New Zealand, February 2026 — Deborah Kent has started a new position as Head of National People Operations at Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora, where she will lead the delivery of simple, reliable, and nationally consistent people services across the country’s health system.
In this role, National People Operations is responsible for stabilising and modernising HR delivery at scale — strengthening core people fundamentals while building a more efficient, future-ready function. The mandate includes ensuring employees are paid accurately and on time, recruiting the workforce required to deliver care, providing consistent HR advice, delivering trusted workforce insights, standardising compliant national processes, and modernising HR systems and tools to reduce complexity and improve service quality.
Prior to this appointment, Deborah Kent served as Senior Consultant at Link Consulting NZ Limited, where she led large-scale multi-agency programmes, shaped system policy and legislation initiatives, and supported new entity establishments across health, employment, and regulatory sectors.
She previously held senior executive roles including Head of Scheme Delivery at ACC New Zealand, Deputy Director General at the Ministry of Health New Zealand, and Associate Deputy Secretary, Education Workforce at the Ministry of Education of New Zealand, leading large-scale workforce strategy, commissioning, system transformation, and delivery programmes across government. Earlier in her career, she held leadership roles at WorkSafe New Zealand, Taranaki District Health Board, and KPMG, building deep expertise in workforce strategy, governance, performance, and public sector transformation.
About Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora
Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora oversees New Zealand’s national health services, spanning hospitals, specialist care, and community-based services such as general practice. The organisation is committed to enhancing health outcomes for all New Zealanders, guided by core values of equity, compassion, and excellence in healthcare delivery.
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