Sterile Sciences Manager

New Zealand Government Joba; Wellington; On-site; NZD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora is seeking a leader to oversee the decontamination and sterilisation service at Wellington Regional and Kenepuru Hospitals. You will manage end-to-end processes, drive efficiency, quality and safety in line with contemporary standards.

You will lead a skilled team, develop staff, document SOPs, and collaborate with clinical and operational stakeholders to deliver excellent patient care.

Qualifications

• Health-related qualification is required.
• Knowledge of infection control and quality control processes.
• Strong people management skills with leadership experience.
• At least five years' sterile processing leadership experience or equivalent in medical devices.

Responsibilities

• Lead decontamination and sterilisation service across Wellington Regional and Kenepuru Hospitals.
• Manage resources, reduce waste, and minimise risk to deliver high-quality service.
• Motivate and guide the team to work as a unified unit and deliver outcomes.
• Ensure SOPs are well documented and followed.

Skills

Infection control

Quality control

People management

Sterile processing leadership

Education

Health-related qualification

Job description

Location

Wellington Regional and Kenepuru Hospitals

Contract

Permanent, Full Time (1.0 FTE / 40 hours per week)

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

In addition to providing leadership to our dedicated team, you will be accountable for the process and outcome of all stages of the decontamination and sterilisation service. You will manage an efficient and effective, high-quality service in line with contemporary practices and customer specifications through the effective use of resources, elimination of waste, minimisation of risk, and reduction of unnecessary costs. Your experience in managing people in an operational setting will be essential in ensuring the team is fully focused on achieving expectations and delivering specialist sterilisation services in our tertiary hospital. You will enjoy working with people, motivating and guiding them to work as a tight-knit unit and always give their best. You will be known as someone who is able to get along with a wide range of people from a variety of backgrounds. Your excellent written communication skills will be well utilised in ensuring our standard operating procedures are well documented.

About the Team/Service Location

The Sterile Sciences Service is a critical part of patient care across Wellington Regional and Kenepuru Hospitals, ensuring reusable medical devices and surgical instruments are processed safely, efficiently and to the highest quality standards. The service supports a wide range of clinical specialties and plays an essential role in infection prevention and the delivery of safe patient care. Leading a skilled and committed team, you will have the opportunity to influence service performance, drive continuous improvement, and build strong relationships with clinical and operational stakeholders. This is a rewarding leadership role where your contribution will have a direct impact on patient outcomes and service excellence.

About You

• A health-related qualification.
• Sound knowledge of infection control and quality control processes.
• Strong people management skills and experience, with a proven ability to lead and develop teams.
• A minimum of five years' sterile processing experience at a leadership/management level, or experience in process and production industries of medical devices.

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.