Pinnacle Practice Services: Workforce and development manager roles

Ko wai tātou? Who are we?

Rochelle West, development manager (Waikato, Taranaki)

Rochelle is the newest development manager to join the Pinnacle team, starting in April 2025.

Over the past 15 years Rochelle has held a number of roles in the National Public Health Service and Pharmac, including leading programmes related to immunisations and exceptional circumstances.

With a background in biomedical science and business she has experience in programme management, policy advice, change management and leadership.

With a passion for equitable health service delivery, Rochelle enjoys supporting development and quality improvement, solving problems and improving services.

Heather Lang, development manager (Lakes, Waikato, Tairāwhiti)

Heather has had extensive experience in the health sector including general practice as business manager and a variety of project and operational roles in the former Lakes and Bay of Plenty District Health Boards, and NGO sector. Her roles have included project and programme management, continuous quality improvement. service creation, contract management, business development and management.

Heather has been an executive member of the Practice Managers & Administrators of NZ (PMANZ) and is a current Associate Fellow of the Australasian College of Health Service Management (ACHSM).

Mark Taylor, development manager (Waikato)

Mark joined Pinnacle in 2010 as a project manager and worked as a business manager at Hamilton East Medical Centre for 18 months, before moving into the business manager role for Primary Health Care Limited (PHCL) in 2012. PHCL is an innovation hub for Pinnacle and he was, and still is, involved in the introduction of numerous new primary care projects into PHCL sites. Covering rural sites, Mark has extensive experience recruiting GP’s from around the world for fixed term and permanent positions. Mark’s role is now split between PHCL and Pinnacle, so he has recent and practical experience of the challenges faced by practices and how these can be addressed.

Michelle Atkins, development manager (Taranaki)

Michelle joined us from a raft of roles within MSD and Tui Ora (Māori hauora provider in Taranaki) over the past 12 years including health and disability advisor, quality improvement advisor, contracts manager and project management office (PMO) lead. Michelle has experience in policy advisory, funding applications, facilitation, co-design, quality improvement and project management. She thrives on using data combined with whānau voice to support development and quality improvement, whilst influencing and informing the change process.

Veronique Gibbons, health workforce development manager

Tēnā koe, I whānau mai ahau ki konei, ki Aotearoa (I am a first-generation New Zealander), I tipu mai ahau i roto i te tāone tino nunui o Tamaki Makaurau, ara ko Mangere (I grew up in Auckland in Mangere).

I bring with me clinical knowledge in general practice and community nursing in NZ and UK, my years as a primary care academic researcher and life-long learner, and more recently I was leading a team within Quality and Patient Safety overseeing research, quality improvement, regulatory standards, clinical audit, and policies and guidelines at Te Whatu Ora Waikato. I joined Pinnacle in February 2023 as a senior project manager, moving to the health workforce development manager role in December 2024.

My superpower is being perpetually curious and I love working alongside people to work out how to connect the dots.

What is a development manager?

Pinnacle development managers work alongside:

general practice – at an individual level as well as clusters of practices within a geographical area
MHN district managers
MHN regional service delivery teams such as Extended Care Teams, Comprehensive Primary and Community Care Teams (CPCT)
External stakeholders and strategic partners.

We help identify, plan and support the development and delivery of general practice and primary care initiatives. These could include service design and implementation, service re-design and change, quality improvement plans and/or the involvement in other projects identified by internal or external stakeholders. We ensure that work supports the direction and aspirations of practices, Pinnacle and primary care, whilst prioritising the equity to eliminate health disparities particularly for Māori and Pasifika.

How we work

We lead development initiatives that enhance equity, quality, safety, and patient experience to help drive meaningful improvement across the system. Central to everything we do is a commitment to equity in partnership, ensuring our work aligns with Te Tiriti o Waitangi and actively reduces disparities for Māori, Pasifika, and high-priority communities.

Our approach is grounded in proven methodologies, including CQI, LEAN, and Six Sigma, to embed sustainable, scalable change. We also invest in building capability at every level, through coaching, workshops and supporting teams to adopt new models of care.

In practice, this looks like...

Service design and implementation, such as Whānau Pai — spanning health improvement practitioners, health coaches (HIP, HC), extended care paramedics, and clinical pharmacists.
Supporting the introduction of new roles, such as primary care assistants (PCAs).
Business planning across the network.
Guiding teams through new process implementation from end to end, including understanding current challenges, mapping workflows, implementation support, and evaluation. Clinical triage is one such example.
Mapping and redesign of existing processes, such as repeat prescribing.
Using data visualisation tools to evaluate impact and guide ongoing improvement.
Remaining responsive to business-critical issues, available to act promptly or escalate to PSS when urgency exceeds ticket prioritisation.

On behalf of practices and Pinnacle, development managers also support the operational relationships with NGOs, Māori Hauora providers, Te Whatu Ora, Te Aka Whai Ora and other agencies where required to foster collaborative projects and opportunities that support the aspirations of Pinnacle and/or are responsive to the needs of general practice.

The role will continue to evolve and grow as new expertise is introduced to the team, however as we embed development managers and the practice system support team, there is a need to focus on the strategic opportunities for Pinnacle and practices to ensure we enable and equip both internal and external stakeholders with the information and advice required.

What is a health workforce development manager?

Pinnacle's health workforce development manager is a new role, focusing resource in the area of dynamic general practice.

Collaborating closely with leaders across the organisation, the intention is to design, develop, and deliver targeted workforce development initiatives tailored to the specific needs identified through the survey, workforce trends and network voices.

This will include collaborating in workforce forecasting and strategy development to attract, support, and sustain the workforce.

The role aims to ensure all kaimahi have the opportunity and resources to acquire new skills, and have knowledge of pathways for any desired educational opportunities.

There will be a firm gaze on the development of workforce succession plans, especially in rural localities. Customised tools and resources are being crafted to meet the unique needs of the network. Support of our rural, Māori, and Pasifika workforce, promoting inclusivity and addressing disparities within our community are essential elements.

The role encompasses strategic workforce planning in collaboration with general managers and clinical directors. It involves a comprehensive review of current health needs, service provisions, and piloting new initiatives based on survey data and emerging trends. The goal is to propose services that align with future needs, considering changes required for the organisation to have a workforce fit for purpose.

Maintaining robust relationships is a key aspect, fostering collaboration internally and across the network, including engagement with national and local workforce groups and forums.

Importantly, the role extends beyond organisational boundaries, reaching out to key stakeholders in the health, community, and education sectors. This proactive approach ensures a holistic perspective and a focused effort on reducing inequities in general practice settings, aligning with the network's commitment to providing inclusive and equitable healthcare services.

What can we support practices with?

Some examples of what we can support with...

Aspirations and support for practices - supporting a practice or cluster of practices to identify, plan and deliver development projects/initiatives which are identified by the practice or the collective and the facilitation and enablement of the quality (improvement) plan.
Influencing, relationship building and strategic thinking.
Development of resources to support general practice.
Support PMO with projects, and the transition to operations, ensuring practices are fully informed and on boarded, ensuring the best opportunity for success.
Responsibility to ensure practice voices are heard and considered.
Service development and re-design.

How we work

Strengths-based team work, drawing on expertise, experience and opportunities of development managers, ensuring the right person with skills and experience is tapped into.
DMs support district managers with local responses and needs.
Collaboratively.
Set off with the same intention and tailor it to the environment we are working in.