Community Integration Advisor

Health New Zealand - Te Whatu Ora - Southern; Nelson; On-site; NZD 80,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

Health New Zealand - Te Whatu Ora - Southern in Nelson is seeking a Community Integration Advisor for a full-time 12-month fixed-term role based in Nelson. You will work across subregions, partnering with Iwi Māori Partnership Boards, mana whenua, Hauora Māori Services, Pacific Health, providers, local government and wider health and social sector partners to shape service planning and development.

You will be a strategic change enabler, bringing people together around shared priorities,

Qualifications

• Experience in place-based planning and collective impact approaches.
• Ability to influence and build consensus across sectors.
• Strong communication across diverse audiences.
• Experience working with Māori and Pacific partnerships.
• Translate community insight into service planning and development.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate across subregions with iwi, mana whenua and health partners to co-design services.
• Support local leadership arrangements under Pae Ora Act 2022.
• Mobilise commissioning capability and drive system change.
• Build trust and navigate complex, multi-stakeholder environments.

Skills

Place-based planning

Stakeholder relationships

Complex communication

Influence & consensus

Leadership networks

Regulatory environment

Teamwork in teams

Population health

Te Tiriti Waitangi

Strategy to delivery

Education

Tertiary qualification in population health

Job description

Jora New Zealand will close on 9th September 2026. Thank you for being with us, we are cheering you on as you continue your career journey.

Health New Zealand - Te Whatu Ora - Southern - Nelson

• Full-time 12month Fixed Term role based in Nelson
• Help shape services and partnerships that can have a genuine impact on community hauora and wellbeing.
• Use your strategic thinking, relationship skills and ability to navigate complexity to create lasting change.

Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora is the country's largest employer, delivering universal public healthcare to 5 million New Zealanders.

We provide essential hospital, specialist, and community health services across 80+ locations - from large urban centres to rural towns and remote communities.

Our goal is to improve health outcomes for all New Zealanders by delivering equitable, accessible and innovative care.

About the Role

As the Community Integration Advisor, you will work locally across subregions, partnering with Iwi Māori Partnership Boards, mana whenua, Hauora Māori Services, Pacific Health, providers, local government and wider health and social sector partners. You'll help establish strong subregional and local leadership arrangements that reflect the intent of the Pae Ora (Healthy Futures) Act 2022 and put communities at the heart of service planning and development.

You'll be a strategic and pragmatic change enabler, bringing people together around shared priorities and enabling new ways of working. You'll help mobilise local and regional commissioning capability, support mana whenua to participate as lead partners in service development, and influence the development of high-quality, connected models of care.

This is a role for someone who thrives where relationships, strategy and action intersect. You'll navigate complexity, build trust across diverse organisations and perspectives, influence system change, and turn local knowledge and community insight into better health and social outcomes.

About the Team/Service

You'll be part of a collaborative team focused on strengthening local health and social system partnerships and creating the conditions for better outcomes for communities.

Working across organisational and professional boundaries, you'll contribute to a Team of Teams approach where relationships, shared purpose and collective impact matter. You'll work closely with Hauora Māori Services, Pacific Health, life course teams and other colleagues to ensure the aspirations and voices of Māori and Pacific peoples are reflected in planning and service delivery.

This is an opportunity to work at the forefront of locality-based change and help build a health system that is more connected, responsive and grounded in the strengths of local communities.

About you

You'll bring strong community development, strategic relationship management and influencing skills, with the confidence to work across complex environments and bring diverse stakeholders together.

You will have:

• Demonstrated experience in place-based planning and collective impact approaches.
• Leadership-level experience developing, maintaining and influencing relationships and partnerships across sectors and organisations, including with Māori and Pacific peoples and groups.
• The ability to communicate complex information and ideas compellingly, both verbally and in writing, to audiences ranging from communities and providers through to senior leaders, Boards and Ministers.
• Proven ability to influence, persuade and build consensus in complex and sometimes ambiguous environments.
• A strong track record of building and maintaining trusted relationships at senior levels, both internally and externally.
• Experience operating constructively within a regulated environment and working effectively across organisational and functional boundaries.
• A proven commitment to working in self-directed teams and contributing positively to a wider Team of Teams environment.
• A relevant tertiary qualification and/or significant experience in population health, community development, health service planning or collective impact.
• A strong commitment to Te Tiriti o Waitangi and genuine experience working alongside Māori communities, iwi and hapū.
• The ability to work with both strategic intent and practical delivery - turning ideas into action and sustainable change.

Working at Health New Zealand

Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora is dedicated to ensuring excellent healthcare for the people of New Zealand. We embrace a workforce that is diverse and inclusive so that we are better positioned to understand and service our community. We welcome applications from our diverse Māori, Pacific, disabled, and rainbow communities.

This role is available only to current Health New Zealand Employees

We will review applications as received and may proceed with the recruitment process before the closing date of this advert.