District Improvement Lead

Health New Zealand - Te Whatu Ora Capital, Coast & Hutt Valley; Wellington; On-site; NZD 140,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora is seeking a District Efficiency Improvement Lead to drive the District's Efficiency Improvement Programme and support delivery of sustainable, high-quality healthcare services.

You will partner with senior clinical and operational leaders to identify opportunities, provide robust analysis and insights, and ensure delivery of strategic priorities across the District while reporting through governance frameworks.

Qualifications

• Experience leading large-scale programmes or transformation portfolios.
• Ability to translate complex information into actionable insights.
• Experience with senior executives and complex stakeholder environments.
• Track record of delivering measurable organisational improvement.
• Advanced relationship-building and influencing skills.

Responsibilities

• Lead and oversee the District's Efficiency Improvement Programme.
• Develop and maintain performance frameworks, dashboards and governance reporting.
• Provide strategic advice and evidence-based insights for executive decision-making.
• Drive delivery and accountability for improvement initiatives and targets.
• Build relationships with clinical, operational and corporate leaders.
• Identify and prioritise opportunities to improve service performance and patient outcomes.
• Ensure robust governance, reporting and data integrity.

Skills

Program management

Strategic thinking

Analytical skills

Stakeholder management

Leadership

Education

Tertiary qualification

Project/Programme management cert (PRINCE2 / PMI / Agile)

Tools

PRINCE2

PMI

Agile

Job description

Location: Wellington Regional Hospital Contract: Permanent, Full Time Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora is firmly grounded in the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and is dedicated to serving all New Zealanders. Through integration and collaboration, we're building a health system underpinned by partnership, equity, sustainability, whānau-centred care, and excellence.

About the Role

Reporting directly to the Group Director Operations, Capital, Coast & Hutt Valley, the District Efficiency Improvement Lead is responsible for driving the District's Efficiency Improvement Programme (EIP) and supporting the delivery of sustainable, high-quality healthcare services.

Working across hospital and specialist services, you will lead the development, governance, monitoring and reporting of improvement initiatives that enhance productivity, strengthen financial sustainability and improve patient outcomes.

You will partner with senior clinical and operational leaders to identify opportunities for improvement, provide robust analysis and insights, and ensure delivery of strategic priorities across the District.

This role sits at the centre of decision-making, helping coordinate activity across services, directors, chiefs and operational leaders while ensuring the Group Director Operations has timely, high-quality information to support critical decisions.

You will also work closely with Regional stakeholders and other District Efficiency Improvement Leads to build a strong regional community of practice and drive consistency and innovation across the health system.

Your key responsibilities will include:

• Lead and oversee the District's Efficiency Improvement Programme.
• Develop and maintain performance frameworks, dashboards and governance reporting.
• Provide strategic advice and evidence-based insights to support executive decision-making.
• Drive delivery and accountability for improvement initiatives and sustainability targets.
• Build strong relationships with clinical, operational and corporate leaders across the organisation.
• Support the identification, prioritisation and implementation of opportunities that improve service performance and patient outcomes.
• Ensure robust programme governance, performance reporting and data integrity.

About You

You are a highly credible and influential leader with a passion for performance improvement and delivering meaningful change in complex environments.

You’ll bring:

• Significant experience leading large-scale programmes, performance initiatives or transformation portfolios.
• Strong strategic thinking, analytical capability and the ability to translate complex information into actionable insights.
• Experience working with senior executives and navigating complex stakeholder environments.
• A track record of delivering measurable organisational improvement and sustainable outcomes.
• Advanced relationship-building and influencing skills.
• A tertiary or professional qualification, ideally complemented by a project or programme management qualification such as PRINCE2, PMI or Agile certification.
• Clinical, operational or management experience within the New Zealand health sector will be highly regarded.

Working at Health New Zealand

Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora is 'the weaving of wellness'. We're dedicated to ensuring excellent healthcare for the people of Aotearoa/New Zealand.

Our people are at the heart of everything we do.

Health New Zealand are committed to being good employers and honouring our equal employment opportunity obligations.

We embrace diversity and welcome application from all people, including all gender identities, ages, ethnicities, sexual orientations, and disability.

A workforce that is diverse and inclusive means that we are better positioned to understand and service our community.

We are pro-equity health organisation, with a particular focus on Māori, Pacific Peoples, and the Disability Community.