Health and Safety Verification and Assurance Manager

• There is one national role that can be based at any Health NZ location
• Permanent, full-time position
• Collaborative team who deliver effective and efficient health and safety support 

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

We provide essential hospital, specialist, and community health services across 80+ locations - from large urban centres to rural towns and remote communities. 

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

About the Role

Reporting to the GM, Health and Safety, the Health and Safety Verification and Assurance Manager plays a critical leadership role in ensuring Health New Zealand's sites and services meet national health and safety expectations. This role leads the delivery of verification and assurance activities, ensuring compliance with legislation, regulations, and industry standards.

You'll provide strategic oversight and expert advice to inform leadership on organisational performance, support external audits, and recommend corrective actions to mitigate risk. A key part of the role involves fostering strong partnerships with regional and local health and safety teams to ensure consistent, high-quality delivery aligned with national standards.

Leading a team of Business Partners, you'll champion a culture of accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement. You'll also oversee ICAM investigations where required and engage with external stakeholders including WorkSafe, ACC, and union partners, ensuring meaningful worker participation in health and safety matters.

About the Team/Service/ Location

This is a national role and can be based at any Health NZ location.

The Health and Safety team plays a vital role in ensuring consistent, high-quality service across all district sites, shifts, and professional groups. Working remotely, team members collaborate to deliver effective and efficient health and safety support tailored to the unique needs of each area. This is a dynamic, purpose-driven team who are committed to maintaining safe environments and supporting services nationally. 

About you 

An experienced health and safety leader with over 10 years in the field, including at least 5 years in a senior role guiding and influencing teams of professionals—ideally within healthcare or a similarly complex, high-risk environment. You bring deep expertise in health and safety verification and assurance, including leading ICAM investigations, and have a strong working knowledge of the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015, ACC's Accredited Employer Programme, and ISO45001 standards.

Your leadership style is inclusive and strategic, with a focus on building capability, fostering collaboration, and driving continuous improvement. You've successfully implemented organisation-wide programmes and coached Business Partner-level roles, and you're confident navigating ambiguity, making sound decisions, and solving complex problems in dynamic operational settings.

You're a skilled communicator—clear, persuasive, and impactful—with the ability to engage effectively across all levels of the organisation, including senior and executive leadership forums. You build strong relationships, influence change, and promote a culture of care, accountability, and excellence.

You'll be able to demonstrate a strong understanding of Pae Ora (Healthy Futures) and Te Tiriti o Waitangi, and are committed to equity and meaningful engagement with Māori. You're either knowledgeable in tikanga Māori or open and willing to learn.

Your technical proficiency spans a wide range of health and safety domains, including risk management systems, incident investigation and reporting, contractor management, safety audits, and strategic programme evaluation. You're confident in leading safety culture initiatives, mentoring others, and presenting performance insights at executive and board levels.

You're calm, consistent, and resilient—able to lead through change, manage competing priorities, and maintain a clear strategic direction. With a qualification in Health and Safety or equivalent experience, you're ready to make a significant impact in shaping the future of health and safety across Health New Zealand.

Working for 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.    

How to Apply 

This is a national role and can be based at any Health NZ location, there is a dedicated section on the application for you to outline your preferred location, please also include your preferred location in your cover letter.

To apply please click “apply now.”  All applications must be submitted through our online careers' portal by midnight 30 November 2025. If you have any questions about the role, please contact Ruth Greening at ruth.greening@tewhatuora.govt.nz.

Whilst Health New Zealand is undergoing change, affected employees will be given preference and priority for this position.