Risk Manager, Waikato

• Quality and Patient Safety Service
• Permanent, full time (40 hour week)

Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora is firmly grounded in the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and is dedicated to serving all New Zealanders. Through integration and collaboration, we’re building a health system underpinned by partnership, equity, sustainability, whānau-centred care, and excellence.

About the Role

Te Whatu Ora Waikato continues to strive to be an organisation where we ‘listen, learn, improve’.

Are you passionate about improving patient safety and driving strategic risk management across a healthcare organisation? Reporting to the Director of Quality and Patient Safety, this role offers the opportunity to shape a comprehensive risk management framework that supports safer outcomes for patients and staff.

Key responsibilities include:

• Lead the continuous review and development of the organisation-wide risk management strategy and supporting documents, ensuring clear communication to staff, the public, and stakeholders.
• Manage the assurance framework and corporate risk register, delivering regular reports to the Executive Leadership Team to support risk owners and track progress.
• Work with the wider QPS team and services within the organisation to identify risk through the analysis of patient safety markers.
• Provide expert guidance in risk management and patient safety, ensuring alignment with organisational goals and executive group approvals.
• Collaboration is fundamental to this role. As a Line 1 Risk Advisor, you will work across multidisciplinary teams to ensure consistent risk management practices and act as a liaison between frontline services and oversight functions.
• You may be asked to lead or participate in to other programmes of work that contribute to the overall goal of the Quality and Patient Safety team.

About the Team

You’ll be part of a dedicated Quality & Patient Safety Team and sit within the QPS leadership group.

The Clinical Risk Lead will report directly to you and you will have oversight of the Consumer Engagement team, which manages complaints and compliments.

You will work closely with the QPS Business Partners, providing them with expert advice in risk.

You will also collaborate nationally and regionally within the wider risk space, linking in with the Regional Quality & Patient Safety Lead for Te Manawa Taki.

About You

To be successful in this role, you will bring:

• A tertiary qualification in healthcare administration or a related field, with 3–5 years’ experience in a health quality and risk management team. Understanding of the health sector, quality and continuous improvement systems is advantageous
• Strong knowledge of risk management principles, health and safety legislation, and the regulatory framework governing health sector standards.
• Excellent communication and facilitation skills, combined with strong analytical and critical thinking skills.
• Ability to build relationships across diverse teams and leadership levels.
• Familiarity with electronic risk management systems and quality improvement science, with a postgraduate qualification in risk management or equivalent experience considered an advantage.

Working for Health New Zealand

Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora is ‘the weaving of wellness’. We're dedicated to ensuring excellent healthcare for the people of Aotearoa/New Zealand. The Equity Work Programme at Health NZ focuses on helping everyone in the health system think about equity when they do their work. It also promotes the cultural change needed for the whole system to reach equity in health outcomes.

Our people are at the heart of everything we do. Health New Zealand are committed to being good employers and honouring our equal employment opportunity obligations.

Click here to view the position description.

How to Apply

Please click ‘Apply now’ or apply via our Waikato Careers Website by clicking here . All applications must be submitted through our online careers portal before 11:59pm on 12 October 2025. If you have any questions about the role, please contact Rachel Spencer, Senior Recruitment Advisor at Rachel.Spencer@TeWhatuOra.govt.nz