Clinical Director and Director of Area Mental Health Services for Central Region Forensic Service.

Location: Porirua

Contract: This is a permanent 1.0 FTE position. Additional availability is required after hours and during weekends and statutory holidays.

Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora is firmly grounded in the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and is dedicated to serving all New Zealanders. Through integration and collaboration, we’re building a health system underpinned by partnership, equity, sustainability, whānau-centred care, and excellence.

About the role

We are seeking a highly skilled and motivated registered mental health professional to join the Mental Health, Addiction & Intellectual Disability Service (MHAIDS) as the Clinical Director and Director of Area Mental Health Services (DAMHS) for Te Korowai Whāriki – the Central Region Forensic & Rehabilitation Mental Health Service.

Te Korowai Whāriki is one of the three ‘arms’ of MHAIDS, alongside the Mental Health & Addiction Service and the Intellectual Disability Service.

Working in partnership with the Group Manager, the Clinical Director and DAMHS provides overall leadership to Te Korowai Whāriki and holds joint accountability for the planning, coordination, management, monitoring and evaluation of service delivery.

The Clinical Director and DAMHS leads all clinical matters across the service, with responsibility for the design and implementation of the model of care and the service’s clinical governance framework. As DAMHS, the role carries statutory responsibilities relating to the administration of the Mental Health Act across Te Korowai Whāriki.

This role reports to the Executive Clinical Director for MHAIDS and is a key member of the MHAIDS Senior Leadership Team.

About the Team/Service Location

About Te Korowai Whāriki

Te Korowai Whāriki delivers services across the Central Region, as well as the Tairāwhiti district. It is responsible for the care and treatment of special patients and restricted patients within the legislative framework of the Mental Health (Compulsory Assessment and Treatment) Act 1992, the Criminal Procedure (Mentally Impaired Persons) Act 2003 and the Criminal Procedure Act 2011.

The service has a focus on recovery and rehabilitation alongside a responsibility to maintain safety and security for clients and the public.

Community forensic services provide follow-up and support to community forensic clients, in-reach services to youth justice facilities and prisons, and court liaison support to over twenty adult and youth courts across the Central Region.

About MHAIDS

The Mental Health, Addiction and Intellectual Disability Service (MHAIDS) has over 1700 employees and spans two districts - Wairarapa, Capital, Coast and Hutt Valley. It delivers a range of local, regional and national services.

Local services are provided from multiple sites within the sub-region – greater Wellington, Hutt Valley and Wairarapa. Te Korowai Whāriki and the Intellectual Disability Service deliver local, regional and national community and inpatient forensic services.

MHAIDS’ core business is the provision of quality specialist services, integrated with primary and secondary providers in the communities we serve.

The Service is committed to the underlying principles of:

• Te Tiriti o Waitangi as the founding document of Aotearoa | New Zealand.
• He Ara Oranga.
• Mental Wellbeing Long Term Pathway.
• Whakamaua – Māori Health Action Plan 2020-2025.
• The New Zealand Disability Strategy: Making a World of Difference – Whakanui Oranga.
• Intellectual Disability High and Complex Framework.

About you

This position is open to registered mental health clinicians from all professional backgrounds.

You will bring a combination of clinical credibility, integrity, and strong relationship skills. You will be someone who leads with purpose, is energised by collaboration, and is committed to improving outcomes for those who experience the greatest inequities.

To thrive in this role, you will:

• Be a registered mental health clinician.
• Have leadership experience in a mental health, addiction, or intellectual disability setting.
• Demonstrate innovation in service design and improvement, especially for marginalised groups.
• Be confident working in a complex system with diverse stakeholders.
• Have a track record of supporting and leading teams through change.
• Foster inclusion, draw on the strengths of others, and build trust quickly.
• Be a broad, lateral thinker who communicates clearly and authentically.
• Bring emotional resilience, adaptability and a steady presence.
• Be comfortable working with uncertainty and complexity.

 If you value meaningful relationships, collaborative leadership, and the opportunity to influence service development at a senior level, we want to hear from you.

Working at Health New Zealand

Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora is ‘the weaving of wellness’. We're dedicated to ensuring excellent healthcare for the people of Aotearoa/New Zealand.

Our people are at the heart of everything we do. Health New Zealand are committed to being good employers and honouring our equal employment opportunity obligations. We embrace diversity and welcome application from all people, including all gender identities, ages, ethnicities, sexual orientations, and disability. A workforce that is diverse and inclusive means that we are better positioned to understand and service our community. We are pro-equity health organisation, with a particular focus on Māori, Pacific Peoples, and the Disability Community.

How to Apply

To apply please click “apply now.” All applications must be submitted through our online careers’ portal. If you would like to have a confidential, informal conversation about this role, please contact Paul Oxnam, Executive Clinical Director, MHAIDS at paul.oxnam@mhaids.health.nz

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