Chief Executive
Health Hawke's Bay
CANDIDATE INFORMATION PACK
Scroll down to access everything you need.
Executive Summary
- Lead the next chapter for Health Hawke’s Bay, revitalise culture, strengthening performance and positioning the organisation for success in a changing and increasingly competitive primary health care environment.
- Build trusted partnerships with general practice, Māori health providers, iwi, NGOs and communities to improve access, equity and health outcomes across Hawke’s Bay.
- Bring your leadership at a pivotal moment – an opportunity equally suited to an accomplished Chief Executive or a high-performing senior executive ready to step into their first CE role.
THE OPPORTUNITY
Health Hawke’s Bay – Te Oranga o Te Matau a Māui is the region’s Primary Health Organisation, supporting practices caring for approximately 110,000 of Hawke’s Bay’s 171,000 enrolled patients. Its purpose is clear: to improve the health of the people of Hawke’s Bay and close the gap in health and life expectancy for Māori, Pacific peoples, disabled people and other communities currently poorly served.
This is an important moment in the organisation’s evolution. Following significant recent change, Health Hawke’s Bay is entering its next chapter with an opportunity to revitalise its culture, sharpen its focus and strengthen its position within the region.
The external environment is also changing. With two new PHOs entering the Hawke’s Bay market, the next Chief Executive will lead Health Hawke’s Bay in demonstrating its value and relevance to practices, providers, partners and communities. Central to this will be ensuring the organisation remains deeply connected to local need and is known for the strength of its relationships, responsiveness and ability to make a tangible difference.
For the right leader, this is an opportunity to shape an organisation with a strong local purpose and significant potential – building on its foundations while bringing renewed energy, clarity and confidence to its future direction.
THE ROLE
Reporting to the Board Chair and leading an Executive Leadership Team of five, the Chief Executive has overall responsibility for Health Hawke’s Bay’s organisational leadership, performance and delivery.
The immediate leadership mandate will be to bring the organisation together following a period of change. The Chief Executive will lead a revitalisation of culture, establish clarity of purpose and accountability, strengthen organisational capability and create an environment characterised by trust, inclusion and high performance. The role requires a leader who can assess what is needed, establish priorities and translate strategy into sustained delivery.
Externally, the Chief Executive will be visible and highly relational. They will ensure Health Hawke’s Bay understands and responds to the needs of general practice while building genuine and durable partnerships with Māori health providers, iwi, NGOs and community organisations. They will champion integrated approaches that organise care around whānau and communities rather than organisational boundaries.
The Chief Executive will also provide strong commercial, financial and contractual stewardship, ensuring Health Hawke’s Bay remains financially sustainable, meets its obligations to funders and identifies opportunities that respond to local need and deliver value for money.
Ultimately, success will be reflected in an organisation that practices value and rely upon; that Māori providers, NGOs and communities regard as a genuine partner; that delivers measurable improvements in access and outcomes; and whose people are engaged, clear about their purpose and performing.
THE CANDIDATE
Health Hawke’s Bay is open-minded about where the right leadership may come from. You may already be an established Chief Executive, or an accomplished senior executive ready to step into your first CE appointment. More important than tenure in the top job will be your leadership maturity, judgement, credibility and ability to lead successfully through change.
You will bring:
- Proven executive leadership, with the maturity, judgement and personal credibility to lead an organisation through significant change and its next stage of development.
- A strong understanding of primary and community health, including the operating realities and pressures facing general practice and independent providers.
- Demonstrated success leading culture and organisational change, bringing people together around a clear purpose while strengthening trust, accountability and performance.
- A genuine commitment to Te Tiriti o Waitangi and health equity, with the ability to build trusted relationships with Māori, iwi, Māori health providers and communities.
- Exceptional relationship and influencing capability, able to establish credibility with clinicians, practices, NGOs, communities, funders, government and other partners.
- Sound commercial and financial acumen, with the ability to balance purpose, sustainability, contractual obligations and opportunities for growth and innovation.
- A visible, accessible and authentic leadership style, underpinned by high emotional intelligence, resilience, political acumen and the confidence to have difficult conversations when required.
- A strong connection to purpose, motivated by the opportunity to improve health outcomes and make a tangible difference for the people and communities of Hawke’s Bay.
For a confidential discussion, please get in touch with:
David Price
HG National Manager, New Zealand
M. +64 (0)210 2392211
E. dprice@hardygroupintl.com
Health Hawke's Bay
About Us
Health Hawke’s Bay – Te Oranga o Te Matau a Māui (HHB) is the region’s Primary Health Organisation. Around 110,000 of Hawke’s Bay’s 171,000 enrolled patients are with our practices.
Our purpose is straightforward: to improve the health of the people of Hawke’s Bay, and to close the gap in health and life expectancy for Māori, Pacific peoples, disabled people and other communities who are currently poorly served.
We do this in two ways. We support local general practices to deliver excellent, accessible care. And we work alongside Māori health providers, NGOs and other community organisations to reach people that general practice alone cannot.
The Board has sharpened HHB’s emphasis. HHB is first and foremost a local organisation serving local communities. Our starting point is the health needs of our population, not the requirements of the funding system. Our contribution is made through the strength of our practices and the strength of our partnerships. Contracting, reporting and compliance matter, and must be done well — but they are the means, not the purpose.
The next Chief Executive will lead that shift in practice: closer to practices, closer to partners, closer to communities, with a lean and purposeful centre.
Ō TĀTOU MĀTĀPONO | Our Core Values
Whakamana - Empowerment | We empower others to reach their highest potential |
Aroha - Compassion | We care and provide a cloak of support |
Kotahitanga - Collaboration | We work together towards shared goals and visions |
Auaha - Innovation | We are inquisitive and seek improvement |
Our Community
Role Specification
The Chief Executive leads Health Hawkes Bay (HHB) on behalf of the Board and is accountable for:
- Understanding the health needs of Hawke’s Bay communities and directing HHB’s effort and resources to where they will make the most difference.
- Making HHB an organisation that local general practices value and rely on — for clinical support, workforce, data and digital, and practical help with the pressures they face.
- Building genuine, durable partnerships with Māori health providers, NGOs and community organisations, so that care is joined up around whānau.
- Running a financially sound, well-governed organisation with a lean centre that puts as much resource as possible into front-line care.
- Being a credible and respected voice for primary and community care in Hawke’s Bay, and regionally and nationally on the region’s behalf.
Understanding and meeting local need
- Maintain a clear, evidence-based picture of the health needs of Hawke’s Bay communities and use it to set priorities with the Board.
- Direct HHB’s effort, programmes and investment to where they will make the greatest difference — particularly for Māori, Pacific peoples, disabled people, and people on low incomes.
- Design services with communities and whānau and evaluate them honestly on whether they improved access and outcomes.
- Apply an equity lens and give practical effect to Te Tiriti o Waitangi across all of HHB’s work.
Supporting general practice
- Be visible and accessible to practice owners, GPs, nurses and practice managers, and understand the pressures they are working under.
- Provide support that practices genuinely value: clinical programmes and services, workforce and continuing education, data and digital systems, and help with quality accreditation.
- Work with practices to develop models of care that extend capacity, reduce unmet need, and grow enrolment — particularly among Māori and other under-enrolled populations.
- Support the recruitment, retention and development of the local primary and community care workforce.
- Keep reporting demands on practices proportionate and useful to them, not just to funders.
Working with NGO and Māori partners
- Build and sustain trusted relationships with Māori health providers, iwi, NGOs, community pharmacy and social service organisations, respecting their independence and mana motuhake.
- Broker joint work that connects general practice with community-based providers around shared populations, so care is organised around whānau rather than around organisations.
- Ensure partners experience HHB as straightforward to deal with — fair contracting, prompt payment, and proportionate reporting.
- Lead service integration initiatives where HHB is best placed to do so, and support others to lead where they are.
Leading the organisation
- Lead a capable, accountable Executive team and a culture of trust, inclusiveness and high performance.
- Keep HHB lean and organised around its core purpose, so that as much resource as possible reaches front-line care.
- Ensure staff have the capability, capacity and development they need, and lead them well through change.
- Take personal accountability for delivery — assess the scale of the task, prioritise, resource it, and see it through.
Financial and contractual stewardship
- Manage HHB’s budget effectively and ensure the organisation remains financially sustainable.
- Operate sound financial systems: operating forecasts, accurate monthly reporting, annually audited accounts presented at a duly convened AGM.
- Meet HHB’s contractual obligations to Health New Zealand and other funders, and ensure provider contracts are properly managed, including underspends.
- Identify additional funding and service opportunities where they serve local need, and demonstrate value for money.
- Keep the Board informed of funder and provider issues, and of the performance of contracted providers.
Board, governance and assurance
- Provide the Board with clear, timely and honest advice, and the information it needs to make good decisions.
- Implement Board decisions effectively and support the Board in its own governance role.
- Maintain an effective working relationship with the shareholder, Te Matau a Māui Health Trust, and report as requested.
- Be accountable for the clinical governance of the organisation and support wider clinical governance across primary care.
- Ensure HHB meets its legal, constitutional and contractual obligations, including health and safety duties, and maintains robust risk, quality and business continuity systems.
Essential
- A relevant tertiary qualification in health, management or a related field (or equivalent experience).
- Sound understanding of Aotearoa New Zealand’s health system.
Desirable
- Primary health training or qualification, clinical or non-clinical.
- Māori health and Te Tiriti o Waitangi training.
Experience & Knowledge
Essential
- Senior leadership experience in health, or a comparable complex and publicly funded environment, with a track record of delivering results.
- Strong working knowledge of primary and community care, and of how general practice operates as an independent business.
- Demonstrated ability to build trust with independent providers and community organisations, and to lead through influence rather than authority.
- Proven experience working with Te Tiriti o Waitangi, and with Māori and other underserved communities.
- Sound financial and contract management, including publicly funded or NGO contracting.
- Experience of leading change in a complex environment, particularly in health service delivery.
- Excellent written and verbal communication — credible with clinicians, communities, funders and media.
- Risk management experience and a good grasp of the legal and compliance obligations of a Board-governed organisation.
Desirable
- Chief executive experience, ideally in primary health care or the not-for-profit sector.
- Familiarity with the Hawke’s Bay community.
- Experience reporting to and supporting a Board.
1. Executive Leadership and Organisational Change
Demonstrated senior executive leadership experience within health or another complex, publicly funded environment, with a strong track record of leading significant organisational change, building organisational capability and creating cultures characterised by trust, inclusion, accountability and high performance.
2. Primary, Community and Population Health Leadership
Strong understanding of primary and community health care, population health and the operating realities of general practice, with demonstrated ability to translate community need and evidence into priorities, services and investment that improve access, outcomes and sustainability.
3. Te Tiriti o Waitangi, Equity and Māori Health
Demonstrated commitment to giving practical effect to Te Tiriti o Waitangi and improving health equity, with experience building trusted and enduring relationships with Māori, iwi, Māori health providers and communities that experience poorer access and outcomes.
4. Partnerships, Stakeholder Leadership and Influence
Proven ability to build credibility and trusted relationships across diverse stakeholder groups, including independent providers, clinicians, NGOs, community organisations, funders and government, and to achieve outcomes through collaboration, partnership and influence rather than positional authority.
5. Strategic, Financial and Commercial Stewardship
Strong strategic and commercial judgement, supported by sound financial, contractual and risk management capability. Demonstrated ability to prioritise resources, maintain financial sustainability, manage publicly funded or provider contracts effectively and identify opportunities that deliver measurable value and respond to community need.
6. Governance, Accountability and Delivery
Demonstrated ability to work effectively within a Board-governed organisation, providing clear, timely and transparent advice while translating governance direction into organisational priorities and results. Brings strong personal accountability, sound judgement and the ability to assess the scale of a challenge, establish priorities and see delivery through.
7. Visible, Credible and Purpose-led Leadership
A highly relational and emotionally intelligent leadership style, with the communication skills and presence to engage credibly with clinicians, staff, communities, funders, media and other stakeholders. Demonstrates resilience, political acumen, curiosity and personal resolve, alongside a genuine commitment to Hawke’s Bay and improving outcomes for its people and communities.
To be discussed with HG Principal Consultant
Reports to: Health Hawke's Bay Chairperson
Direct reports: 5 (Executive Leadership Team)
Internal
- HHB Chairperson and Board of Directors.
- Executive Leadership Team: Clinical Director, Chief Information Officer, Clinical Services Lead, Enabling Services Lead, Executive Officer.
- HHB staff and contractors.
External
- General practice owners, GPs, nurses and practice managers.
- Māori health providers, iwi and community leaders.
- NGO, social service and community pharmacy providers.
- Te Matau a Māui Health Trust (shareholder).
- Health New Zealand — local, regional and national.
- Other funders and health and disability service providers
- RNZCGP, General Practice NZ Leaders Forum, PHO chief executive networks
Location: Hawke's Bay, New Zealand
The closing date for applications is Tuesday, 22nd September 2026
The reference number to include in your application is H26_5579
Note: Please use the online platform to submit your application. It will not be accepted via email.
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
HG National Manager, New Zealand
M. +64 (0)21 0239 2211
E. dprice@hardygroupintl.com
LIVING AND WORKING IN HAWKE'S BAY
Living the Hawke's Bay lifestyle
We're fortunate enough to be able to offer not just a great career choice, but a fabulous lifestyle to go with it. Hawke's Bay boasts one of the most attractive lifestyle choices in New Zealand.
Award-winning food and wine, outstanding architecture, and warm balmy days surrounded by magnificent landscapes, along with iconic architecture, reliably sunny climate, great food and abundant wineries all combine to give Hawke’s Bay an attractive, almost Mediterranean lifestyle.
Sport and culture are well catered for with facilities including a recently remodeled Opera House, museums, art galleries and sports arenas. The region is also home to some of the country’s leading secondary schools.
Scenic attractions include the world’s largest onshore gannet colony (Cape Kidnappers), there are many excellent golf courses and the region hosts a range of sporting events such as cycling and marathon events.
Notable events attracting many outsiders include the region's annual Art Deco Weekend, and the Mission Estate Concert at Mission Estate and Winery.
Wide open spaces
Hawke's Bay is a region of diverse and magnificent landscapes. From the sun-kissed beaches of Māhia in the north to the rugged Ruahine Ranges in the south, Hawke's Bay's wide-open skies beckon travellers to explore.
Peppered throughout the region are notable landmarks, including Lake Waikaremoana, home to one of New Zealand's nine Great Walks, the must-visit Te Mata Peak, and omnipresent Cape Kidnappers, all of which speak to a country that has been defined by powerful natural forces.
Hawke's Bay Weather
The weather in Hawke's Bay is exceptional. The sun loves this little corner of the world and smiles down on us nearly every day.
Waking up to the sun streaming in your windows is the norm here. You can plan a picnic lunch, a day at the beach or a cycle around the vineyards without the worry of getting drenched or blown about. The Hawke's Bay sun is fierce so don't spoil your evening by turning yourself into a portable heater, make sure you have sunscreen on before venturing out.
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.