Social Worker - Physical Health

Te Whatu Ora - Health New Zealand; Southland; On-site; NZD 79,000 - 113,000; Part time

Job summary

Te Whatu Ora - Health New Zealand in Southland is seeking a Hospital Social Worker to support inpatients and their whānau on acute wards. You'll deliver psychosocial assessments, targeted interventions, discharge planning, and safeguarding support while collaborating with the interdisciplinary team to ensure safe, timely transitions of care.

Based in Invercargill, Southland Hospital offers a supportive environment with opportunities to grow across generalist hospital settings, tackling diverse

Qualifications

• Must be registered with the NZ Social Workers Registration Board and hold an Annual Practising Certificate.
• Ideally 2+ years' experience in health, disability, or aged care settings.
• Experience working within an interdisciplinary hospital team.

Responsibilities

• Provide psychosocial assessments and targeted interventions for inpatients.
• Conduct discharge planning and safeguarding support for patients and whānau.
• Collaborate with the interdisciplinary team and community providers to ensure safe transitions of care.

Skills

Social work

Communication skills

Advocacy

Interdisciplinary teamwork

Education

NZ Social Workers Registration Board registration

Annual Practising Certificate

Job description

Salary range: $79,014 – 112,965 (Allied Health SECA)

• Permanent, Part-Time 0.9FTE (36hours per week)

Make a difference every day by supporting patients and their whānau through complex health journeys

This is a rewarding opportunity to work across acute ward settings, using your social work expertise to promote wellbeing, reduce barriers to care, and support patient flow. Southland's generalist approach offers a rich variety and the chance to grow your practice in a connected, supportive environment.

Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora is firmly grounded in the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and is committed to building a health system that serves all New Zealanders.

About the Role

As a Hospital Social Worker, you'll provide support predominately to inpatients and their whānau on acute wards—delivering psychosocial assessments, targeted interventions, discharge planning, and safeguarding support. You'll work closely with the interdisciplinary team and community providers to ensure safe, holistic, and timely transitions of care.

While primarily based in medical and surgical wards, you'll also provide flexible support across other hospital areas as needed and have a small outpatient caseload. Southland values generalists—so your adaptability, breadth of knowledge, and collaborative mindset will be key to your success.

About the Team/Service/ Location

Our Southland Allied Health team is small enough to foster strong relationships and collegial support, yet broad enough to offer rich clinical variety. You'll be part of a collaborative environment that prioritises quality, equity, and whānau-centred care, with district-wide professional networks across the Southern region.

Based in Invercargill, Southland Hospital offers short commutes, affordable living, and easy access to Queenstown, Dunedin, and Fiordland's natural beauty.

About you

You will:

• Be registered with the New Zealand Social Workers Registration Board and hold a current Annual Practising Certificate (essential)
• Ideally have 2+ years' experience in health, disability, or aged care settings
• Be confident working across diverse patient groups in a hospital environment
• Demonstrate strong assessment, communication, and advocacy skills
• Have a sound understanding of Aotearoa's health and social service system, and experience working within an interdisciplinary team

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.

We will review applications as received and may proceed with the recruitment process, before the closing date of this advert.

Job details

Job Reference:

Job Reference: 54091

Location:

South Island - Southland - All values

Job type:

Expertise:

Clinical - Allied Health - Social Worker