Ms Farley, who has been in her existing role for eight and a-half years, is expected to take up her new position full-time in January.
National Health Board project manager David Graham, announcing the appointment yesterday, said a permanent appointment to the position would be decided some time next year.
Ms Farley trained as a nurse in Invercargill and later specialised in intensive care.
She has graduate degrees in science and management and has worked for the Taranaki board since 1990 in a variety of roles.
It is likely Ms Farley will accompany the chairman of the governance board for the South Island service, Melbourne neurosurgeon and academic Prof Andrew Kaye, when he visits Dunedin later this month.
Prof Kaye will meet both University of Otago and board representatives during his visit.
A university spokesman, responding to questions about progress on finding a professor of neurosurgery for the Dunedin neurosurgery pod, repeated earlier statements that until the governance board was appointed and had met to discuss roles, the university would not be able to finalise funding and recruitment matters.
Accordingly, it would not be appropriate for the university to comment until after such discussions.
It was expected the recruitment process would "take some time".
Under the proposed configuration of the South Island service, neurosurgeons will be working in both Christchurch and Dunedin.
Two of the three neurosurgeons to be appointed in Dunedin will have roles with the University of Otago - one as a professor and another as a senior lecturer.
Mr Graham said it was expected Ms Farley would spend most of the time in her new job in the South Island.
The appointment of an administrative support person for the board is expected soon.
Membership of the governance board has yet to be finalised.
The first meeting of the board is planned for January.
