- Senior nursing leadership role within Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora, shaping mental health and addictions services across MidCentral.
- Strategic and clinical leadership opportunity to influence system transformation, workforce development, and culturally responsive care.
- Permanent, full-time appointment offering significant professional impact at district and national levels.
THE OPPORTUNITY
Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora is entering a period of generational transformation under the Pae Ora (Healthy Futures) reforms. This is a rare opportunity to join Te Uru Rauhī – Mental Health and Addictions Service as Director of Nursing at MidCentral.
Reporting operationally to the Group Manager and professionally to the District Chief Nurse, this role sits at the intersection of strategy, culture, quality, and clinical excellence. You will play a critical role in strengthening the nursing voice, influencing system-wide decision making, and leading the delivery of high quality, culturally responsive care across the continuum.
This appointment comes at an important time for the service, with a clear focus on lifting performance, strengthening integration, and enabling services to work cohesively as one system. There is a strong foundation of passionate, committed staff who are deeply invested in their communities, this role will harness that energy, fostering a culture where people feel supported, empowered, and inspired to deliver their best.
The Director of Nursing will be instrumental in re-establishing and strengthening relationships with local partners, including NGOs and community providers, ensuring services are responsive, connected, and aligned to the needs of whānau. There is also a strong emphasis on improving inpatient service performance and continuing to evolve contemporary models of care that deliver better outcomes for whaiora and their whānau.
THE ROLE
As Director of Nursing, you will provide senior-level professional and clinical leadership across Mental Health and Addictions Services, with accountability spanning strategic direction, clinical governance, workforce development, and operational performance .
Key priorities include:
- Leading the development and implementation of contemporary models of care, ensuring services are integrated, cohesive and future-focused.
- Strengthening clinical governance, quality and safety frameworks, ensuring excellence in nursing practice and improved consumer outcomes.
- Driving workforce development and capability, including succession planning and growing Māori and Pasifika nursing leadership.
- Bringing services together to operate as one connected system, reducing silos and improving the experience of care.
- Rebuilding and strengthening trusted relationships with NGOs, community providers, iwi and stakeholders across the care continuum.
- Improving inpatient service performance, ensuring safe, efficient and high-quality care delivery.
- Embedding a culture of continuous improvement, reflection, learning and innovation across the nursing workforce.
- Providing visible, values-led leadership that supports staff wellbeing while enabling high performance.
This role offers the opportunity to make a tangible and lasting impact not only on service performance and workforce capability, but on the health outcomes of the communities MidCentral serves.
THE CANDIDATE
You will be an experienced and credible senior nursing leader with deep expertise in Mental Health and Addictions and a strong understanding of the complexities of service delivery across acute and community settings.
You will bring a relational, collaborative and strengths-based leadership style, with the ability to lead through influence rather than hierarchy. You will be known for your high emotional intelligence, your ability to read the room, and your capacity to build trust quickly across a diverse range of stakeholders.
Critically, you will be someone who is curious, thoughtful and willing to challenge constructively, confident to ask questions, test thinking, and drive better outcomes in a respectful and values-led way.
You will also bring:
- Deep sector knowledge of mental health and addictions services, with the credibility and passion to influence clinical and operational leaders.
- Demonstrated ability to lead through complexity and change, bringing people together and aligning teams toward shared goals.
- A strong commitment and passion to equity and Te Tiriti o Waitangi, with experience embedding culturally responsive practice.
- Proven capability across clinical governance, quality improvement, and workforce development.
- Experience strengthening partnerships with community, NGO and iwi providers.
- The ability to lift, grow and empower teams, creating an environment where people thrive and deliver their best.
Above all, you will be an inspiring and values-driven leader who can harness the passion of the workforce, build alignment across services, and make a meaningful mark, ensuring Mental Health and Addictions Services at MidCentral continue to grow, evolve and deliver outstanding care for their communities.
For a confidential discussion, please get in touch with:
David Price
HG National Manager, New Zealand
M. +64 (0)21 0239 2211 | E. dprice@hardygroupintl.com
HOW TO APPLY
The closing date for applications is Sunday, 24 May 2026
The reference number to include in your application is H26_5491
Ready to make people your organisation’s greatest asset?
