Director of the Centre for Digital Modernisation, Digital Services at Te Whatu Ora, Wellington

Mō tēnei tūranga mahi | About this role

• Be a 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 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 Director of the Centre for Digital Modernisation of Health, you will play a pivotal role in shaping the future of healthcare in Aotearoa. This is a rare opportunity to provide strategic, transformative leadership for the Centre and drive the successful delivery of the Health Digital Investment Plan (HDIP).

In this role, you will lead a high-performing Centre Management Team, build powerful partnerships, and foster a culture where collaboration, innovation, and continuous improvement are not just encouraged but expected. You will bring people together across programmes and organisations to deliver digital solutions that make a meaningful difference for clinicians, patients, whānau and communities.

Acting as the key connection point between the Centre, the Digital Modernisation of Health Board, Health NZ's Executive Leadership Team, the Health NZ Digtial Services function, delivery partners and government agencies, you will ensure the Centre operates as a cohesive, future-focused capability. You'll balance immediate stabilisation and delivery needs with long-term strategic change, ensuring sustainable progress and impact.

Above all, you will champion the Centre's vision of working as one team, modelling the collaborative, inclusive and outcome-driven behaviours that empower others to excel. Your leadership will help shape a modern, digitally-enabled health system that truly delivers for Aotearoa.

About the Team/Service/ Location 

The Centre for Digital Modernisation of Health (the Centre) represents an unprecedented opportunity to transform healthcare delivery across New Zealand. Established to deliver the Health Digital Investment Plan (HDIP), the Centre will manage large multibillion programme in investment over the next 10 years to modernise Health NZ's digital capabilities and infrastructure.

This is a unique, once-in-a-generation opportunity to work at a scale rarely seen in New Zealand—leading digital transformation that will deliver tangible benefits for clinicians, patients, and communities across the motu. The Centre provides the strategic leadership and specialist capability needed to develop and deliver new digital services that will fundamentally improve healthcare delivery.

The Centre operates as a distinct entity within Health New Zealand, purposefully designed to function differently from business-as-usual operations. With its own dedicated Board responsible for HDIP delivery and Centre performance, it brings together a core team of senior specialists in investment, technology, design, and delivery, supported by world-class technology and implementation partners.

This role offers a rare chance to be part of establishing the Centre while simultaneously delivering large-scale transformation. We are seeking senior leaders with the experience and expertise to build this capability from the ground up and drive delivery of New Zealand's most ambitious health digital modernisation programme.

About you 

You are an experienced executive leader with a strong track record in large-scale digital transformation, capable of bringing people, partners and programmes together to deliver meaningful system-wide change. You thrive in complexity, inspire high performance, and build delivery models that are sustainable, collaborative, and future-focused.

You will bring:

• Executive-level leadership of large, complex digital transformation programmes (health or public sector preferred).
• Experience in health sector digital transformation or clinical informatics.
• Proven ability to establish and lead portfolio management offices or strategic delivery functions.
• Expertise in building and leading high-performing, diverse teams.
• Deep experience applying agile and iterative delivery methodologies at scale.
• Strong experience managing strategic partnerships across vendors, delivery partners, and government agencies.
• A track record of building organisational capability and sustainable delivery models.
• Confidence operating within complex governance frameworks and providing assurance to Boards and executive leaders.

Desired:

• A relevant degree and postgraduate qualification (e.g., digital transformation, programme management, health informatics, business).
• Professional programme/portfolio management qualifications (e.g., MSP, PfMP).

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 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 Date. If you have any questions about the role, please contact Ash at Ash.Mohan@tewhatuora.govt.nz