Professional Leader Occupational Therapy

• Based at Auckland City Hospital, Permanent, Full-time role (Monday to Friday)
• Play a pivotal leadership role in advancing service quality, professional standards, and workforce development across diverse clinical settings
• Collaborative setting, fostering professional growth and knowledge exchange

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.

About the Role

As the Occupational Therapy Professional Leader, you will provide professional leadership and direction for all Occupational Therapists across Te Toka Tumai Auckland. This includes practitioners working in physical health, mental health, adult and paediatric services, and across both acute and community settings.

You will play a key role in ensuring the clinical safety and quality of occupational therapy services and will work in partnership with relevant leaders to deliver business unit and service plans that align with Te Toka Tumai Auckland’s values, strategy, and goals.

In this role, you will be responsible for demonstrating outcomes and articulating the value of the Occupational Therapy profession. You will hold discipline-specific accountability for professional practice standards and provide assurance around workforce skill mix, clinical models of care, and service safety.

You will foster a culture of excellence by creating an environment where high standards of care can flourish and by identifying opportunities for improvement that enhance clinical outcomes for both the service and its users.

Workforce development will also be a key focus, including maintaining robust pipelines for future practitioners and providing oversight of student and trainee programmes. You will lead change across Occupational Therapy models of care and champion how Occupational Therapists contribute to the delivery of high-quality, equitable healthcare.

As the professional voice for Occupational Therapy, you will represent the discipline at the executive level to the Chief Allied Health, Scientific and Technical Officer and across the wider healthcare system where required.

Please visit the position description here.

About the Team/Service

At Te Toka Tumai Auckland, we’re not just hiring — we’re building the future. Aotearoa’s health system is in an exciting period of transformation, underpinned by the vision of Pae Ora / Healthy Futures. Together, we’re creating a more equitable, accessible, and people-centred health system that works for everyone.

About You

We’re looking for an experienced and inspiring leader who demonstrates professionalism, integrity, and a strong commitment to putting patients and their whānau at the heart of everything they do. You will be passionate about advancing the Occupational Therapy profession and ensuring the delivery of high-quality, safe, and equitable care.

To be successful in this role, you will have:

• A relevant tertiary qualification in Occupational Therapy
• Current registration and an Annual Practising Certificate (APC) with the Occupational Therapy Board of New Zealand
• Proven leadership experience, ideally within complex healthcare environments
• Experience in developing, implementing, and monitoring occupational therapy practice standards and frameworks
• Strong project management, crisis management, and risk assessment capabilities

About the location

For more information on living and working in Auckland click here.

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 Māori, Pacific, disabled, and rainbow communities.

How to Apply

To apply please click “apply now.” All applications must be submitted through our online careers’ portal.

If you have any questions about the role, please contact Belinda Peddie – belinda.peddie@tewhatuora.govt.nz

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