.
- Extensive experience of working in partnership with others to deliver outcomes.
- Proven experience in the analysis of provider performance data and benchmarks against regional, national and international comparators.
- Proven experience in successfully developing and maintaining a structured approach to managing a wide range of stakeholder and professional relationships.
- Proven experience successfully leading large diverse teams through change and achieving improved results while navigating a highly nuanced and complex system.
View the full scope of these in the Position Description.
- Executive Leadership and System Stewardship
Demonstrated executive leadership within large, complex health or public sector organisations, with accountability for strategic, operational and financial performance in politically and organisationally complex environments. - Public Health and System Strategy
Extensive experience leading public health, health system planning, commissioning, funding or related functions, with the ability to shape long-term strategy and system performance. - System Leadership and Continuous Improvement
Demonstrated ability to lead complex national portfolios, improve organisational performance and strengthen system capability while maintaining delivery of critical operational priorities. - Commissioning, Funding and Commercial Stewardship
Demonstrated experience leading significant commissioning, funding, contracting or investment portfolios, including improving commissioning approaches and balancing quality, equity, value and sustainability. - Strategic Influence and Partnerships
Exceptional ability to build trusted relationships and influence across government, clinicians, providers, iwi and Māori partners, community organisations and other key stakeholders. - Government and Public Sector Leadership
Demonstrated understanding of the machinery of government and experience operating successfully within politically complex environments, including providing advice to Ministers, working with central agencies and representing organisations publicly when required. - Values-based Leadership
A demonstrated commitment to equity and improving health outcomes for all New Zealanders, combined with the ability to inspire high-performing teams through authentic and inclusive leadership.
Reports to: Chief Executive
Direct Reports: 5 - 10
External:
- Ministry of Health
- Te Kawa Mataaho
- The Treasury
- Other Government Agencies as relevant
- Unions
- Professional Bodies/Tertiary Institutes
Internal:
- Health NZ Board and any relevant sub-committee
- CE and ELT peers
- Teams across the NPHS and PFO groups
- Teams across the organisation
Please speak to our HG Principal Consultant.
Service Location: New Zealand (Auckland, Wellington or Christchurch base preferred)
Travel: Weekly travel to Wellington and fortnightly travel to Auckland.
The closing date for applications is Sunday, 16th August 2026, 11:59PM
The reference number to include in your application is H26_5550
Note: Please use the online platform to submit your application. It will not be accepted via email. (Please see the "Apply Now" button below)
If you require assistance in submitting your application online, please get in touch with Executive Search Coordinator, Aldie Zuñiga: M: +61 (0)494 101 082 / E: azuniga@hardygroupintl.com
Your application must include:
- Cover letter addressed to the Principal Consultant;
- A written response addressing the key selection criteria; and
- An up to date copy of your Curriculum Vitae.
It Is standard practice for HardyGroup to acknowledge receipt of your application no later than the next business day. We request that if you do not receive the acknowledgement, you contact the search coordinator listed above as soon as possible after the 24-hour business period and arrange to resend your application if necessary.
For a confidential discussion, please contact:
David Price
National Manager, HardyGroup New Zealand
M. +64 (0)21 0239 2211
E. dprice@hardygroupintl.com
LIVING AND WORKING
IN AUCKLAND, WELLINGTON AND CHRISTCHURCH
A city built by volcanoes, Auckland came to life when some 53 of the rumbling mountains were created between 60,000 and 140,000 years ago, and the vibe of New Zealand’s largest settlement is every bit as exciting as you might expect from a town born this way.
Auckland has practically everything to offer the skilled professional, with every street, nook and cranny offering something new to discover. With more boats per head than anywhere else on Earth, Auckland is known as the City of Sails – and you’ll be sure to sail through the city’s finest delights when you arrive.
Living in Auckland
In Auckland, there’s something new to discover on every street – and on the water. That’s right – there are more boats per head here than anywhere else on the planet. Not for no reason is Auckland nicknamed the ‘City Of Sails’!
Climate
Aucklanders enjoy a warm temperate climate. Summers are usually warm and humid while winters are mild and wet. The city boasts an average of 2,060 sunshine hours per annum – plenty to go around!
Diversity
Did you know that when it comes to diversity, Auckland is fourth in the world? That’s right – more than 200 ethnic communities live and work in Auckland, and of those, approximately one-third were born overseas. That means that it’s easy to make friends here, and mixing with people from all creeds and cultures is an absolute cinch.
Working in Auckland
As you might expect, as NZ’s largest city, Auckland boasts the biggest economy in the country. It’s here where many of New Zealand’s most innovative companies set up shop, including multinationals and national brands. As a settlement area, Auckland is by far and away the most populous in New Zealand – around one-third of the country live and work in the area, or nearby.
It’s a city in which there is huge growth in a great many sectors, the employment options are greater here than pretty much anywhere else in New Zealand. Construction, technology and IT are all booming right now, alongside media, communications and everything in between.
Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development
Wellington: New Zealand’s Creative Capital
Nestled between rolling hills and a rugged coastline, Wellington is a city that thrives on creativity, culture, and character. Often referred to as the coolest little capital in the world, Wellington may be small in size, but it’s big on personality. With a vibrant arts scene, a thriving café culture, and a strong sense of community, Wellington offers a dynamic lifestyle for professionals and creatives alike.
Living in Wellington
Wellington is a city where nature and urban life blend seamlessly. You can hike through native bush in the morning and enjoy world-class coffee or craft beer by the waterfront in the afternoon. The city is compact and walkable, making it easy to explore its eclectic neighborhoods, each with its own unique charm.
Climate
Wellington has a temperate maritime climate, with mild summers and cool, wet winters. Known for its wind – it’s not called “Windy Wellington” for nothing – the city still enjoys a generous amount of sunshine, averaging around 2,000 hours per year. The weather adds to the city's dramatic coastal beauty and invigorating atmosphere.
Diversity
Wellington is a melting pot of cultures, with a strong Māori presence and a growing international community. The city celebrates its diversity through festivals, food, and inclusive public spaces. Whether you're new to New Zealand or a long-time resident, Wellington offers a welcoming environment where different cultures are embraced.
Working in Wellington
As the political and cultural heart of New Zealand, Wellington is home to government agencies, embassies, and a thriving creative sector. The city is a hub for film, digital media, and design, with world-renowned companies like Weta Workshop and Weta Digital calling it home. Tech, education, and public service are also strong employment sectors, making Wellington an attractive destination for professionals across a wide range of industries.
Canterbury
The Canterbury region is a great place to live and work due to its natural beauty, vibrant economy, cultural diversity, strong community, and high quality of life.
The Canterbury region is located on the east coast of New Zealand's South Island. Ōtautahi Christchurch, is the second largest city in Aotearoa New Zealand and the largest city in the South Island.
Waitaha Canterbury is the home of the spectacular Southern Alps mountain range, is well-known for its outdoor adventure activities on offer, and scenic filming locations for the Lord of the Rings movies.
Christchurch
Christchurch city is an eclectic mix of historic elegance and contemporary culture.
Christchurch International Airport is a bustling hub for travellers and a truly makes Christchurch the gateway to the South Island, with direct flight destinations that include - Dubai, Singapore, Fiji, Brisbane, Gold Coast, Sydney, Melbourne, Hong Kong and San Francisco.
Culture and Leisure
As the largest and de facto capital city of the South Island, Christchurch is a major cultural center. Christchurch has a distinctly English feel, as demonstrated by its many examples of classic English architecture, but there is still a significant Maori influence on the cultural life of the city. In addition to its green areas, parks, and open spaces, expatriates living in Christchurch will be able to enjoy its many art galleries and museums, including the world famous Christchurch Art Gallery, and its thriving restaurant scene.
As it is the location of a number of university campuses, Christchurch also has a large student population, which contributes to its bustling atmosphere and cultural scene. The city is also known for its love of film, due to its many art-house and independent cinemas. Christchurch is also a key part of the New Zealand music scene, and is home to many bands, artists, and performers.
Christchurch Population and Demographics
Christchurch is the third largest city in New Zealand by population, and had around 388,000 residents as of mid-2018, according to the city council. While the Christchurch population dipped after the 2011 earthquake, it is on the rise again.
The city is becoming more and more ethnically diverse, although around 85% of the population still identified as “European or other” in the 2013 census. That census also showed the median age of Christchurch residents to be 38.
Christchurch Weather and Climate
Christchurch’s climate is classified as temperate oceanic, with mild summers and cool winters. The city can, however, experience sweltering days in January and February – as well as snowfall in the colder months. Average temperatures in Christchurch are around 20-25 degrees Celsius in the summer and ten degrees Celsius in the winter.
The city gets regular precipitation throughout the year. Annual average rainfall in Christchurch is 648 millilitres, which is lower than that of New Zealand’s other major cities—good news if you’re thinking of migrating to Christchurch and like staying dry!
For more information on Living in Ōtautahi | Christchurch visit.
ABOUT US
HardyGroup’s (HG) mission is simple
Find and Grow Great Leaders - and we have been doing exactly that for more than 30 years in public and private health, primary, community and aged care as well as the broader public service.
Our synergistic business model of Executive Search and Recruitment integrated with Executive Leadership and Learning is our unique point of difference.
It ensures our clients can count on us for the lifecycle of their organisations leadership journey and why we are regarded as the leading trans-Tasman partner agency by clients.
When engaging HG you can be confident in a deeply personalised experience and service as nothing matters more to us than relationships and results.