Communications & External Relations Manager

Find the story. Script it, shoot it, cut it, publish it.

Part in-house studio, part external affairs. Hands-on, for both WeCare and Quindlee.

You'll sit down with our Managing Director and Branding & Marketing to work out what story we're telling and who we're telling it to — then go and make it yourself. No agency in between, no brief to hand over.

The role is new, so the formats, the cadence and the standard are yours to set.

The subject matter is the easy part: 30,000 patients, four clinics, a third hub opening, and New Zealand's first AI telehealth service.

About us

Wigram Health Limited is the company behind two brands: WeCare and Quindlee.

WeCare is a clinician-owned New Zealand primary care provider — a care team model with AI as our operating engine, delivering accessible same-day healthcare through GeneralPractice, CareNow, Drop-inCare and MedDirect. We have grown organically from 1,300 enrolled patients in 2016 to more than 30,000, from clinics at Wigram, Ilam, Lincoln and Faringdon, and we are targeting 50,000. Belfast Integrated Health Centre will be our third Canterbury hub.

Quindlee is New Zealand’s first AI telehealth service. Patients start a consult whenever it suits them, without waiting for an appointment. A clinician reviews it, and the patient picks up the response in their own time. It works around them, not around us.

We hold our fees down while paying market-leading salaries and expanding services — against a sector trend of doing the opposite. We are committed to Te Tiriti o Waitangi, to accessible healthcare, and to being a great place to work.

About the role

You will own how WeCare and Quindlee are seen, heard and understood by everyone outside our care teams — patients, communities, media, partners, regulators, and the people we want to hire.

The job has two halves.

The production half looks like a small in-house studio: one person who can find the story, script it, shoot it, cut it and publish it, and who knows why one edit holds an audience while another loses it in three seconds.

The external half is voice and relationships. You'll be our first point of contact for media, hold the relationships with the people who cover health in New Zealand, and manage the Managing Director's public profile — running his LinkedIn presence, drafting in his voice, and preparing him for media, conference and government engagements.

Our priority platforms are YouTube — long-form and Shorts — and Instagram Reels, alongside the other short-form channels our communities actually use.

What you'll be doing

• Content and production. Own the content plan for both brands, and concept, script, shoot and edit short-form video as your primary output — care team profiles, clinic tours, health explainers, patient and whānau stories, recruitment content. Camera, lighting, sound, edit, captions, delivery to spec.

• Channels and growth. Run our YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and LinkedIn channels as managed channels, not dumping grounds. Test hooks, formats and thumbnails, read the retention curve rather than the view count, and let the data decide what we make more of.

• Creator partnerships and paid social. Build a vetted roster of Canterbury creators and community voices, run partnership campaigns end to end, and amplify content that is already earning attention.

• Media and external relations. Be our first point of contact for media enquiries, hold real relationships with the people who cover health in New Zealand, and run issues and reputation management when something lands.

• Executive voice. Run the Managing Director’s LinkedIn presence, draft speeches, opinion pieces and submissions in his voice, and prepare the leadership team for media, conference and government engagements.

• Events and community. Deliver our event calendar — site openings, community health days, careers events — end to end and on budget.

• Compliance. Health is a restricted advertising category in New Zealand. You will work inside the ASA’s Therapeutic and Health Advertising Code, get consent right every time, and route health claims to clinical review before publication.

What we're looking for

Essential

• A published body of short-form video work — YouTube, Reels, TikTok or equivalent — that shows storytelling, pacing and a feel for what holds an audience, not just technical competence. We will ask to watch it, and we will ask how it was made.

• End-to-end video production skill: planning, scripting, filming, lighting, audio, editing, captioning, delivery to each platform’s spec.

• Demonstrated audience growth on a channel you have run — and the ability to explain what worked, what didn’t, and how you knew.

• Strong writing across scripts, captions and plain-English copy, including demonstrated ability to write in someone else’s voice.

• A track record in content, communications, PR, external relations or journalism, including handling media enquiries and drafting for senior leaders.

• Experience planning and delivering events with accountability for budget and outcome.

• Sound political and commercial judgement. You know what not to say, what to escalate, and what to put in writing.

• The discipline to work inside an advertising pre-approval process without shortcuts. “We’ll fix it if someone complains” is not an approach we can carry.

• Absolute discretion with confidential and pre-announcement information.

• Fluency in a professional editing toolkit (Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro, DaVinci Resolve or CapCut) and working competence in platform scheduling and analytics tools.

• A current, clean New Zealand driver licence and the ability to travel between our sites with filming equipment.

• Legal entitlement to work in New Zealand.

Nice to have

• Health, government, not-for-profit or another regulated sector.
• Existing relationships with Canterbury or national health media.
• Influencer, ambassador or paid partnership campaign experience.
• Working knowledge of the ASA codes, or advertising compliance in another restricted category.
• Paid social and video advertising experience.
• Issues or crisis communications experience.
• Motion graphics, animation, colour grading or sound design.
• A relevant qualification in communications, PR, marketing, journalism, design or digital media.

What's on offer

• A market-leading salary, reviewed annually. We pay well and we say so.
• Room to shape it. This is a new role — you set the formats, the cadence and the standard, rather than inheriting someone else’s.
• Real backing. Content and digital media are a priority for us, and you’ll have the resources to make things properly.
• Autonomy and a direct line. You report to the Managing Director and will be trusted with real judgement calls from day one.
• Specialist production suppliers where the job needs them, and production support capacity from year two.
• Your birthday off, paid. Two wellness days a year on top of annual leave, increasing with service.
• A fully funded Employee Assistance Programme, staff discounts through MyBoost, quarterly wellbeing and career workshops, free flu and Hepatitis B vaccinations, and long-service appreciation payments.
• A story worth telling: a third Canterbury hub opening, a national telehealth launch, and 30,000 patients’ worth of everyday moments worth filming.

How to apply

Send us three things:

1.   Your CV.

2.   A short cover letter — half a page is plenty. Tell us why this role, and what you’d want to make first.

3.   Links to your work. Three to five pieces of published short-form video you made. Tell us in a line each what you were trying to do and whether it worked. Rough and effective beats polished and forgettable.

Shortlisted candidates will be asked to complete a short practical brief — making something small — before final interview. We’d rather see what you can do than read about it.

Applications close Monday 21st September 2026. We will be reviewing and interviewing as applications come in, so please don’t wait.

For a confidential conversation or a copy of the full position description, contact Michelle Thomas, People & Culture, at [email protected].

WeCare is committed to Te Tiriti o Waitangi and to building a team that reflects the communities we serve. We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds