Personal Assistant to the Chief of Radiology

• Christchurch - Christchurch Health Campus | Canterbury Radiology
• Full-time permanent position working 40 hours per week

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.

Are you someone who sees what needs to happen, creates order from complexity and keeps important work moving—often before anyone needs to ask?

Canterbury Radiology is looking for an exceptional person to support the Chief of Radiology in leading one of Health New Zealand’s largest and most operationally complex clinical services.

The formal title is Personal Assistant, but this is not a conventional or business-as-usual PA role.

You may never have worked as a PA. You might currently work in project coordination, operations support, executive administration, information management or another role requiring sound judgement, initiative and exceptional organisation.

We are interested in what you can do—not simply the job titles you have held.

About the role

The Chief of Radiology works across a demanding environment involving clinical leadership, operational pressures, workforce challenges, service performance and significant organisational change.

Your role will be to make that work more manageable and effective.

You will actively manage the flow of information, commitments, decisions and actions through the Office of the Chief. You will protect and prioritise the Chief’s time, maintain visibility of emerging requirements and ensure important matters are progressed rather than becoming lost among competing demands.

This requires someone who can remain one step ahead: anticipating what will be needed, recognising what is important, resolving what they can and knowing when something requires the Chief’s attention or a wider escalation.

What you’ll be doing

On any given day, you might be:

• Reviewing a busy executive inbox and identifying the matters requiring action, escalation or a decision;
• Resolving or redirecting routine matters within agreed parameters;
• Preparing a concise summary of an issue so the Chief can quickly understand what is required;
• Actively managing a complex calendar and resolving competing priorities;
• Looking ahead across daily, weekly and longer-term commitments to anticipate upcoming requirements;
• Coordinating meetings, agendas, papers, decisions and actions;
• Maintaining a central action register and following up owners and deadlines;
• Communicating confidently with senior leaders, clinicians, staff and external stakeholders;
• Investigating a matter, bringing together the relevant information and recommending a practical next step; or
• Improving a workflow so information is easier to manage and important work remains visible.

You will use Microsoft 365 and other approved digital tools confidently. This includes making effective use of email rules, categories, flags, conditional formatting, templates, action-tracking tools, automation and approved AI-enabled applications.

You do not need to be an IT specialist. You do need to be curious, digitally capable and willing to find better ways of working.

What we’re looking for

• We are looking for someone with exceptional initiative, judgement and personal accountability.
• You will be able to demonstrate that you:
• Anticipate requirements and act without waiting for continual direction;
• Take ownership of work and follow it through to completion;
• Can distinguish between what is urgent, what is important and what can be managed elsewhere;
• Remain organised and composed when priorities change quickly;
• Are confident managing complex information, correspondence, commitments and deadlines;
• Can turn large amounts of information into concise, useful summaries;
• Communicate clearly and professionally with people at every level;
• Are appropriately confident and persistent when information or action is required;
• Exercise discretion when working with sensitive and confidential matters;
• Learn digital tools quickly and use them to create reliable, efficient workflows;
• Notice gaps, risks and emerging issues and act on them; and
• Look for practical ways to improve how work is organised and delivered.

Your background

You do not need to have followed a traditional PA or administration career path.

Your capabilities may have been developed through executive or operational support, project coordination, programme administration, information management, healthcare, the public sector or another complex environment.

Previous experience supporting a senior clinical or executive leader would be useful, but it is not the deciding factor. What matters most is whether you have the judgement, initiative, digital capability and drive to operate successfully alongside a leader working in a highly complex and demanding role.

If you are someone who naturally creates structure, thinks ahead and takes genuine satisfaction from helping important work happen, we would like to hear from you.

Working at 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. If you have any questions about the role, please contact Kerri McCarthy at Kerri.McCarthy@TeWhatuOra.govt.nz

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

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