National Quality Advisor

 National Quality Advisor – Improvement and Innovation

Mō te Tūranga | About the Role

Are you passionate about making healthcare better - not just maintaining standards, but re-imagining how care can be delivered? We are seeking an experienced National Quality Advisor - Improvement & Innovation to help shape and deliver our national approach to continuous improvement across the Southern Cross Healthcare network. As part of our National Clinical Directorate & Quality team, you will play a pivotal role in identifying system-level opportunities, leading priority improvement programmes, and building capability within our hospitals to achieve lasting gains in patient safety and high quality care. This is a role for someone who enjoys turning insight into action using data, improvement expertise and strong relationships to influence change and deliver better outcomes for patients and whānau.

Working across a nationwide hospital network, you will lead and support high-impact improvement initiatives, prioritising work based on clinical risk and strategic priorities. You’ll help support teams to turn ideas into action, test new ideas, run rapid-cycle improvements, and share learning across sites. From analysing trends and identifying emerging risks, to facilitating innovation and implementing practical solutions, you will ensure quality improvement is visible, coordinated and embedded into everyday practice across the organisation.

Beyond projects, this role is also about building people and culture. You will coach and mentor clinical and operational teams in improvement methodologies, strengthen local governance and measurement systems, and foster collaboration through communities of practice. Providing responsive support to hospitals as needs evolve, you’ll contribute to wider safety, quality and risk activities while helping embed equity, cultural safety and continuous learning into how we deliver care. Simply put, your work will directly improve how healthcare is experienced by consumers across Aotearoa. 

This is a 0.8 FTE part-time permanent position based in our National Support Office in Auckland CBD

Ngā pūkenga me ngā wheako | Skills and experience

• A strong understanding of quality improvement approaches such as Model for Improvement, Lean, Six Sigma and human-centred design, with the ability to apply them in real-world settings
• Proven experience delivering improvement initiatives in healthcare or another complex, multi-stakeholder environment
• Confidence using data and insights to identify risks, prioritise opportunities and demonstrate measurable improvements in patient safety and care quality
• Exceptional communication and facilitation skills, with the ability to engage and influence clinical, operational and executive stakeholders
• The ability to coach and mentor others, building capability and confidence in improvement practices across teams
• Experience managing multiple projects or programmes of work, with strong organisation and prioritisation skills
• A collaborative, solutions-focused mindset and the ability to lead change and innovation without formal authority
• Understanding of clinical governance, quality systems and risk management processes, including incident reviews and safety reporting
• Knowledge of change management and implementation practices that support sustainable improvements
• Experience working across multiple sites, regions or networks, bringing people together to share learning and reduce variation
• A commitment to cultural safety, health equity and the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi in improvement work
• Relevant tertiary qualification in health, quality or a related discipline (or equivalent experience), with approximately 5+ years’ experience in quality improvement, patient safety or clinical governance roles

Ngā mea ka taea e mātou te tuku I a koe | What we can offer you: 

• Competitive Rewards: Attractive remuneration package, relocation allowance, and employee referral bonus scheme.
• Health & Wellbeing: Funded health insurance, a comprehensive wellbeing programme, and generous Christmas/New Year breaks.
• Flexibility & Growth: Flexible working arrangements and a Nursing Council of New Zealand-approved PDRP.
• Perks & Community: Discounts from a range of partners and the opportunity to join our Employee Rainbow Network.

Ko wai matou | Our Organisation 

At Southern Cross Healthcare, our purpose is clear: to advance quality healthcare across Aotearoa New Zealand. Our values shape everything we do:

• Care First – We lead with compassion, delivering care that’s deeply human through genuine manaakitanga.
• Better Together – Collaboration is our strength. We unite diverse skills and perspectives to create better outcomes for all.
• Pursue Excellence – We strive to improve, innovate, and excel every day—never settling, always aiming to deliver our best.

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