Director - Safer People

New Zealand Government; Wellington; On-site; NZD 206,000 - 229,000; Full time

Job summary

New Zealand Police is seeking a Director – Safer People to lead the health, safety and wellbeing of staff. Reporting to the Chief People Officer, you will shape strategy, oversee health services, wellbeing programs and risk governance, and collaborate with regulators and partners to protect personnel and strengthen organisational capability.

You will be part of the People Group Leadership Team, driving transformation, modernising systems, and embedding safety into day-to-day operations while

Qualifications

• Experience leading health and safety, wellbeing and risk management initiatives.
• Ability to influence executives and governance forums across an organisation.
• Proven track record in large-scale transformational change.

Responsibilities

• Develop and deliver the long-term Safer People strategy for New Zealand Police.
• Lead national health and safety, wellness, physical fitness and medical support teams.
• Strengthen governance frameworks and contribute to executive forums.
• Lead responses to significant incidents and oversee improvement activity.
• Build strategic relationships with regulators, providers and employee groups.

Skills

Strategic leadership

Health and safety

Risk management

Governance

Stakeholder engagement

Education

Tertiary qualification in health and safety or related discipline

Job description

New Zealand Police is working with the community to make New Zealanders be safe and feel safe. With over 16,000 staff, we provide policing services 24 hours a day, every day. We operate by land, sea and air, manage over 860,000 emergency calls a year and are always actively preventing crime and crashes. We’re working towards specific goals and targets that highlight our intent to work collaboratively with iwi and communities, other government sectors and business partners to deliver ‘Our Business’ and achieve long-term change.

Director – Safer People

• Based at Police National Headquarters, Wellington
• Permanent – Full Time
• JR 6060127
• E tῡ ki te kei o te waka, kia pakia koe e ngā ngaru o te wā. Stand at the stern of the canoe and feel the spray of the future biting at your face. Mō te tūnga

About the role

Reporting to the Chief People Officer, you'll lead one of Police's most critical functions, ensuring our people are fit for work, fit for life, and return home safe and well at the end of every day. This role combines strategic leadership with operational delivery and offers significant scope to influence change at every level of the organisation. Building on a strong foundation, you will drive the next phase of evolution across our health, safety and well-being operating model. From modernising systems and processes to enhancing service delivery, strengthening critical risk management, and leveraging technology and data-driven insights, you'll help shape how Police supports its people into the future. As a member of the People Group Leadership Team, you will contribute to the collective leadership of the People Group function, looking beyond your own function to help shape strategy, priorities, and outcomes across the wider group. You will champion health, safety and wellbeing as a critical part of the employee lifecycle, understanding that these are not standalone responsibilities, but an essential part of how we attract, support, develop and retain our people. You'll provide trusted advice and assurance to the Executive Leadership team as Officers of the Persons Conducting a Business or Undertaking (PCBU), ensuring Police continue to meet legislative obligations while strengthening organisational capability, culture and performance.

Key Accountabilities

• Develop and deliver the long-term Safer People strategy for New Zealand Police.
• Lead a national team responsible for health and safety, wellness, physical fitness, return-to-work services and medical support.
• Strengthen governance frameworks and contribute to Executive and level governance forums.
• Lead organisational responses to significant incidents and oversee associated review and improvement activity.
• Build strong strategic relationships with ACC, WorkSafe, health providers, industry partners and employee representative groups.
• Drive continuous improvement through modernisation of systems, services, technology and operating models.
• Champion a culture where safety, wellness and prevention are embedded into everyday business.

What you’ll bring

We are interested in leaders with outstanding strategic leadership capability and operational credibility, who can quickly build technical depth and breadth. You will have experience leading through complexity, balancing strategic thinking with practical delivery, and driving sustainable change in large and diverse environments. You will be a trusted and influential leader who can build confidence across all levels of the organisation, navigate competing priorities, and making sound decisions in challenging situations. Most importantly, you will be deeply committed to the safety and wellbeing of our people, with a genuine passion for creating systems and environments where our people feel safe, supported, and able to perform at their best.

• Proven experience leading large operational or specialist functions.
• Strong expertise in risk management, governance and organisational assurance.
• Experience navigating complex legislative and regulatory environments, ideally within health, safety, wellbeing or related disciplines.
• Demonstrated success leading transformation, service improvement and organisational change.
• The ability to engage confidently with Police’s Executive, governance forums, regulators and external stakeholders.
• Strong commercial acumen, including oversight of contracts, service providers and performance frameworks.
• Exceptional judgement, analytical capability and intellectual rigour.
• A genuine commitment to people leadership, wellbeing and creating high-performing teams.

Special requirements

• This role is Strategic People Leader level. You can refer to Indicators for Success for further information on the requirements.
• The role is based at Police National Headquarters in Wellington and may require travel.
• A tertiary qualification in health and safety or related discipline is desirable but not required.

Security Clearance Requirements

To be eligible for this role, you must be able to obtain and maintain a Top Secret Special national security clearance. The minimum criteria for this level of national security clearance is: NZ Citizen who has resided continuously in NZ for the last 15 years, or:

• A Permanent Resident who has resided continuously in NZ for the last 15 years.
• A citizen of or has resided continuously in one or more of the following countries for the last 15 years: Australia, Canada, United Kingdom, or United States of America, and has a background that can be verified by the NZSIS.

Use this online tool to self-check your eligibility for security clearance. Please note that this tool is not part of the formal security clearance process.

you will be required to submit an application form. Before confirmation of hire, pre-employment checks will be undertaken which include reference, drug and alcohol testing and police vetting prior to any written offer being made.

For further information on the application process, please copy and paste this URL: https://www.police.govt.nz/careers

All applications must be submitted online and will not be accepted directly via email.

All applicants must have the right to work in New Zealand.

Salary

This position is covered by a collective agreement and salary will commence between $206,451.00 and $229,390.00 dependent on skills and experience relevant to the role. If you are an internal applicant, you must apply internally through the police system. You must provide an alternative contact email address and state your future commitments should you be successful in the next stage of the recruitment process. Please note: Deadline for applications is 5:00 pm on 10th November 2026. Applications may be reviewed prior to the close date as well as contact made with candidates. If you have any questions about this vacancy, please contact [e-mail]