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 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 build a future where wellbeing is at the heart of everything we do and create an environment where our people thrive.

Southern Cross serves almost one million members across Aotearoa New Zealand. We are looking for two senior technology leaders to join our senior leadership team and shape technology direction, build strong engineering cultures, and partner deeply with product and business leaders.

• Product Stewardship & Portfolio Evolution – lead cross‑functional product and technology squads responsible for an existing portfolio. Act as a technology steward: maintain what works, improve what can be better, and evolve products to deliver greater customer and business value through enhancement, continuous improvement, simplification, and selective modernisation.
• New Product & Healthy Behaviours – lead technology for new product development in our proactive health partner space. Build a true consumer digital product from the ground up, supporting healthier behaviours and engaging our membership base in new ways.

• Own technology direction across your portfolio – connect technology choices to business strategy, manage technical debt deliberately, and provide clear architectural direction to your teams.
• Lead and develop a high‑performing technology organisation – coach squad leads, build leadership depth, lift engineering practice, and create a culture of accountability, learning, and high performance.
• Partner deeply with product and business leaders as a genuine peer – shape outcomes, navigate trade‑offs, and help 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.

• 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.
• 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.
• Pragmatic approach to modernisation – simplify complexity, make smart trade‑offs, reuse where sensible, and guide 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.

• 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
• Participation 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. We appreciate interest from candidates in other locations, but are unfortunately not able to consider remote options.

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.