Speech Language Therapy - Outpatient at Health New Zealand - Te Whatu Ora Waikato, Waikato

Mō tēnei tūranga mahi | About this role

• Waikato Hospital, with potential travel throughout the district
• Speech Language Therapy Outpatient
• Fixed term - parental leave cover ends October 2026
• 72 hours per fortnight / 0.9 FTE

Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora is firmly grounded in the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and is committed to building a health system that serves all New Zealanders.

Are you a Speech Language Therapist looking for an opportunity to work in our Adult outpatient department? Are you committed to supporting patients beyond their hospital stay? Are you committed to driving and delivering high quality care?

If so, we would love to talk to you about our wonderful Adult Outpatient Speech Language Therapy service at Waikato Hospital and what this fixed term role has to offer you.

Come and join our team where every day brings new challenges in a dynamic work environment. Youll collaborate closely with your peers to prioritise patient care across the outpatient service, delivering focused and impactful therapy sessions that make a real difference to the lives of in your care and make an impact in one of New Zealands largest industries.

About the Role

This would be perfect for a flexible and innovative Speech Language Therapist with 2+ years working experience, though all applicants will be considered on merit. As part of the team, you would be providing assessment and intervention on a range of communication and swallowing difficulties supporting adults. 

The role will be predominately based in outpatient clinics at Waikato hospital, and rural clinics, providing instrumental/assessment and management of communication and swallowing disorders for adults. You will work regularly with a highly skilled MDT team at the Waikato Hospital and other adult specialities to deliver a specialist diagnostic assessment and intervention service to patients under Speech Language Therapy.

Click here to view the position description.

About the Team/Service

The speech language therapy team as a whole work in a variety of areas including inpatient medical and surgical wards, critical care, outpatient clinics, rural hospitals, There may be opportunities to gain clinical experiences across these areas if interested.

Health NZ Waikato, provides tertiary health care to Te Manawa Taki (Midlands) Region. Clinical specialties include oncology, surgical services, paediatrics, obstetrics, emergency and critical care, radiology and anaesthetics. Our Speech Language Therapy team works closely with our Allied, Medical and Nursing colleagues across the hospital.

About you

Required skills & experience:

• Have NZSTA membership or at least be eligible for NZSTA membership.
• Have a bachelors or masters degree in Speech Language Therapy from an NZSTA -accredited programme or have had your qualifications approved by the NZSTA.
• Have an openness to working within a multi-disciplinary team working towards patient focused goals.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• The ability to work within a team to achieve client focused goals.
• Ability to provide a culturally safe service with Te Tiriti in the forefront of your practice and a focus on evidence-based practice.
• Have a current valid full New Zealand drivers licence

 Ideally you will also have:

• Experience working with adults with a range of communication needs.
• Experience working with adults with swallowing/feeding difficulties.
• Have experience performing and interpreting videofluoroscopy swallowing studies.
• Have excellent knowledge of medical conditions commonly seen in Speech Language Therapy patients.

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 online or apply via our Waikato Careers website by clicking here.  All applications must be submitted through our online careers portal before 11:59 pm on 24 March 2026. If you have any questions about the role, please contact Kaitlin Basson at Kaitlin.Basson@TeWhatuOra.govt.nz

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