Professional Leader Occupational Therapy - Allied Health Directorate

Permanent - 0.5 FTE with potential for additional hours (up to 20 hours) in a clinical role

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.

The Opportunity

Counties Manukau District has an exciting opportunity for a registered Occupational Therapist with leadership experience to take on this important clinical leadership role. 

The Professional Leader for Occupational Therapy is responsible for providing strong clinical and professional leadership to our occupational therapy workforce across the range of services we provide. You’ll play a key role in ensuring the delivery of high-quality, evidence-based services that meet agreed standards and deliver our key performance objective. Working in partnership with allied health workforce, operational managers, and leadership teams, you’ll help shape the direction of OT services across both hospital and community settings. Your input will be essential in strategic planning, service design, and the delivery of innovative, patient-focused care.

This is a role that requires vision, confidence, and collaboration. We’re looking for someone with a strong clinical background, proven leadership capabilities, and a passion for supporting others to grow. Emotional intelligence, cultural awareness, and the ability to work locally, regionally, and nationally are key to succeeding in this position.

This role can be combined with a clinical role, if needed.

What You’ll Bring

• NZ Registered Occupational Therapist with current APC
• Minimum 5-7 years of clinical experience, preferably in a hospital setting
• Strong leadership, mentoring, and change management experience
• A commitment to quality improvement and evidence-based practice
• Excellent communication, problem-solving, and stakeholder engagement skills

Why Join Us?

• Be part of a high-performing health system that values innovation and collaboration
• Lead a team committed to improving patient outcomes and health equity
• Develop and implement strategic initiatives that make a real difference
• Work in a diverse and inclusive environment that promotes professional growth

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 Maori, Pacific, disabled, and rainbow communities.

How to apply

To apply please click 'apply now'. All applications must be submitted through our online career’s portal. To review the position description, please click here. 

If you are interested, and want to have a chat about this opportunity in the first instance then please request a conversation with Sanjoy Nand, Chief AHST Counties Manukau via sanjoy.nand@tewhatuora.govt.nz.

For more information on this role, please contact Amy Lin in the Recruitment Centre on 0211997398 or amy.lin@middlemore.co.nz.

Job Number: CMH202515068

Applications Close: 05 August 2025

At Counties Manukau Health people and their lives matter to us. We are a values based and inclusive organisation that is committed to delivering the best health outcomes for our community. To help us achieve this we need a workforce that reflects the population we serve. We strongly encourage applications from all backgrounds who share our values and have a passion to work in our community and would greatly value seeing applicants from our Maaori and Pacific communities. We are also committed to our Disability Strategy, which focuses on people with disabilities; they are our patients, whaanau, community and our staff - all carefully considered in our action plan. Together we will improve the accessibility needs for everyone who has a disability. Our values are Valuing Everyone- Whakawhanaungatanga , Kind –Manaakitanga, Together –Kotahitanga, Excellent- Rangatiratanga. If these are your values too, then join us today.