Manager, Product Design and Development

INSIDE Recruitment; Wellington; On-site; NZD 160,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Life insurance

Health insurance & eyecare

Home workstation contribution

5 weeks annual leave

Sick leave 15 days

Rewards & Recognition framework

Professional development

Diversity networks

Job summary

WorkSafe New Zealand invites applications for the role of Manager, Product Design and Development. You will lead a team creating clear, credible regulatory products and guidance that support behaviour change and health and safety outcomes.

You will combine user insights, technical expertise and emerging technologies to keep our products relevant and impactful, shaping how we deliver guidance across the organisation.

Qualifications

• Experience leading product, content or service design functions.
• Strong programme leadership and delivery management capability.
• Ability to balance user needs with organisational and regulatory objectives.
• Experience working across complex stakeholder environments.
• Collaborative leadership style with a focus on coaching and development.
• Curiosity and openness to emerging technology, including AI-enabled tools.

Responsibilities

• Lead the design and development of regulatory products and guidance.
• Apply user-centred design approaches to improve product effectiveness.
• Drive innovation and explore new ways of delivering products and content.
• Build strong relationships across policy, operations and stakeholder teams.
• Ensure products are practical, credible and aligned to regulatory intent.
• Lead and develop a high-performing multidisciplinary team.

Skills

Lead product design functions

Programme leadership

Balance user needs with objectives

Stakeholder management

Collaborative leadership

AI and emerging tech curiosity

Job description

INSIDE Recruitment – Wellington Central, North Island

• Lead the future of WorkSafe's guidance and education products
• Drive innovation, AI adoption and user-centred design practices
• Lead a high-performing team delivering nationally significant products

WorkSafe New Zealand | Mahi Haumaru Aotearoa is the primary workplace health and safety regulator. Our vision is that everyone who goes to mahi comes home healthy and safe. We live by our values:

• Whakakotahi – we are united in a strong purpose
• Tiakina mai – we are entrusted with a duty of care

• Lead the future of WorkSafe's guidance and education products
• Drive innovation, AI adoption and user-centred design practices
• Lead a high-performing team delivering nationally significant products

About Us

He aha te mea nui o tēnei ao? He tangata, he tangata, he tangata.

Hello, Kia ora, Noa’ia, Talofa lava, Mauri, Mālō e lelei, Tālofa, Ni Sa Bula Vinaka, Fakaalofa lahi atu, Mālō ni, Kia orana, nǐ hǎo, Kamusta.

WorkSafe New Zealand | Mahi Haumaru Aotearoa is the primary workplace health and safety regulator. Our vision is that everyone who goes to mahi comes home healthy and safe. We live by our values:

• Whakakotahi – we are united in a strong purpose
• Kōrero mai – we engage meaningfully
• Tiakina mai – we are entrusted with a duty of care

About your team / Ko te tīma

The Product Design and Development team sits within WorkSafe's newly established Regulatory Effectiveness group. Working alongside policy, product stewardship and strategic intervention teams, the team designs guidance and education products and content that help businesses and workers understand what good health and safety practice looks like. The team is central to WorkSafe's ambition to become a more effective, connected and future-focused regulator.

About the role / Ō te tūranga

As Manager, Product Design and Development, you will lead a team responsible for creating clear, credible and practical products and content that support behaviour change and improve health and safety outcomes. You'll bring together user insights, technical expertise and emerging technologies to ensure WorkSafe's products remain relevant, impactful and fit for purpose, while helping shape how the organisation delivers guidance and content into the future.

What You’ll Do/ Ko tōu ake mahi

• Lead the design and development of regulatory products and guidance
• Apply user-centred design approaches to improve product effectiveness
• Drive innovation and explore new ways of delivering products and content
• Build strong relationships across policy, operations and stakeholder teams
• Ensure products are practical, credible and aligned to regulatory intent
• Lead and develop a high-performing multidisciplinary team

What You’ll Bring / Ko ngā pukenga ōu

• Experience leading product, content or service design functions
• Strong programme leadership and delivery management capability
• Ability to balance user needs with organisational and regulatory objectives
• Experience working across complex stakeholder environments
• A collaborative leadership style with a focus on coaching and development
• Curiosity and openness to emerging technology, including AI-enabled tools

Nāu te rourou, nāku te rourou, ka ora ai te iwi.

Salary range / Awhe utu

The expected appointment base salary for this role is $168,932. KiwiSaver or SSRSS employer contributions are additional.

From 1 April 2026, our KiwiSaver employer contribution increased to 3.5%.

We offer a range of benefits including:

• Free life insurance for the duration of your employment
• Health insurance & eyecare discounts
• $400 home workstation contribution
• 5 weeks annual leave
• 15 days sick leave
• A Reward and Recognition Framework that celebrates the impact our kaimahi make – your mahi matters
• Professional development opportunities
• Employee-led networks to promote the goals and needs of our diverse communities (Rainbow, Pacific, Women’s and Tū Rangatira Māori Network)

Location

Wellington is preferred, reflecting where much of the organisation’s planning, implementation and business design activity is based.

Other locations would be considered for a suitable candidate who is comfortable with regular travel and investing time in building relationships across the organisation.

WorkSafe Mahi Haumaru is an equal opportunity employer. We value diversity and actively welcome applicants from all backgrounds, including people with disabilities and those who are neurodivergent. We believe different perspectives strengthen our mahi and help create an inclusive environment where everyone can thrive.

If you encounter accessibility barriers in completing the application or require adjustments or support to ensure the recruitment process is accessible to you, contact ********@inside.co.nz for a confidential kōrero.

This vacancy has been established as part of changes to WorkSafe's organisational structure after a review of WorkSafe's operating model identified opportunities to improve role clarity, ways of working and organisational effectiveness. As part of these changes, WorkSafe has established a number of new roles to ensure we are well placed to meet expectations now and in the future.

Applications close: 5pm, 17th September 2026.