Programme Manager – Value-Based Healthcare

About the organisation

Southern Cross Health Insurance is focused on helping improve health outcomes across Aotearoa New Zealand. Its purpose is to enable members to stay well for longer, support timely access to quality healthcare, encourage healthier lifestyles, and contribute to positive change in the wider health system. As a New Zealand-owned, member-led organisation, it aims to place wellbeing at the centre of its work while creating a workplace where employees can do their best work.

This is a chance to join a high-performing team guided by strong values, where people matter and your contribution can create meaningful impact.

About the role

You will join the Healthcare Partnerships team in a fixed-term Programme Manager role for 12 months, covering parental leave. The position offers a unique opportunity to help shape a new approach to healthcare delivery.

The business is introducing a series of specialty strategies that define the desired future state for healthcare in these areas by 2030. Your responsibility will be to translate that vision into a coordinated, structured programme across the organisation. You will not work in isolation; instead, you will be the person who keeps the programme connected and moving forward.

Reporting to the Head of Value Based Healthcare, you will work across Product, Healthcare Partnerships, Legal, Marketing, and clinical teams. The role requires facilitation, alignment, and momentum-building across a cross-functional programme that influences many parts of the business.

This role suits someone who is comfortable operating without an established playbook. You will need to create structure as the work evolves and bring clarity to others even when priorities are still taking shape.

What you will do

• Lead multidisciplinary working groups to shape and improve specialty strategies, while building agreement and sustaining momentum.
• Create and maintain structured programme plans, including workstreams, milestone tracking, stakeholder mapping, and risk management.
• Engage senior stakeholders across the organisation and influence them to stay aligned and contribute actively, even when the programme sits outside their direct reporting line.
• Prepare business cases that support investment decisions linked to the specialty strategy objectives.
• Build and manage strong co-design relationships with healthcare providers, ensuring pilots are well scoped, governed, and assessed.
• Explain value-based healthcare concepts in a clear way so people across the business understand the purpose and importance of the work.
• Use data and insights to monitor progress, guide decisions, and adjust the programme as priorities change.

What you will bring

• Proven programme management experience, including the ability to establish workstreams, manage milestone reporting, and build structure from the ground up; PRINCE2 or a similar framework is an advantage, not a requirement.
• Strong facilitation capability and the confidence to lead through influence rather than formal authority.
• A collaborative, low-ego approach that helps bring varied stakeholders along together.
• Comfort working in uncertain or changing environments, with the ability to make decisions and adapt quickly.
• Experience with change management and the ability to inspire genuine buy-in for new ways of working.
• Business case development skills, with the ability to turn strategy into clear investment proposals.
• Experience in health system delivery, strategy, or transformation programmes; clinical knowledge is useful but not essential.
• Strong communication skills and the ability to engage a wide range of audiences.

Culture and values

Southern Cross describes its culture as caring, honest, open, diverse, and true to its values. The organisation places strong emphasis on wellbeing, professional growth, and a supportive environment where people can thrive both at work and in their personal lives.

What is offered

The role is based at the Auckland office, Te Kupenga, and comes with a strong work/life balance. You will be supported to keep learning, share ideas, and contribute to a values-led workplace where people come first.

Employees can take part in wellness initiatives designed to support personal wellbeing and the wellbeing of their whānau.

While the role is Auckland-based, candidates from other locations may be considered for remote working arrangements on a case-by-case basis for the right person.

Inclusion and belonging

The organisation has signed the Pride Pledge and actively supports inclusion through employee-led networks and forums. These include groups for Rainbow, Māori, Pasifika, Neurodiversity, and Whānau Support.

Additional notes

The role is a 12-month fixed-term appointment. Questions about the recruitment process can be directed through the organisation’s FAQs.