Senior Advisor at Te Whatu Ora, Otago

Mō tēnei tūranga mahi | About this role

• Permanent, full-time role based in Otago/Southland.
• An exciting opportunity to play a central role in shaping and delivering regional communication strategies that support better health outcomes for communities across Aotearoa.
• The role offers variety, autonomy, and the chance to grow your technical communication expertise while working alongside skilled national and regional colleagues in a highly collaborative environment.

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 the Senior Advisor, you will support the development and lead the implementation of regional communication strategies, ensuring messages are effective, timely, and aligned with the goals of improved health outcomes. You will own and manage regional communication channels, events, and content while monitoring performance and adapting approaches as needed.

The role requires you to proactively identify regional communication risks, provide advice on how to mitigate them, and find innovative ways to enhance communication across the region. You will work closely with regional stakeholders, national Communications colleagues, and local partners to ensure consistent, high‑quality information flows across Te Whatu Ora.

This is an exciting opportunity to play a central role in shaping and delivering regional communication strategies that support better health outcomes for communities across Aotearoa. You will directly influence how critical regional messages are delivered, helping ensure our people and communities are well‑informed and engaged.

The role offers variety, autonomy, and the chance to grow your technical communication expertise while working alongside skilled national and regional colleagues in a highly collaborative environment.

About you

As a Senior Advisor, you will bring:

• A relevant graduate and/or postgraduate qualification.
• Around five years' experience in a communications role, including contributing to strategy and leading implementation.
• Strong written and oral communication skills and the ability to produce high‑quality content.
• Experience building effective relationships at all levels and navigating complex or ambiguous subject matter.
• Demonstrated commitment and experience applying Te Tiriti o Waitangi in practice.
• Strong analytical and critical‑thinking capability, with the ability to anticipate issues and offer sound recommendations.

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 15 March 2026. For further information, please contact Nicole Rickard on Nicole.Rickard@TeWhatuOra.govt.nz.

The full position description is available on the Health New Zealand Careers site.

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.