Manager Intervention Design & Planning at WorkSafe New Zealand, All Office Locations

Mō tēnei tūranga mahi | About this role

• Design interventions that address complex health and safety challenges
• Turn regulatory priorities into practical, coordinated action
• Permanent opportunity | Flexible location across Aotearoa

About Us

He aha te mea nui o tēnei ao? He tangata, he tangata, he tangata.

Hello, Kia ora, Noa'ia, Talofa lava, Mauri, Mālō e lelei, Tālofa, Ni Sa Bula Vinaka, Fakaalofa lahi atu, Mālō ni, Kia orana, nǐ hǎo, Kamusta.

WorkSafe New Zealand | Mahi Haumaru Aotearoa is the primary workplace health and safety regulator. Our vision is that everyone who goes to mahi comes home healthy and safe. We live by our values:

• Whakakotahi – we are united in a strong purpose
• Kōrero mai – we engage meaningfully
• Tiakina mai – we are entrusted with a duty of care

About your team / Ko te tīma

Intervention Design and Planning sits within the Strategic Interventions function in WorkSafe's new Regulatory Effectiveness group.

The team turns assessed regulatory priorities into coherent and deliverable intervention approaches. It brings together evidence, operational insight and system expertise to design coordinated responses using regulatory, non-regulatory and partnership levers.

You will lead six direct reports and work closely with Strategic Assessment and Prioritisation, Research and Evaluation, alongside technical experts, stakeholder partnering and delivery teams. Together, these functions will create a more disciplined and connected approach to identifying regulatory problems, designing effective responses and learning from their impact.

About the role / Ō te tūranga

As Manager, Intervention Design and Planning, you will lead the design and planning of interventions, translating assessed priorities and strategic intent into practical approaches that can be implemented effectively across WorkSafe and the wider health and safety system.

You will lead the team that develops integrated intervention designs that combine regulatory, non-regulatory and partnership levers into clear intervention logic. This could include inspector activity, guidance, communications, education or other coordinated initiatives designed to influence behaviour and reduce harm.

Working across teams, you will ensure interventions reflect evidence and real-world context, with clear sequencing, dependencies, roles and delivery requirements. You will involve delivery teams from the outset, ensuring interventions are credible, actionable and ready for implementation rather than being designed in isolation and handed over later.

This is an opportunity to build a developing capability and help WorkSafe move towards a more deliberate, disciplined and evidence-informed approach to regulatory intervention.

What You'll Do / Ko tōu ake mahi

• Lead the design and planning of integrated regulatory interventions
• Translate assessed priorities into practical intervention approaches
• Combine regulatory, non-regulatory and partnership levers
• Integrate evidence, research and operational insight into designs
• Define sequencing, dependencies, roles and delivery requirements
• Collaborate across technical, stakeholder and delivery functions
• Ensure interventions are credible, actionable and ready for delivery
• Lead and develop a high-performing intervention design team

What You'll Bring / Ko ngā pukenga ōu

• Experience leading intervention design and planning in complex environments
• Strong systems thinking and structured problem-solving capability
• Experience turning strategic priorities into practical delivery plans
• Ability to integrate evidence, expertise and stakeholder perspectives
• Strong cross-functional influencing and collaboration skills
• Proven people leadership, coaching and capability-building experience

You will bring experience designing and planning interventions in complex regulatory, public sector or system-focused environments. With strong systems thinking and sound judgement, you'll be able to balance strategic ambition with operational realities, integrating evidence, expertise and stakeholder perspectives into practical, deliverable interventions. A relevant qualification in intervention design, policy, regulatory practice, systems design, or equivalent experience, will be highly regarded.

Nāu te rourou, nāku te rourou, ka ora ai te iwi.

Salary range / Awhe utu

The expected appointment base salary range for this role is $152,761 - $168,932 KiwiSaver or SSRSS employer contributions are additional. From 1 April 2026, our KiwiSaver employer contribution increased to 3.5%.

We offer a range of benefits including:

• Free life insurance for the duration of your employment
• Health insurance and eyecare discounts
• $400 home workstation contribution
• Five weeks' annual leave
• 15 days' sick leave
• A Reward and Recognition Framework that celebrates the impact our kaimahi make
• Professional development opportunities
• Employee-led networks to promote the goals and needs of our diverse communities (Rainbow, Pacific, Women's and Tū Rangatira Māori Network as well as Enabled Network and our Multi – Ethnic Network.)

How to apply / Me pēhea te tono

WorkSafe has engaged Inside Recruitment to support the recruitment of this leadership opportunity. When you click 'apply for this job', you will be redirected to the Inside Recruitment website to submit your application and access further details about the position.

AI can be a helpful tool when preparing your application, but what matters most to us is you. Please ensure your CV, cover letter and responses reflect your own skills, experiences and perspective. We want to hear your real story, your passion, your personality and what makes you unique. Don't let AI do all the talking. Let it support you, not replace you.

WorkSafe Mahi Haumaru is an equal opportunity employer. We value diversity and actively welcome applicants from all backgrounds, including people with disabilities and those who are neurodivergent. We believe different perspectives strengthen our mahi and help create an inclusive environment where everyone can thrive.

If you encounter accessibility barriers in completing the application or require adjustments or support to ensure the recruitment process is accessible to you, contact worksafe@inside.co.nz for a confidential kōrero.

This vacancy has been established as part of changes to WorkSafe's organisational structure after a review of WorkSafe's operating model identified opportunities to improve role clarity, ways of working and organisational effectiveness. As part of these changes, WorkSafe has established a number of new roles to ensure we are well placed to meet expectations now and in the future. Kaimahi whose roles were affected by the structure change will be given preference for all vacancies and will be considered in the first instance.

Applications close: 5pm, 17th September, 2026.