Senior Advisor, Alcohol - Promotion - NPHS

Mō tēnei tūranga mahi | About this role

• Shape the national direction and drive delivery for effective alcohol harm prevention.

• Lead meaningful programmes and build partnerships that enable community-led, locally responsive action.

• Location: Wellington, Auckland or Christchurch

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 Senior Advisor, Alcohol Harm Prevention, you will lead a significant national programme of work focused on national leadership and infrastructure for alcohol harm prevention across Aotearoa New Zealand by setting a clear strategic long-term direction and strengthening coordinated approaches across the system. You will lead programme design, commissioning and delivery through to monitoring, evaluation and improvement, using evidence and insights to strengthen health promotion capability and enable community-led, locally responsive action.

Working across Health New Zealand and with iwi and Māori partners, Pacific organisations, communities, NGOs, local government and other sector partners, you will build trusted relationships and bring people together around shared outcomes. You will provide practical advice, contribute to investment and commissioning approaches, and navigate complex issues and competing priorities, applying Te Tiriti o Waitangi and equity considerations throughout your work.

About the Service

The National Public Health Service (NPHS) within Health New Zealand - Te Whatu Ora works towards Pae Ora (healthy futures for all) by engaging with the wider determinants that impact people's health, focusing on oranga/wellbeing, prevention, protection, and population-level intervention. We are connected across boundaries to deliver public health services that are nationally planned, regionally delivered and locally tailored.

About you

You are an experienced professional who can lead significant programmes of work, translate strategy into action and deliver results in complex environments. You bring strong analytical and relationship management skills, can influence across sectors and use evidence and evaluation to inform decisions. You are pragmatic and solutions-focused, with sound judgement and a commitment to Te Tiriti o Waitangi and equitable outcomes.

You will bring:

• A relevant tertiary qualification and a minimum of four years' experience, or a minimum of seven years' relevant equivalent experience.

• Demonstrated experience designing and delivering significant programmes or workstreams from planning and commissioning through to implementation, evaluation and improvement.

• The ability to connect immediate programme delivery with longer-term strategic direction and system development.

• Experience building or strengthening the partnerships, capability, systems and shared resources needed to support sustained health promotion and population-level change.

• Strong analytical and communication skills, including the ability to develop clear strategic advice, programme documents and reporting for a range of audiences.

• Experience using evidence, evaluation and performance information to inform programme delivery and improvement.

• Experience applying Te Tiriti o Waitangi and equity considerations to programme design, partnerships and delivery.

• Knowledge of alcohol harm prevention, public health or health promotion is desirable, with relevant experience from NGO, community or the wider social sector also welcomed.

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 Tuesday, 10 November 2026. If you have any questions about the role, please contact Maria Bennett at maria.bennett1@TeWhatuOra.govt.nz