Recruitment Partner – Senior Medical Officer (SMO) Portfolio

Christchurch | Permanent, Full-time

• An opportunity to lead and influence specialist medical recruitment across Canterbury and the West Coast.
• A pivotal role building strong partnerships with clinical leaders and services to deliver critical medical workforce outcomes.
• Be part of a team where your recruitment expertise, strategic thinking and ability to make things happen will make a genuine difference.

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

This is an exciting opportunity for an experienced recruitment professional to take ownership of a complex and highly specialised Senior Medical Officer (SMO) recruitment portfolio across Canterbury and the West Coast. This role is based in Canterbury and is based in city central in our  corporate office. 

As the Recruitment Partner, you will lead the end-to-end recruitment process, partnering closely with clinical services and senior leaders to understand workforce requirements, develop recruitment strategies and deliver successful recruitment outcomes.

This is a role that requires far more than managing vacancies. You will need to understand the unique challenges of medical workforce recruitment, navigate complex recruitment and Medical Council of New Zealand (MCNZ) registration processes, provide immigration and relocation support, and deliver an exceptional experience for candidates throughout their recruitment journey.

You will be managing a substantial and varied portfolio, often with multiple vacancies, competing priorities and time-sensitive requirements. The ability to anticipate what needs to happen next, seamlessly coordinate multiple moving parts and maintain momentum across numerous recruitment processes is essential. You will need to be exceptionally organised, commercially and strategically minded, resilient and confident in navigating challenging conversations and situations.

Above all, you will be someone who takes ownership, builds trust and genuinely cares about delivering results for the services and candidates you support.

About the Team/Service/Location

You will be part of the Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora Waitaha Canterbury Recruitment team. Working within a specialised and fast-paced recruitment environment, you will collaborate with colleagues across recruitment, medical administration, workforce teams and wider organisational functions to support the delivery of critical medical workforce requirements.

The role provides significant exposure to senior clinical and executive leadership and offers the opportunity to build influential relationships across a diverse range of medical specialties and services.

About You

You are an accomplished recruitment or HR professional who understands that successful recruitment is about much more than filling vacancies. You know how to build relationships, influence stakeholders, navigate complexity and develop recruitment strategies that achieve outcomes.

You will bring:

• Extensive recruitment experience: A minimum of five years' professional recruitment and or HR  experience is essential, with demonstrated experience managing complex, specialised or professional recruitment portfolios. Experience in medical or healthcare recruitment will be highly regarded.
• Exceptional relationship management and stakeholder engagement: The ability to quickly establish credibility, foster trusted relationships and confidently engage with senior clinical and executive stakeholders. You are comfortable influencing, challenging constructively and navigating difficult conversations when required.
• Strategic thinking and commercial awareness: The ability to understand individual service requirements, identify workforce challenges and work collaboratively with leaders to develop and implement effective recruitment strategies. You are proactive, solutions-focused and relentless in advocating for your services and achieving recruitment outcomes.
• Exceptional organisation and prioritisation: You have an outstanding ability to manage multiple complex recruitment processes simultaneously, often with competing and changing priorities. You can anticipate requirements, keep numerous moving parts on track, maintain attention to detail and ensure nothing falls through the cracks. This is a genuine strength, not simply an ability to manage a busy workload.
• End-to-end recruitment expertise: A strong understanding of the full recruitment lifecycle, from workforce planning, vacancy management and attraction through to shortlisting, interview coordination, selection, offer management and onboarding. You understand the importance of exceptional candidate care and are confident supporting international candidates through MCNZ registration, immigration, relocation and associated processes.
• Professionalism, resilience and sound judgement: You are polished, articulate, highly prepared and confident in your interactions. You understand the importance of delivering a seamless and professional recruitment experience, particularly when working with senior stakeholders and high-calibre candidates. You can manage challenging personalities and difficult situations with diplomacy, confidence and resilience, without losing sight of the outcome.
• Medical workforce knowledge: An understanding of the Medical Council of New Zealand and the various registration pathways for internationally trained medical practitioners, together with an appreciation of immigration requirements and the complexities of recruiting SMOs from overseas, will be advantageous.

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". Applications will be progressed as received. 

If you have any questions about the role, please contact Team Lead recruitment Lily.Simons@Tewhatuora.govt.nz

Whilst Health New Zealand is undergoing change, affected employees will be given preference and priority for this position.

Apply now

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