Associate Medical Director

Ko wai mātou - About us:

Hato Hone St John has been serving New Zealanders since 1885. Today, our 11,000-strong team of kaimahi work across Aotearoa to enhance the health and wellbeing of our communities. From responding to 111 calls to supporting people to stay healthy through our mahi in health education, access, and monitoring, we are making life-changing differences every day. 

He aha te tūranga - About the role:  

Hato Hone St John is the country's leading provider of out-of-hospital emergency health care. Every year our people answer and attend hundreds of thousands of 111 calls. The Ambulance Service Strategy 2025–2035 sets the direction for the next decade: contemporary, evidence-based care, stronger clinical governance, and better outcomes for all New Zealanders.

We are seeking an experienced and collaborative Associate Medical Director to provide expert clinical leadership and support across Hato Hone St John.

In this role, you will help drive the delivery of high-quality, patient-centred care through clinical leadership and operational support. This includes providing on-call clinical oversight, supporting frontline ambulance personnel, contributing to major incident management, and playing a key role in clinical governance and continuous improvement activities.

This is a 0.5 FTE role and can be based in either Tauranga, Auckland, or Christchurch. The role is primarily onsite within our Integrated Operations Centre (IOC); however, we are flexible around working days and hours.

Key responsibilities:

• Contribute to the wider work of the Medical Directorate and Hato Hone St John, including participating in operational portfolios, clinical governance activities, and other initiatives across the ambulance service that draw on medical expertise and leadership.
• Mentor and develop clinical staff in the IOC through on-site support, case-based teaching and structured feedback, with a focus on strengthening Hear & Advise practice and clinical decision-making.
• Offer specialist clinical advice on demand to IOC clinicians managing complex, high-acuity or clinically uncertain cases.
• Review and sign off patient care and response plans, ensuring they are clinically appropriate, evidence-informed and aligned with HHStJ clinical practice guidelines.
• Participate in adverse event review, contributing medical expertise to incident investigation, learning and system improvement.
• Contribute medical expertise to policy and process development, providing advice that shapes the clinical frameworks, protocols and pathways used by HHStJ.
• Provide clinical advice to road crews, taking on the on-call medical advice function and supporting frontline clinicians with timely, expert input.
• Provide support to embed quality initiatives within the IOC including participating in workforce development and education activities for our IOC teams.
• Support regional and national clinical initiatives, including providing expert input to the Clinical Services Directorate and representation at relevant forums
• Contribute to the development and delivery of education, training, and clinical assessment programmes for ambulance staff and volunteers
• Provide direct clinical care where required, including during major events, surge responses, and other operational demands.

Ko wai koe - About you:

We’re looking for experienced and collaborative clinicians who are passionate about pre-hospital care and supporting frontline teams in a complex operational environment.

To be successful in this role, you will have:

• Vocational registration with the Medical Council of New Zealand in a pre-hospital and emergency care related specialty and a current practising certificate.
• Previous experience in pre-hospital, retrieval, or out-of-hospital care is strongly preferred
• Demonstrated clinical leadership experience
• Proven experience in working collaboratively to drive clinical effectiveness and best practice service delivery that are well supported by clinical pathways and clinical governance/ assurance, all within a large, health-related organisation
• Out-of-hospital and/or ambulance experience would be highly advantageous

Me pēhea te tuku tono - How to apply

Click “I’m interested” before applications close on 7 June 2026. 

For further information please contact Ariane Schmidt, [email protected] or 027 295 4852 for a confidential discussion. 

At Hato Hone St John, we embrace diversity, welcoming everyone to bring their authentic selves to work. We value unique perspectives, fostering inclusivity to better serve our communities, and we’re committed to creating a workplace where everyone belongs.

E pōhiritia nei e mātou, te whānau o Hato Hone St John, ngā rereketanga o ia tāngata ki te haramai. E āwhinatia e mātou i ngā whakaaro rereke, kia mahi pai i roto i ngā hāpori katoa. Ko ta mātou nei haepapa, kia hangaia tātahi āhuru mōwai mā tātou, kia mahi haumaru ai.

If you need accommodations for accessibility, please reach out to the recruiter listed for equitable participation in our recruitment process.

Research shows that women and people from under-represented groups are less likely to apply for roles when their experience doesn’t match the job description perfectly. If you’re excited and think you have what it takes, we want to hear from you! Even if your experience doesn’t align 100%. Please apply or contact the recruitment advisor listed on the advertisement for a kōrero.