Product Owner at Te Whatu Ora, All Locations

Mō tēnei tūranga mahi | About this role

• Work from anywhere in New Zealand
• Full-time, 12 months fixed-term role
• Be part of our Digital Services team – shaping the future of digital healthcare for all New Zealanders

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 more than 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.

The Role

Join a team helping shape the future of digital health services across Aotearoa. Heath New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora is looking for an experienced Product Owner to drive the vision, delivery, and continuous evolution of digital products that support better health outcomes for New Zealanders. As a Product Owner, you will be responsible for defining and delivering digital products that create value for clinicians, patients, and Health NZ. You'll work closely with business stakeholders, delivery teams, Product Managers, Capability Managers, and organisational leaders to ensure products evolve in line with strategic priorities and user needs.

This is a highly collaborative role where you will balance customer outcomes, business priorities, and technical considerations to drive successful product delivery. You'll provide product direction, manage priorities, and help teams deliver solutions that improve healthcare experiences and operational efficiency.

Key responsibilities include:

• Defining and communicating product vision, strategy, and roadmaps aligned to organisational goals
• Managing and prioritising product backlogs to maximise value delivery and customer outcomes
• Collaborating with stakeholders, delivery teams, and leaders to gather requirements and drive product success
• Supporting agile delivery practices and continuous improvement across product lifecycles

About the team

This role sits within the Digital Services group at Health NZ, working alongside product, delivery, technology, and business teams responsible for delivering modern digital services that support healthcare across Aotearoa.

The team is focused on creating user-centred, scalable, and sustainable digital solutions that improve experiences for patients, clinicians, and health sector stakeholders.

What you'll bring

You'll be an experienced Product Owner or digital product professional with a strong track record of delivering complex products in agile environments. You'll be passionate about customer outcomes, innovation, and translating business needs into valuable digital solutions.

You'll bring excellent stakeholder management skills, strong commercial and strategic thinking, and the ability to work effectively across both technical and non-technical teams.

You will also bring:

• 5+ years' experience in Product Ownership, Product Management, or a related discipline
• Experience working with API integrations and data strongly preferred.
• Knowledge of security and privacy standards and legislation, and how they apply to government and the health sector is ideal
• Proven experience delivering complex digital or software products in agile environments
• Strong understanding of product management frameworks, agile methodologies, and user-centred design principles
• Experience managing product backlogs, roadmaps, and stakeholder expectations
• Excellent communication, facilitation, and relationship management skills
• A relevant tertiary qualification in Business, Technology, Engineering, Computer Science, or a related discipline

Working for 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 serve our communities.

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 on 21 July. For any questions about the role, please contact Ash Mohan at ash.mohan@tewhatuora.govt.nz.

Whilst Health New Zealand is undergoing change, affected employees will be given preference and priority where applicable