Hospital Play Specialist, Play Specialist Service

Full time and part time positions available, permanent roles

Remuneration as per PSA Allied Health MECA guidelines

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:

Kidz First Children’s Hospital based at Middlemore has exciting opportunities for Play Specialists. Play Specialists provide the opportunity for tamariki and rangatahi to grow and develop in the unfamiliar environment of a hospital. We are looking for someone who has experience working with children/young people within a diverse community.

The role involves maintaining normal developmental goals and assisting children and young people in coping with hospitalisation and illness, including procedural preparation and support. Diverse thinking, a sense of humour, organisational skills, and effective open communication skills are key requirements.

The successful candidate should have experience working in an early childhood setting and hold a minimum three-year tertiary qualification in education such as a B Ed or B Tchg (ECE or Primary teaching) and a full current Practicing Certificate (Teaching Council of Aotearoa New Zealand). Qualifications in special education/early intervention would be an advantage.

Essential:

• B Ed or B Tchg (ECE or Primary teaching) degree and full current teacher registration and/ or HPS Registration (HPSRC – Hospital Play Specialist Registration Council)
• Relevant experience working in an early childhood/primary school setting and ideally play specialist experience for the casual role
• Excellent written and oral communication skills
• Can demonstrate ability to provide appropriate play programmes for children of mixed aged groups
• Demonstrate an ability to be able to work as part of a diverse team
• Has worked within multi-cultural communities

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 Maaori, 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 by 03 September 2026. To review the position description, please click here.

For more information on this role, please contact Amy Lin on amy.lin@tewhatuora.govt.nz.

We will review applications as received and may proceed with the recruitment process, before the closing date of this advert.

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.