Deputy Chief Nurse

New Zealand Government; Taranaki; On-site; NZD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora in New Zealand is seeking a Deputy Chief Nurse to lead district-wide nursing governance, safety and workforce sustainability. You will report to the Chief Nurse, Taranaki, and shape the future of nursing across the region with strategic oversight and system leadership.

You will drive safe staffing, quality assurance and transformation across hospital and community services, build relationships with unions and regional partners, and advance Te Tiriti o Waitangi

Qualifications

• Registration as a nurse with the Nursing Council of New Zealand and a current annual practising certificate.
• Substantial senior nursing leadership experience within a complex health environment.
• A relevant postgraduate qualification.
• Demonstrated experience in nursing governance, quality assurance, workforce planning or organisational transformation.
• A strong understanding of safe staffing, patient acuity systems, workforce planning and demand-capacity management.
• The ability to interpret complex workforce, clinical and performance information and translate it into clear advice and action.
• Experience leading and influencing across organisational and professional boundaries.
• Demonstrated commitment to Te Tiriti o Waitangi, health equity and culturally safe practice.

Responsibilities

• Provide district-wide leadership for nursing governance, assurance and performance.
• Lead safe staffing and workforce sustainability, including Care Capacity Demand Management, workforce planning, deployment and nursing service design.
• Use workforce, quality and performance information to identify risk, support decision making and provide assurance.
• Provide leadership to allocated district-wide specialist nursing programmes, including infection prevention and control, vascular access and tissue viability.
• Support nursing transformation, digital enablement, service improvement and models-of-care redesign.
• Strengthen the visibility, consistency and transparency of nursing governance across hospital and community services.
• Build effective relationships with operational and professional leaders, unions, the Safe Staffing Healthy Workplaces Unit, and regional and national partners.
• Advance Te Tiriti o Waitangi, equity and culturally safe nursing practice throughout the portfolio.
• Represent and provide cover for the Chief Nurse under delegated authority.
• Working alongside the professional and operational nursing leaders, you will strengthen district-wide nursing governance, assurance, workforce sustainability and strategic improvement.

Skills

Nursing governance

Strategic leadership

Workforce planning

Stakeholder engagement

Communication

Te Tiriti o Waitangi awareness

Education

Postgraduate qualification

Job description

Are you an experienced senior nurse leader who can work across professional, clinical and organisational boundaries to strengthen nursing governance, workforce sustainability and the delivery of safe, equitable care? This is an opportunity to take on a significant district-wide nursing leadership role, working as the principal deputy to the Chief Nurse and helping shape the future of nursing across Taranaki. Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora is firmly grounded in Te Tiriti o Waitangi and committed to building a health system that serves all New Zealanders.

About the Role

As Deputy Chief Nurse, you will report directly to the Chief Nurse, Taranaki, and provide senior strategic, governance and system leadership across the district. You will increase the capacity, continuity and reach of the Office of the Chief Nurse, leading a broad portfolio that includes nursing governance and assurance, safe staffing, workforce sustainability, district-wide clinical programmes and nursing transformation. You will also represent or act for the Chief Nurse when formally delegated.

In this role, you will:

• Provide district-wide leadership for nursing governance, assurance and performance.
• Lead safe staffing and workforce sustainability, including Care Capacity Demand Management, workforce planning, deployment and nursing service design.
• Use workforce, quality and performance information to identify risk, support decision making and provide assurance.
• Provide leadership to allocated district-wide specialist nursing programmes, including infection prevention and control, vascular access and tissue viability.
• Support nursing transformation, digital enablement, service improvement and models-of-care redesign.
• Strengthen the visibility, consistency and transparency of nursing governance across hospital and community services.
• Build effective relationships with operational and professional leaders, unions, the Safe Staffing Healthy Workplaces Unit, and regional and national partners.
• Advance Te Tiriti o Waitangi, equity and culturally safe nursing practice throughout the portfolio.
• Represent and provide cover for the Chief Nurse under delegated authority.
• Working alongside the professional and operational nursing leaders, you will strengthen district-wide nursing governance, assurance, workforce sustainability and strategic improvement.
• This is an influential system-level role for a credible and experienced nurse leader who can work with complexity, build alignment across multiple teams and translate strategy into meaningful organisational improvement.

About the Team / Service / Location

The Deputy Chief Nurse is a senior member of the Taranaki nursing leadership team and works closely with the Chief Nurse, senior nursing leaders, operational leaders, interdisciplinary leadership, and quality and patient safety teams. The role provides leadership to the Safe Staffing team and other allocated district-wide nursing functions. It has a strong focus on connecting governance, workforce intelligence, clinical quality and improvement so that nursing resources and systems support safe, effective and equitable care. While based at Taranaki Base Hospital, the role has responsibility across Taranaki, including Hāwera Hospital and community-based services.

About You

To be successful in this role, you will bring:

• Registration as a nurse with the Nursing Council of New Zealand and a current annual practising certificate.
• Substantial senior nursing leadership experience within a complex health environment.
• A relevant postgraduate qualification.
• Demonstrated experience in nursing governance, quality assurance, workforce planning, service improvement or organisational transformation.
• A strong understanding of safe staffing, patient acuity systems, workforce planning and demand-and-capacity management.
• The ability to interpret complex workforce, clinical and performance information and translate it into clear advice and action.
• Experience leading and influencing across organisational and professional boundaries.
• Highly developed relationship-building, communication, negotiation and facilitation skills.
• The credibility, judgement and political awareness required to represent and act for the Chief Nurse when delegated.
• Demonstrated commitment to Te Tiriti o Waitangi, health equity and culturally safe practice.

You will be a visible, thoughtful and credible nurse leader who combines strategic thinking with a strong focus on delivery. You will be comfortable constructively challenging existing systems, navigating ambiguity and building effective relationships across the organisation.

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.

All applications must be submitted through our online careers by 25 September 2026. If you have any questions about the role, please contact Sabine Ireland at [e-mail]. We will review applications as received and may proceed with the recruitment process, before the closing date of this advert. Whilst Health New Zealand is undergoing change, affected employees will be given preference and priority for this position.