Hadleigh, who most recently was in the role of athlete development manager, has been with PNZ for five years, and has extensive experience in delivering programmes that identify new athletes and supports them into Paralympic sport.

The 33-year-old from Auckland represented New Zealand in swimming at the Sydney 2000 and Athens 2004 Paralympic Games. 

"The appointment of Hadleigh to this role is crucial and highlights our increased emphasis on talent identification that will ultimately support PNZ and NSO (National Sport Organisation) managed Paralympic Sports," said Ross Halpin, the PNZ chief executive.

"Hadleigh has strong relationships with in the disability sport sector and these will be vital as we work towards more medal winning athletes at the Paralympic Games."

Hadleigh will be based at the Apollo Projects Centre, the new High Performance Sports New Zealand (HPSNZ) facility, in Christchurch.

"There is so much undiscovered talent in New Zealand and it's exciting to think I can now focus full time on finding new athletes," he said.