Research Assistant

• Waikato Hospital, Hamilton; Full time working 40 hours per week, fixed-term for 12 months
• Join new ways of working to address inequities in the health system
• Make a positive difference for Māori whānau and improving health outcomes
• Gain experience working within a successful research and operational teams

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

We are seeking an experienced Research Assistant to join our Māori Health research team here at Māori Health Services at Waikato Hospital.

Whiri was designed to improve Māori health outcomes by explicitly addressing the established drivers of health inequity, eliminating racism, deconstructing barriers to integrated care, whakamana hāpori and supporting long-term and sustainable Māori workforce development. Whiri aligns with the highly successful Whānau Ora approach, focussing on the needs and goals of the whānau, centred on improving equity for Māori and other priority populations whilst being grounded in the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi. The current Health Research Council funded project ‘Cancer Whiri I II: Extending the pathway’ aims to extend the Cancer Whiri I model from referral for suspicion of cancer through to completion of cancer treatment, and to develop an implementation kete to enable successful localisation and implementation of the model; which will then be piloted in two sites.

This is an exciting opportunity to be involved in supporting new ways of working in the health system, to address inequities using the Whiri model of care for whānau in the Cancer Whiri II study. This programme of work will embrace Mātauranga Māori and Te Ao Māori in order to be effective for our Māori communities and fulfil our Te Tiriti obligations.

Day to day: You will support research activities across all four phases of the project. These are: co-design, the development of the implementation kete, the pilot, and evaluation. This will cover a range of activities that include (but are not limited to) supporting the research officer and evaluator with qualitative data collection and transcribing; co-design sessions and patient experience surveys, supporting the evaluation and redesign of the Whiri programme and the toolkit for implementation and other administrative functions connected with the research.

Key responsibilities of the role:

• Supporting the Research Officer with co-design wānanga and collecting, transcribing, analysing and managing data
• Engaging with community stakeholders that support health and wellbeing needs
• Support the research team to develop the implementation kete and Mātauranga Māori framework
• Provide administrative support for the pilot at the Waikato site
• Coordinate in-house meetings including taking and distributing minutes and relevant documents
• Support the evaluation of the project, including analysis of the pilot

Click here to view the position description.

About the Team

Our team is the Māori Health Rangahau/Research team, part of Te Puna Oranga (Māori Health Service) at Waikato Hospital. Our goals are:

• Engaging in Kaupapa Māori research & evaluation
• Contributing towards opportunities for funding & scholarships
• Support & linking in Māori & Indigenous research and networks
• Building workforce development
• Developing innovative solutions based on research

About you

As a research assistant to be considered for the role you’ll need:

• Tertiary degree in a health-related field or equivalent experience working in health or research
• Empathy, ability and confidence to engage with people from a range of backgrounds.
• Understanding of Tikanga Māori, Te Ao Māori and Mātauranga Māori and the ability to engage appropriately in Māori settings
• Experience in qualitative or quantitative research collection and analysis including conducting interviews or survey’s with whānau or patients
• Excellent communication skills
• Ability to work independently as well as part of a team
• Proficient use of Microsoft computer applications including Word and Excel Microsoft team or other database management programs

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 online” or apply via our Waikato Careers website by clicking here.

All applications must be submitted through our online careers’ portal before 11:59 pm on 16 December 2025. If you have any questions about the role, please contact Rachael Devey at Rachael.Devey@TeWhatuOra.govt.nz

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