Service Director – Child & Adolescent Inpatient Unit

We are seeking an experienced senior mental health clinician and inspiring leader for a significant clinical leadership opportunity within specialist Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services in Auckland.

This permanent full-time position combines senior leadership responsibilities with ongoing clinical practice, offering the opportunity to influence service delivery, workforce development and clinical excellence within a highly specialised inpatient setting supporting children, adolescents and families.

The successful candidate will provide clinical leadership and operational oversight across specialist inpatient mental health services for young people and their whānau, while fostering a collaborative, recovery-focused and culturally responsive service environment.

This role would suit a senior allied health professional, nurse or medical practitioner with strong leadership capability, a passion for child and adolescent mental health, and experience leading multidisciplinary teams through service development and change.

The service includes specialist inpatient programmes supporting infants, children, adolescents and families with complex mental health needs within a highly collaborative and nationally significant service environment.

Key responsibilities include:

• Leading and supporting clinical quality, safety and service excellence
• Providing strategic clinical leadership across multidisciplinary teams
• Supporting implementation and ongoing development of models of care
• Driving workforce development, succession planning and professional standards
• Supporting service innovation, quality improvement and productivity initiatives
• Promoting equitable outcomes for Māori and commitment to culturally safe practice
• Contributing to wider directorate leadership activities and organisational priorities

We are looking for someone who brings:

• Extensive experience within child and adolescent mental health services
• Proven leadership and people management capability
• Strong communication, relationship-building and collaboration skills
• Commitment to multidisciplinary practice and service improvement
• Ability to lead change and support high-performing clinical teams
• Passion for improving outcomes for rangatahi, whānau and communities
• Commitment to Te Tiriti o Waitangi principles and reducing health inequities

To be successful in this role, you will have:

• Relevant New Zealand professional registration with a current APC
• Senior clinical and leadership experience within mental health services
• Experience managing multidisciplinary teams and complex clinical environments
• Strong understanding of clinical governance, quality and safety frameworks

This is an exceptional opportunity to join a highly respected specialist service and contribute to the future direction of child and adolescent inpatient mental health care in New Zealand.

For further information and a confidential discussion regarding this opportunity, please contact Annie O'Donnell annie@fredrecruitment.co.nz or +64 21 626 632 directly.