Psychologist – ICU / HDU

Location: Wellington Regional Hospital – Te Rui Atawhai / Intensive Care and High Dependency Units

Contract: 12 month fixed-term (until 25 July 2027), full-time (1.0 FTE / 40 hours per week) with the possibility of job-share, dependent on applicants. 

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 

Salary: APEX MECA Psychologists Salary Scale Step 1-14 ($87,125 - $153,750)

This new pilot 12-month fixed-term position is to support staff wellbeing.

We’re seeking a proactive Psychologist to develop and deliver a psychology service focused on the support of staff wellbeing in Wellington Hospital’s Critical Care units. This unique role offers the chance to expand and grow wellbeing support for Critical Care staff across multiple types of intervention, including: brief assessment and therapy; group-level supports and supervision; and system-wide wellbeing interventions.  A job-share with another Psychologist is a possibility, depending on applicants. 

You’ll work closely with ICU Psychologists already supporting patients and whānau, as well as the broader ICU medical, nursing, and allied health teams. By supporting staff wellbeing, your input will help create a lasting positive impact on patients and their whānau during some of the most stressful times in their lives. You may also be asked on an ad hoc basis to provide direct support to patients and their whānau.

Building strong relationships and contributing psychological perspectives to the work of this high-performing, large (300+) team will be a cornerstone of this role. Skills in service development, implementation and assessment of service outcomes will be central as this new service is established. 

We’re looking for someone who can work both autonomously and collaboratively, enjoys teaching and service development, and is confident sharing their knowledge while remaining open to learning, and can demonstrate strong clinical and ethical reasoning. If you’re motivated to enhance staff wellbeing and recognise its flow on effects to patient and family care and safety, as well as excited by the prospect of shaping a service that makes a real difference, we’d like to hear from you.

About the Team/Service/ Location

The Intensive Care Services is committed to the provision of excellent and appropriate care within a multidisciplinary team.  The service will support openness, honesty, communication and the dynamic professional development of all team members.

Wellington Hospital is the tertiary referral centre for the lower North Island and upper South Island of New Zealand. This gives us a catchment population of approximately 1,100,000 and a geographic radius of 300km.

Wellington Hospital's ICU supports six public hospitals that have intensive care units and one hospital that does not. To manage such a large area, we run a busy Flight Service.

Wellington ICU currently has 24 bed spaces.  We look after paediatrics, neurosurgical, trauma, cardiothoracic, vascular, renal, general medical and surgical patients. We don’t currently manage burns or plastics in our hospital, nor spinal injuries but are involved in their transfers to the centres that do. We are planning a significant expansion that will increase our capacity to 28 ICU-capable bed spaces, supported by the High Dependency Unit, which opened in May 2025 with up to 12 new beds. The new HDU operates as a ‘closed’ unit, under the direction of ICU medical and nursing staff.

New Zealand has one dedicated paediatric intensive care unit in Auckland (700km north) in Starship Hospital. We manage most paediatrics (100-150 per year) but refer the very young and very sick on to them.

Wellington ICU treats about 1850 patients each year accounting for about 120,000 patient hours; 30% of these are elective admissions and include 400 cardiothoracic patients. The median length of stay for patients is 38 hours, which reflects the acuity of those we admit, especially when electives are factored in.  We ventilate 65% of admissions and have a mortality rate of approximately 8%.  We are a busy unit with a wide range of patients and severity of illnesses.

About you 

• Strong communicator and effective team collaborator
• Professional, reliable, and sound in clinical judgement and ethical reasoning 
• Proactive, solution-focused, and open to learning 
• Empathetic, and calm under pressure
• Emotionally resilient and adaptable in fast-paced settings 

Skills and experience

• Eligible for registration with NZ Psychologist’s Board under appropriate Vocational Scope of Practice.
• Experience of working with patients, clients or systems with high or complex needs 
• Experience working with staff or worker wellbeing desirable
• Understanding of staff psychosocial risks associated with working in Critical Care
• Strong skills in multidisciplinary teamwork, communication, and relationship-building.
• Commitment to Te Tiriti o Waitangi and culturally responsive practice.
• Experience in service development, implementation and assessment of service outcomes desirable.
  

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 have any questions about the role, please contact Philip.Adamson@tewhatuora.govt.nz 

Please state your preference for a full time role or job-share on your application.

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

Position description Apply now

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