Head of Technology

Southern Cross Health Insurance is shaping a healthier Aotearoa New Zealand. Our purpose is simple: empowering our members to live well for longer. We're here to give peace of mind through timely access to quality care, inspire healthier living, and lead positive change across the health system. As a New Zealand-owned, member-based organisation, we're building a future where wellbeing is at the heart of everything we do -- delivering exceptional value for our members and creating an environment where our people thrive.

Now is an exciting time to join us. You'll be part of a high-performing, values-driven team where people are at the heart of everything we do -- and in return for your talent, you'll have the opportunity to grow, make an impact, and be proud of the difference your work makes.

About The Role

Southern Cross serves almost one million members across Aotearoa New Zealand. The work we do has real scale, real responsibility, and a real opportunity to make a meaningful difference. With strong momentum building across our product and technology teams, we’re looking for two exceptional technology leaders to join our senior leadership team.

These are senior leadership roles for people who want to shape technology direction, build strong engineering cultures, partner deeply with product and business leaders, and create the conditions for teams to deliver value safely, frequently, and well.

Why Join Us

We’re investing - in people, in technology, and in the mission. At a time when the market is hesitant, we’re continuing to invest in strengthening our foundations and building our capability. You’ll have executive sponsorship, a clear mandate, and the opportunity to genuinely shape engineering practice at scale.

We're building something worth joining. Our product and technology teams are growing, our employer brand is gaining real traction in market, and the way we show up for our members and each other is being noticed. This momentum has also been reflected externally - in 2026, Southern Cross placed 8th in the Kantar Corporate Reputation Index and 5th in New Zealand for Trust.

The Opportunities

Role one: Product Stewardship & Portfolio Evolution

This role leads cross-functional product and technology squads responsible for an existing portfolio of products and services. The opportunity is to act as a strong technology steward of that portfolio: maintaining what works, improving what can be better, and evolving products to deliver greater customer and business value. This includes enhancement, continuous improvement, simplification, and selective modernisation - all sequenced in a way that balances current performance, future resilience, and sustainable delivery momentum.

If you’re energised by untangling complexity, making the hard sequencing calls, and leaving things sharper than you found it - this is your kind of challenge.

Role two: New Product & Healthy Behaviours

This role leads technology for new product development in our proactive health partner space. It’s much closer to building a true consumer digital product from the ground up, with some ambitious things to bring to market. This is a key move in our shift from insurance to assurance, creating propositions that support healthier behaviours and engage our membership base in new ways.

It’s early in that journey, which makes it a great time to come in and help shape it.

Across both roles, we’re not looking for technology purists. We’re looking for pragmatic leaders who know what good looks like, can make smart trade-offs, and can bring people with them.

Feel free to put your name forward for one or both roles, fit can be explored as part of the process.

What You'll Do

• Own technology direction across your portfolio - connecting technology choices to business strategy, managing technical debt deliberately, and providing clear architectural direction to your teams.
• Lead and develop a high-performing technology organisation - coaching squad leads, building leadership depth, lifting engineering practice, and creating a culture of accountability, learning, and high performance.
• Partner deeply with product and business leaders as a genuine peer - shaping outcomes, navigating trade-offs, and helping teams focus on value rather than activity.
• Set and communicate the technical ‘why’ - principles, standards, and architectural direction that give teams clarity and autonomy.
• Champion modern engineering practices - DevSecOps, CI/CD, reliability, observability, security by design, and safe, frequent delivery.
• Serve as the escalation point for material technology risks, incidents, and key decisions affecting your value stream.
• Facilitate technology-enabled innovation, incorporating new ideas and approaches - including AI - to solve real business challenges.
• Maintain strong relationships with senior leadership, strategic technology partners, and vendors.

What You'll Bring

Technology is only successful because of people. Leadership, curiosity, judgement, and the ability to grow others will matter just as much as technical depth.

• Strategic technology leadership experience across multiple teams and domains - platforms, architecture, cloud, data, integration, and service operations.
• Deep understanding of modern engineering practice (DevSecOps, CI/CD, reliability, observability, security by design) and a track record of lifting delivery quality and speed.
• Proven ability to operate beyond delivery management - setting technology direction, making investment and sequencing decisions, and influencing at senior leadership level.
• A record of building strong leaders and teams that perform sustainably, without dependence.
• Deep understanding of product-centric ways of working and agile principles, with a track record of partnering effectively with product leadership.
• The pragmatism to modernise safely - simplifying complexity, making smart trade-offs, reusing where sensible, and bringing people through change.
• Curiosity and openness to innovation - including AI and emerging technology - balanced with long-term thinking.
• Experience building and managing strategic technology partnerships, including vendors and platform partners.
• Technical or business-related qualifications demonstrating expertise, curiosity, and a growth mindset.

Who We Are

Ngākau nui. Āhurutanga. Tikanga.

Join a proud, diverse team that’s always there, always real, always true. If you thrive in a caring, honest, and open culture, we think you’ll love working with us.

We know that our team’s culture and wellbeing will drive us forward. That’s why we prioritise not only professional development but opportunities to thrive personally. We offer exceptional work/life balance and our people are encouraged - and rewarded - for living well.

Southern Cross Employee Benefits Include

• Five days of wellbeing leave per year
• Health insurance for you and your immediate whānau
• Life insurance cover and discounts on pet and travel insurance
• Extra parental leave benefits and financial wellbeing support
• Participate in our workplace wellbeing programme
• Option to purchase flexi leave for study, volunteering, or supporting your whānau
• Annual volunteer day to contribute to a cause with your team

These roles are Auckland based. While we appreciate interest from candidates in other locations, we’re unfortunately not able to consider remote options. Have questions? Check out our FAQs for help with the application and recruitment process.

We are proud to have taken the Pride Pledge, reflecting our commitment to inclusion and belonging. We also facilitate an active, employee‑led Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Forum, which includes our Rainbow Network, Māori Network, Pasifika Collective, and Neurodiversity and Whānau Support networks.

If you share our commitment and passion, we'd love to hear from you.