Public Health Physician - Planning, Funding and Outcomes at Te Whatu Ora, All Locations

Mō tēnei tūranga mahi | About this role

• Permanent, full-time position based anywhere in New Zealand
• Provide population health clinical leadership to improve equity and outcomes across Aotearoa
• Influence national planning, commissioning and service design with a strong equity and Te Tiriti o Waitangi focus
• Provide trusted, evidence-based clinical advice across the health system
• Work at the heart of system transformation to improve population health and reduce inequities

Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora is the country's largest employer, delivering universal public healthcare to 5 million New Zealanders.

We provide essential hospital, specialist, and community health services across 80+ locations — from large urban centres to rural towns and remote communities.

Our goal is to improve health outcomes for all New Zealanders by delivering equitable, accessible and innovative care.

About the Role

As a Public Health Physician, you will provide senior population health clinical leadership and subject matter expertise across the continuum of care — spanning prevention, community and hospital services, and across the life course.

Reporting to the Clinical Director, Population Health, Planning, Funding and Outcomes, you will work within a national team of highly skilled public health physicians, technical and population health experts. You will work closely with national and regional teams to support clinically informed needs assessment, planning, prioritisation, commissioning and service design. You will bring an evidence-based, intelligence-driven approach to advising decision-makers, ensuring services are responsive to population needs and contribute to improved health outcomes and equity — particularly for Māori and other priority populations.

You will partner closely with Hauora Māori Services, Pacific Health, Tāngata Whaikaha colleagues and sector stakeholders to support Māori-led and Pacific-led responses and embed Te Tiriti o Waitangi in action. The role also includes supporting service improvement and performance measurement, contributing to population health intelligence, and providing supervision to Public Health Medicine Registrars.

This is an exciting opportunity to influence system-wide decision-making and help shape a more equitable, effective and sustainable health system for Aotearoa.

About you

You are a respected Public Health Medicine Specialist with strong systems thinking clinical credibility and a passion for improving population health and equity. You are comfortable navigating complexity, influencing senior stakeholders and working at pace in a changing environment.

To succeed in this role, you will have:

• MBChB or equivalent medical qualification
• Postgraduate vocational qualification in Public Health Medicine
• Fellowship of a recognised Public Health Medicine College
• Vocational registration with the Medical Council of New Zealand and a current Annual Practising Certificate
• Experience implementing Te Tiriti o Waitangi in action
• Experience supporting pro-equity work programmes
• Excellent relationship and communication skills
• Subject matter expertise with a particular focus on priority populations, commissioning, and epidemiology.
• Proven ability to build and maintain effective relationships across the health sector
• Experience in population health or clinical leadership roles
• Experience in service planning, development and improvement

Expertise in population health intelligence and performance measurement

You will also bring strong professional integrity, self-awareness and a commitment to culturally safe practice and continuous professional development.

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 by 11:59PM Sunday, 8 February 2026. For further information, please contact Nicole Rickard on Nicole.Rickard@TeWhatuOra.govt.nz.

Whilst Health New Zealand is undergoing change, affected kaimahi will be given preference and priority for this position.

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