Principal Advisor, Mentally Well

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 a Principal Advisor in the Mentally Well team within Planning, Funding and Outcomes, you will play a leading role in the development of high-quality advice relating to mental health commissioning and machinery of government processes.

You will provide leadership, oversight and direction across complex and often contentious pieces of work, ensuring that commissioning products, reports and advice are accurate, methodologically sound and fit for decision-making. You will be a central point of coordination between the Office of the Minister for Mental Health, Government Services and communications teams, ensuring timely, high-quality responses to requests and briefings.

Working closely with senior leaders, you will help deliver organisational priorities, drive continuous improvement in systems and processes, and provide thought leadership that supports innovative solutions to improve mental wellbeing outcomes. You will also lead key projects and programmes of work, develop strategies and roadmaps, and provide mentorship and quality assurance across the team's work programme.

A core focus of this role is embedding Te Tiriti o Waitangi in action and supporting Māori-led and Pacific-led approaches that improve equity and outcomes in mental health and wellbeing.

About you

You are a highly experienced senior advisor with strong subject matter expertise, excellent judgement and the ability to lead complex portfolios of work in fast-paced, politically sensitive environments.

You will bring :

• A relevant graduate qualification
• Extensive specialised experience (typically 10–15 years) in senior advisory, policy, commissioning or related roles
• Demonstrated experience implementing Te Tiriti o Waitangi in action
• Proven leadership experience managing and delivering a portfolio of complex work
• Strong critical thinking and problem-solving skills, with the ability to navigate ambiguity
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including experience preparing senior-level advice
• Ability to manage complex, politically sensitive topics with sound judgement
• Experience working across multi-disciplinary teams
• Strong organisational skills with the ability to prioritise and deliver under pressure
• You will also bring a collegial leadership style, a strong sense of accountability, and a genuine commitment to improving mental wellbeing outcomes for communities across Aotearoa.

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 Monday 16 February 2026. For further information, please contact Nicole Rickard on Nicole.Rickard@TeWhatuOra.govt.nz.

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.