Are you an experienced health planning or service design professional who can turn complex evidence, community need, policy, funding requirements and stakeholder insights into practical solutions?
We are looking for a collaborative and adaptable professional with strong analytical, written communication, consultation and facilitation skills, who can develop clear service models and planning advice, work effectively with data, manage competing priorities and influence outcomes in a complex health environment. Experience in commissioning, health program development or redesign—and knowledge of mental health, alcohol and other drugs, chronic conditions or technology-enabled service delivery—would be highly regarded.
🔹Employment Type: 2 Full-time roles available for 1-year maximum term contracts
🔹 Location: WAPHA Head Office, Level 2, 1 Hood Street, Subiaco (Hybrid role)
🔹 Salary: Band 6 (commencing from $145,756.41) Plus 12% Superannuation
Key tasks and responsibilities:
- Lead program and activity-level health planning and service design at a specialist level to inform commissioning priorities, implementation planning, investment decisions and continuous improvement.
- Translate complex evidence, community need, funding requirements, policy settings, reform directions and stakeholder insights into service models, pathway designs, design briefs, commissioning options and recommendations.
- Provide specialist advice on service gaps, priority populations, access, equity, integration, safety, feasibility and sustainability, including identifying service-system leverage points where planning, pathway redesign or commissioning changes can improve outcomes.
- Assess the planning and service design implications of new, changed or repurposed funding, including impacts on priority populations, service need, theory of change, program logic, model of service, integration approach, risks and implementation assumptions.
- Develop and quality-assure planning and design artefacts that support procurement scopes, activity specifications, implementation plans, business cases, investment papers and governance decision-making.
- Maintain sufficient program and service-system knowledge to support practical planning and service design, drawing on clinical, policy, commissioning, data and lived experience expertise as required.
- Work proactively with Activity Leads to ensure approved design outputs are translated into commissioning-ready documentation and implementation requirements.
- Contribute to continuous improvement by applying service performance insights, stakeholder feedback, data, evaluation findings and implementation lessons to future planning, service design and redesign.
- Strengthen the connection between strategic intent and operational commissiong by developing clear, feasible and evidence-informed design products that supports key stakeholders within the Program Planning and Operations department, senior leadership roles and Executive
About you
To be considered for this role, candidates must meet the following selection criteria:
Essential Experience & Qualifications
- Tertiary qualification in health, public health, health planning, health administration, social policy, human services or a related discipline, or equivalent level of expertise.
- Demonstrated experience in health planning, service design, service redesign, commissioning, program design or complex health program development.
- Demonstrated ability to interpret evidence, service need, policy settings, funding requirements and stakeholder insights and translate them into practical service design products.
- Strong understanding of health service delivery, preferably including mental health, primary care, community-based services or commissioned service environments.
- High-level written communication skills, including the ability to prepare design briefs, options papers, planning advice, implementation assumptions and business case inputs.
- Strong stakeholder engagement, consultation and facilitation skills, including the ability to work with internal teams, providers, consumers, carers, community representatives and system partners.
- Ability to work with data and qualitative insights to inform planning, service design, prioritisation and continuous improvement.
- Ability to operate effectively in ambiguity, manage competing priorities, anticipate barriers and influence outcomes through collaboration, negotiation and alignment rather than formal authority.
Highly Regarded
- Post-graduate qualification or active study in public health, health planning, health administration, service design, evaluation, system design or a related field.
- Experience developing effective service models, models of care, pathway maps, journey maps, functional design briefs or operational assumptions.
- Knowledge of Mental Health, Alcohol and other Drugs, and/or Chronic Conditions policy, reform, service systems and contemporary evidence-informed practice.
- Understanding of commissioning, procurement, contract management and implementation planning in a health service context.
- Experience contributing to business cases, investment papers, strategic roadmaps, project plans or funding proposals.
- Familiarity with digital health, health informatics or technology-enabled service delivery models.
Please submit your application by clicking the ‘Apply’ button.
Your application should include your CV along with a cover letter. The cover letter should address the selection criteria as outlined in the job advertisement demonstrating your skills and experience relevant to the requirements of this role.
Applications close 11:59pm Wednesday, 14 October 2026.
WAPHA reserves the right to commence shortlisting prior to the advertised close date.
For further information please email [email protected]. Please note that applications must be submitted via the link provided – applications received by email will not be accepted.
