Regional Mental Health & Addictions Clinical Lead

Regional Clinical Lead Mental Health, Addiction & Intellectual Disability

• Provide senior clinical leadership across Mental Health, Addiction and Intellectual Disability services in Te Waipounamu
• Lead regional improvement in access, quality, safety and performance
• Shape integrated models of care and influence national and regional priorities

Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora

Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora is the country's largest employer, delivering universal public healthcare to more than 5 million people. With services spanning more than 80 locations, we are committed to building a health system that is accessible, equitable and focused on better outcomes for all New Zealanders.

About the role

As Regional Clinical Lead Mental Health, Addiction & Intellectual Disability, you will provide senior clinical leadership across Te Waipounamu, bringing together clinical leaders, services and providers to strengthen the delivery of safe, high-quality and integrated care.

Working in partnership with the Regional Director Mental Health & Addictions, you will help shape and deliver a regional work programme aligned with national and regional priorities. You will work closely with district clinical leaders, community providers, people with lived experience and whānau to strengthen an integrated mental health and addiction system across the region.

You will provide clinical leadership across key priorities, including:

• Improving access to mental health and addiction support and services
• Strengthening workforce capacity and capability
• Improving crisis responses
• Leading the development and implementation of integrated regional models of care
• Improving performance against national mental health and addiction targets
• Strengthening quality, clinical risk and safety systems across the region
• Supporting sustainable service delivery and effective use of resources
• Reducing unwarranted variation and improving equity of access and outcomes

You will lead the development of networked ways of working across Te Waipounamu, helping services and providers work more effectively together to meet the needs of communities.

A key focus will be using performance information, benchmarking and evidence to identify opportunities for improvement. You will provide regional clinical oversight and assurance, identify and escalate significant clinical risks and lead improvement initiatives to strengthen service quality and performance.

You will also bring the region's perspective to national clinical leadership, contributing to the development of national priorities, clinical service plans, standards of care and service delivery models.

This is an opportunity to provide influential clinical leadership across a complex regional system and help shape the future delivery of mental health, addiction and intellectual disability services across Te Waipounamu.

About you

You are a highly experienced senior clinical leader with extensive knowledge of New Zealand's mental health and addiction system.

You are comfortable working across organisational and professional boundaries, bringing people together around a shared vision and translating national priorities into meaningful regional action. You understand what is required to improve access, quality, safety and performance at a system level and have demonstrated experience leading service improvement.

You combine strong clinical credibility with strategic thinking and collaborative leadership. You can influence across a complex system, build trusted relationships with clinical and operational leaders and use evidence and performance information to drive sustainable improvement.

Importantly, you are committed to partnership with Māori and to meeting the obligations of Te Tiriti o Waitangi. You understand the importance of lived experience and whānau voice and will help embed these perspectives in planning, service improvement and decision making.

What you'll bring to the role

• A relevant qualification and proven experience in mental health and addiction leadership
• At least 10 years' experience working within the New Zealand public health system
• At least three years' experience in a senior leadership role within New Zealand's mental health and addiction system
• Demonstrated experience leading improvements in service delivery and monitoring their impact
• Experience providing clinical leadership across complex services, networks or systems
• The ability to use performance information, benchmarking and evidence to identify opportunities and lead improvement
• Experience identifying and managing clinical quality, safety and service delivery risks
• Experience representing an organisation and profession in formal proceedings and public settings
• Strong relationship management and influencing skills, including working across multiple organisations and stakeholder groups
• Demonstrated experience working in partnership with Māori and applying Te Tiriti o Waitangi principles meaningfully
• Demonstrated experience working collaboratively with people with lived experience and/or whānau leaders
• A commitment to addressing inequities and improving outcomes for Māori and Pacific peoples
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to communicate complex clinical and technical information clearly
• The ability to provide visible, inclusive and values-based leadership in a complex and evolving health environment

Why join us?

At Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora, you will have the opportunity to influence the direction and delivery of mental health, addiction and intellectual disability services across Te Waipounamu.

You will work alongside senior clinical and operational leaders, providers, Māori health services and people with lived experience to develop a more connected and effective regional system. You will also have the opportunity to contribute at a national level, ensuring the experience and priorities of Te Waipounamu help inform future models of care and service delivery.

If you are a respected clinical leader who is passionate about improving mental health and addiction services, reducing inequities and bringing people together to deliver better outcomes, we would welcome your application.

Working for Health New Zealand

Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora is committed to delivering excellent healthcare for all New Zealanders. We embrace diversity and inclusion so that our workforce reflects the communities we serve. We welcome applications from our diverse Māori, Pacific, disabled and rainbow communities.

We are also committed to creating an environment where people can contribute their ideas, challenge the way things are done and continuously improve how we work.

How to apply

To apply, please click “Apply now.”

All applications must be submitted through our online careers portal by 11:59 PM Tuesday, 24^th November.

If you have any questions about the role, please contact Ash Mohan at ash.mohan@tewhatuora.govt.nz