Occupational Therapist

• Fixed-term position covering parental leave from April 2026 – May 2027 & Permanent full time position
• 1.0FTE (40 hours per week) Based at Christchurch Health Campus
• Provide Occupational Therapy assessment and therapeutic interventions to service users and improve the health and wellbeing of the Canterbury community!

Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora is firmly grounded in the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and is committed to building a health system that serves all New Zealanders.

About the Role

We have an exciting opportunity to join the supportive Occupational Therapy team at Christchurch Hospital. We have both a Full-time (40 hours/week) fixed-term position due to parental leave as well as a permanent position based on the Christchurch Hospital Acute Campus site. 

Please note this role is open only to current staff of Health New Zealand. Please do not apply if you are not currently employed by Health New Zealand.

Occupational therapists work across multiple clinical areas at Christchurch Hospital including:

Trauma, Orthopaedics, General Medicine, Surgery, Neurology, Acute Stroke, Respiratory, Cardiology, Paediatrics, ICU, ED, Burns & Plastics, Oncology, Hand Therapy, Home Visit team. These positions are ward based and where you will be working will depend on your current skills and the overall needs of those who access our service.

It’s likely you will be working with people in Orthopaedics, Surgical, & Trauma areas. However, you will get the opportunity to develop your skills more widely across different clinical areas via our rotational programme.

In this role, you will be responsible for:

• Working to provide comprehensive inter-disciplinary and specific occupational therapy based assessments, patient centred goal setting, therapeutic interventions, and education to whānau and friends and IDT colleagues
• Working with patients from diverse social and cultural backgrounds and working collaboratively with whānau, the wider multidisciplinary team to ensure the best outcomes
• Delegation of clinical tasks to Allied Health Assistants
• Identifying service needs and contributing towards quality improvement initiatives
• Being involved in patient-centred discharge planning
• Mentoring and supervision of other colleagues within the wider Occupational Therapy service
• As part of the team you will also contribute to the weekend roster on a regular basis

About You

You will have a passion and desire to work in acute care within a team environment, and want to grow and develop professionally as an occupational therapist.

You can expect to be well supported in your role. You will receive mentoring, supervision and professional development so that you can grow as an occupational therapist and progress in your career.

Your skills will include:

• Sound clinical assessment and problem solving skills
• You will have recent proven experience working in the acute inpatient hospital environment
• The ability to work autonomously and collaboratively, to develop positive interpersonal relationships, and work flexibly within the inter-disciplinary team, with a team player attitude
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills
• Strong clinical reasoning skills and use of evidence informed practice
• Effective time management, organisational  and prioritisation skills
• Experience with discharge planning
• The willingness to engage in quality improvement mahi
• Clinical experience working within the acute hospital environment would be an advantage
• A willingness to learn and to share your learning
• Registration with the NZ Occupational Therapy Board and current Annual Practicing Certificate
• Competency with te ao Māori, tikanga, and te reo Māori or a commitment to starting your journey and taking ownership of your learning and growth 

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

Please note this role is open only to current staff of Health New Zealand. Please do not apply if you are not currently employed by Health New Zealand.

To view the position description and/or apply for the role please click “apply now.” All applications must be submitted through our online careers portal before 11:59pm on Wednesday 22nd April. If you have any questions about the role, please contact Alex Jay at Alexandra.jay@tewhatuora.govt.nz or Clinical Manager Bronwyn Suzana on 0274 330 950 or Brownyn.suzana@cdhb.health.nz

Please note, we will be reviewing applications as received and may proceed with the recruitment process before the closing date of this advert.

Position description Apply now

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