District Chief Medical Officer
District Chief Medical Officer (CMO)
Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora, Hawke’s Bay
Permanent, Executive Leadership Role 0.8 FTE
- This role offers the opportunity to lead clinical excellence and shape the future of healthcare for an entire district
Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora is seeking an exceptional medical leader to join our district senior leadership team as the Chief Medical Officer (CMO), serving a population of 179,700 people.
This is a pivotal executive role, providing strong clinical partnership to the Group Director of Operations (GDO) and senior leaders, ensuring the medical and clinical voice is central to decision-making and system design. You will play a critical role in shaping safe, high-quality, equitable and compassionate healthcare for our communities.
About the Role
We are currently seeking a District Chief Medical Officer (CMO) to be based at Hawke's Bay Fallen Soldiers Memorial Hospital. As District CMO, you will provide visible, inclusive, and inspirational clinical leadership across the district and wider health system. You will be collectively accountable for clinical quality, patient safety, workforce sustainability, and the achievement of Health New Zealand goals and targets, while championing equity and Te Tiriti o Waitangi obligations.
Working at both strategic and operational levels, you will lead clinical governance, support service continuity, develop sustainable workforce models, and drive whole-of-system improvement across hospital, community, and regional settings. The role also includes contributing to regional and national programmes through an agreed portfolio.
There is flexibility for a portion of time to be allocated to ongoing clinical practice, should this align with service needs and personal preference.
Please click here to view the position description
About the Team/Service/ Location
Hawke’s Bay has a strong sense of community. It is a wonderful place to raise children with a number of excellent schools that receive national recognition. The area offers an enviable lifestyle with a choice of urban or rural living, and little traffic congestion.
Come and enhance your career, working in a wonderful part of New Zealand in modernising facilities with a dedicated, enthusiastic, collegial and fun team, effectively act as a liaison between the hospital’s administrative and clinical functions, you must have excellent communication skills. You will need the ability to clearly relay administrative imperatives to clinical staff and must also provide a clinical perspective to administrative goals and strategies.
For more information on living and working in Hawke’s Bay click here
Key Responsibilities
Clinical & Professional Leadership
- Provide senior medical leadership that motivates, supports, and inspires medical colleagues and the wider workforce
- Build and sustain a culture of clinical excellence aligned with Te Mauri o Rongo (Health Charter)
- Ensure strong interprofessional partnership and clinically led service planning
- Lead development of a high-quality, sustainable, and diverse medical workforce, including growing Māori and Pacific representation
- Act as a trusted clinical voice locally, including with consumers, communities, and media when required
Clinical Governance & Patient Safety
- Lead a robust district clinical governance framework focused on quality improvement, risk management, and learning
- Provide oversight of complaints, serious adverse events, and responses to statutory authorities
- Ensure consistent implementation of clinical standards, policies, and guidelines
- Champion patient safety, patient experience, and system-wide quality improvement
Operational & System Leadership
- Partner with the Group Director of Operations, executive and senior leaders to ensure operational decisions reflect clinical and workforce considerations
- Oversee medical workforce planning, credentialing, education, training, and wellbeing
- Support service continuity, emergency response, and at-risk services management
- Contribute to service planning aligned with national priorities, targets, and Pae Ora outcomes
- Lead strike planning when required
Equity, Te Tiriti & Community Partnership
- Actively advance Māori health gain and equitable outcomes for Māori, Pacific Peoples, people with disabilities, and other priority populations
- Partner with iwi, hapū, communities, and consumer groups to design and deliver equitable services
- Embed culturally safe practice and support Māori and Pacific leadership development
About You
You are a senior medical practitioner with:
- Registration (or eligibility) with the Medical Council of New Zealand
- Significant leadership experience within complex health systems
- A strong track record in clinical governance, patient safety, and workforce leadership
- The ability to operate strategically while remaining connected to frontline clinical realities
- Demonstrated commitment to equity, Te Tiriti o Waitangi, and culturally safe practice
- Collaborative, calm, and credible leadership style with the ability to influence at executive level
Why Join Us?
This is an opportunity to shape the future of healthcare delivery at scale, influence priorities, and make a tangible difference to the health and wellbeing of communities. You will work alongside committed leaders and clinicians in an organisation grounded in Pae Ora – Healthy Futures, equity, partnership, and continuous improvement.
Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora is committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion and encourages applications from Māori, Pacific Peoples, people with disabilities, and all communities we serve.
How to Apply
To apply please click “apply now.” All applications must be submitted through our online careers’ portal by 27th March 2026.
If you have any questions about the role, please contact David Warrington on David.Warrington@hbdhb.govt.nz
We will review applications as received and may proceed with the recruitment process, before the closing date of this advert.
Whilst Health New Zealand is undergoing change, affected employees will be given preference and priority for this position.
