Position Description

Position Title (Trainee/ Graduate) Analyst, Suicide Mortality Review Committee and Mental
Health and Addiction (fixed term 2 years)
Location Wellington
Organisation Health Quality & Safety Commission
Work Role Group Analyst Job Band 14

The Health Quality & Safety Commission (Commission) leads and coordinates work across the health and
disability system (both private and public) to improve service safety and quality, and therefore outcomes for
all who use these services in New Zealand. The Commission is a Crown Entity with a Board responsible to
the Minister of Health.

Organisational Context

The Commission is charged with:

 providing advice to the Minister of Health to drive improvement in quality and safety in health and
disability services
 leading and coordinating improvements in safety and quality in health care
 identifying data sets and key indicators to inform and monitor improvements in safety and quality
 reporting publicly on the state of safety and quality, including performance against national indicator
 disseminating knowledge on and advocating for safety and quality.

This is best expressed in the New Zealand Triple Aim, which underpins our
work and is broadly accepted through the sector.

Achieving this purpose depends on doing

the right thing, and doing things right first time.

The Commission has also been given overall accountability for the work of the Mortality Review
Committees as outlined in Section 17 of the New Zealand Public Health and Disability Act 2000 (NZPHD
Act).

Over the next four - five years the Commission has four key strategic intentions, which will drive the focus
of our work programme:
 Increasing consumer and whanau experience
 Improving health equity
 Reducing harm and mortality
 Reducing unwarranted variation
Organisational Values

The way we work reflects our role as a national ‘leader and coordinator’ and is encapsulated in our values:

It’s about people/ Te iwi

We are driven by what matters to patients/consumers and their families/whānau; and by what will improve
the health of communities and populations.

Open/ Tuwhera
We have an open, honest, transparent and respectful culture. We value the expertise, knowledge and
experience of others and welcome creative approaches and diverse opinions.

Together/ Kotahitanga
We partner with others, and learn and share together. We use consumer experience, expert knowledge
and current information to come up with new ways of thinking and better ways of doing things.

Energising/Whakahohe
We are energised by our passion for improving health and disability support services.

Adding value/ Uara

We demonstrate our value to the health and disibility system and to the health of communities.

Position purpose and responsibilities

The role holder has two responsibilities: to develop their skills and knowledge about healthcare quality data
and analysis and to contributed to a small team that measures the quality of New Zealand’s health care
system. To do this, the role must:
1. Work with the senior data analysts on data management, data collection, collation, analysis,
presentation, visualisation, and reporting to support the work of the Suicide Mortality Review
Committee and the Mental Health and Addiction Programme
2. Assist with the translation of data analysis into suicide mortality review and mental health and addiction
reports
3. Produce timely relevant statistical data for ministerial enquiries and requests
4. Over the period of employment develop demonstrable skills and knowledge in NZ’s health care system,
health quality data and analysis, through a mix of structured training courses, “on-the-job” training, and
personal development.

Key responsibilities and expectations include but are not limited to:

Key responsibilities Performance expectations

Data management and  Investigates data sources and options
analysis  Improves data systems over time, updating data dictionaries as
required
 Comprehensive analysis of national data and assisting in the
production of suicide mortality review and mental health and addiction
reports
 Undertakes literature review and other research as required
Data Management  Ensure quality and integrity of data sets by following legal obligations
and good data practice in the handling of large data sets
 Ensures information security
Report writing and  Produce well-written, clear and accurate reports based upon analysis
presentation to demonstrate results and draw conclusions
 Key responsibilities
Personal development
Stakeholder
management
Team Membership
Cultural Competency
Risk Management
(including the Health and
Safety in Employment
Act)
Key relationships
All Commission employees have a responsibility for managing relationships in some or all of the key
sectors we work with. In this role, the key relationships to be developed are as follows:
Reports to:
Responsible for:
Internal HQSC relationships:
Public sector:
Health and disability sector:
Performance expectations
 Over the period of employment develop demonstrable skills and
knowledge in NZ’s health care system, health quality data and analysis
including:
 Statistical process control
 survey design and development
 risk modelling
 NZ and international healthcare data sets
 Measurement of variation
 QI methodology and tools
 Data transparency and its effects
 Public health
 Basic understanding of epidemiology
 Measurement of health equity
 Data presentation and visualisation
 Knowledge and use of specific data presentation tools such as Tableau
and Instant Atlas
 Qualitative analysis
 Deal professionally and effectively with internal and external
stakeholders including identifying potential explanations required and
ensuring the flow of high quality data
 Contributes to the functioning of the HQSC to ensure the development
and implementation of integrated strategies and services that meet the
overall objectives of the Commission
 Apply the principles of cultural safety to the projects being managed.
 Display respect, sensitivity and cultural awareness in interpersonal
relationships
 Acknowledge cultural differences by respecting spiritual beliefs, cultural
practices and lifestyle choices
 Actively identify risks associated with own work and projects, actively
identifying and monitoring associated mitigation actions
 Contribute to a safe working environment and safe working practices
Catherine Gerard, Evaluation Manager, Health Quality Intelligence
NA
Staff members, HQSC
HQSC Chair and Board members for delegated areas
MRC Chairs and committees
MRC Team and MRC stakeholders
Mental Health and addiction team
Mental Health and Addiction Leadership Group
Stakeholders across government involved in data provision
MOH, ACC, DHBs, NGOs, PHOs, private health sector, professional bodies,
unions
Core competencies

Results orientation Can be counted on to meet goals successfully; is constantly and

consistently a good performer; steadfastly pushes self and others for results;
seizes more opportunities than others.
Political savvy Can manoeuvre through complex political situations effectively; is sensitive
to how people and organisations function; anticipates where the ‘land mines’
are and plans his/her approach accordingly; views corporate politics as a
necessary part of organisational life and works to adjust to that reality.
Teamwork Works cooperatively within the workgroup and across the organisation to
achieve group and organisational goals; has respect and understanding for
the different perspectives held by others in the organisation; willing to break
down barriers and focus on common objectives; solicits information and ideas
from others in the team.
Problem Solving Uses rigorous logic and methods to solve difficult problems with effective
solutions; probes all fruitful sources for answers; can see hidden problems; is
excellent at honest analysis; looks beyond the obvious and doesn’t stop at
the first answers.
Commitment to Demonstrates high quality standards in own work; expects high quality
Quality standards from all others in the Commission; ensures that the Commission’s
reputation for providing high quality work, including its documentation and
other forms of communication, is developed and maintained.
Strategic agility Sees ahead clearly; can anticipate future consequences and trends
accurately; has broad knowledge and perspective; is future oriented; can
articulately paint credible pictures and visions of possibilities and likelihoods;
can create competitive and breakthrough strategies and plans.

Key Selection Criteria

To be considered for this role, the ideal person will need to demonstrate:

Essential experience, skills and qualities

• Experience of using large data sets
• Interest in the complexities of measuring quality in healthcare
• Proven strong analytical skills
• Advanced working knowledge of software such as SAS and R
• Experience in using analytic tools such as Microsoft Access and Excel
• Able to communicate complex data clearly, concisely and in plain language
• A good working knowledge of inferential statistics
• Able to write convincingly and clearly about results – telling a story with numbers
• Attention to detail
• Ability to manage competing priorities
• Sound judgement, discretion and proven ability to work under pressure
• Tertiary qualification

Desirable experience, skills and qualities

• Familiarity with Instant Atlas or other GIS software such as MapInfo, large database software (SAS,
SQL server), statistical software (SAS, Minitab, SPSS, Stata, R) visualisation and presentation tools
(Tableau, Qlikview, Yellowfin, Prezi)
• At least a basic level of qualitative analysis skills will be an advantage.
• An understanding of the mental health sector.