Head of Contracts and Commercial

Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora; Wellington; On-site; NZD 180,000 - 280,000; Full time

Job summary

Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora is seeking a Head of Contracts and Commercial to provide strategic leadership across the Infrastructure and Investment Group. You will set national commercial direction, strengthen governance and secure sustainable value from major health infrastructure investments.

You will shape procurement policy, contracting frameworks and risk practices, advise on business cases and investment structures, and build a high‑performing commercial function across national

Qualifications

• Postgraduate qualification required in business, finance, law, engineering, project management or related discipline.
• 12+ years in senior commercial leadership roles supporting major infrastructure programmes.
• Strong knowledge of NZS 3910, NZS 3916 and other construction contract forms.
• Proven procurement strategy, contract law and financial modelling expertise.
• Proven success delivering commercial outcomes across large-scale capital projects.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic leadership and oversight of commercial activity across the Infrastructure and Investment Group (IIG).
• Set national commercial direction and governance for major health infrastructure investments.
• Advise on business cases, investment structures and major commercial decisions.
• Help Health NZ engage with contractors, suppliers, and government partners.
• Identify opportunities to optimise whole-of-life value and improve commercial controls.

Skills

Strategic leadership

Contracting & procurement

Financial modelling

Executive stakeholder management

Negotiation & influence

Team leadership

Education

Postgraduate qualification in Business Administration, Finance, Law, Engineering, Project Management or related discipline

Tools

NZS 3910

NZS 3916

Construction contract forms

Job description

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

Healtn NZ provides essential hospital, specialist, and community health services across 80+ locations, from large urban centres to rural towns and remote communities.

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

About the Role

As Head of Contracts and Commercial, you will provide strategic leadership and oversight of commercial and contractual activity across the Infrastructure and Investment Group (IIG). Reporting to the National Director of Infrastructure, you will set the national commercial direction, strengthen governance and help ensure Health New Zealand achieves sustainable value from its major health infrastructure investments.

As a Senior leader, you will have responsibility for shaping commercial policy, procurement and commercial strategies, contracting frameworks, risk practices, and ensuring agreed project monitoring, protocols and reporting criteria are being met across the full project and programme lifecycle. Providing advice on business cases, investment structures and major commercial decisions, while helping Health New Zealand engage confidently and effectively with contractors, suppliers, government agencies and other delivery partners.

Helping to identify opportunities to optimise whole-of-life value, strengthen supplier performance and improve commercial controls and outcomes across the national infrastructure portfolio. You will also set expectations for risk allocation, contract performance, claims management, dispute resolution and commercial assurance, supporting consistent and well-informed decision-making across programmes.

A key part of the role will be establishing and growing a high-performing commercial function, shaping the team's structure, building organisational capability and creating an environment where people are supported to contribute, develop and deliver excellent commercial outcomes.

About the Team/Service/Location

The Infrastructure and Investment Group (IIG) is focused on delivering high-impact infrastructure investment that supports the transformation of New Zealand's health system.

Providing support, oversight and assurance across projects and programmes, the group recognises that safe, fit-for-purpose health facilities, sites and equipment are essential to a well-functioning health system. This is a national role, working across project, regional and national teams and with a broad range of clinical, operational and technical stakeholders.

This role is location agnostic and can be based in Auckland, Wellington or Christchurch.

About you

You have extensive experience working across complex infrastructure programmes or major capital projects, bringing strong commercial judgement and an understanding of how procurement, contracting, risk allocation, governance and financial considerations come together to support successful delivery and long-term value.

You're comfortable operating at executive level, you can interpret complex commercial and project information, identify the issues that matter and translate these into clear, practical advice. You are a confident negotiator and influencer who can build trusted relationships across government, industry, technical disciplines and organisational boundaries.

Your leadership style brings clarity, accountability and collaboration. You know how to build capable teams, develop commercial frameworks and can support others to make well-informed decisions.

You will bring

Essential:

• A postgraduate qualification in Business Administration, Finance, Law, Engineering, Project Management or related discipline.
• 12 plus years' experience in senior commercial leadership roles supporting major infrastructure programmes.
• Strong knowledge of NZS 3910, NZS 3916 and other relevant construction contract forms.
• Demonstrated expertise in procurement strategy, contract law and financial modelling.
• Proven success delivering strong commercial outcomes across large-scale capital projects.
• The ability to analyse complex commercial and project data and provide sound strategic advice.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Proven people leadership capability, including developing teams and fostering high performance.

Desirable:

• Experience developing and implementing best-practice commercial systems, frameworks and tools.
• Specialist expertise and experience in construction contracting law.
• Experience with collaborative contracting models, including alliances and partnerships.

Working for Health New Zealand

Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora is dedicated to ensuring excellent healthcare for the people of New Zealand. They embrace a workforce that is diverse and inclusive so that they are better positioned to understand and serve our community.