Social Worker, Care & Protection - Kaitaia Site, Te Tai Tokerau

Hei awhitanga nga mahi o Te Tai Tokerau. Tu te Tangata, Tu te Rohe, Tu te Mana. Tihei, tihei mauri ora (embrace the collective response with communities).

'It takes a whole village to raise tamariki' we are offering a renewed sense of community and a unique opportunity for social workers to join our growing whānau orientated team at Kaitaia site - where you will be encouraged and supported to work effectively with Māori using Te Toka Tumoana, our indigenous and bicultural principled framework.

Te Toka Tumoana is built on the integrity and distinctness of Māori beliefs and practices, to advance tamariki ora within the context of our work. We believe an entire community of people must actively support, promote, and advance the mana of tai tamariki for those tamariki to experience and grow in a safe and healthy environment.

In these fast-paced roles, you will be expected to operate collectively with a team of social workers and other critical thinkers, inclusive of whānau hapū, iwi and communities. Tamariki do not live-in isolation; they sit at the centre of a whānau and sometimes caregiving families.

About the role | Mō te tūnga

This role requires a passion to actively keep tamariki in the hearts and minds of everything we do. You will apply the principles of mana tamaiti, whakapapa and whanaungatanga to your practice, to ensure you are responsive to tamariki and whānau Māori.  It's more than a job, it's an opportunity to improve the lived experiences of tamariki and their caregiving communities. We recognise the importance of Kaimahi ora (staff wellbeing) and are committed to ensuring you receive regular supervision and take the necessary breaks needed to restore Oranga and wellbeing.

• hear tamariki and rangatahi voices and support them or their family/whānau to make positive changes
• work alongside various cultural groups and people from different backgrounds
• complete initial safety checks and assessments on the child, young person, and family/whānau
• work alongside partners in our community, non-government organisations and state sector agencies
• transition children and young people back to their families/whānau or into their forever home
• be an advocate on behalf of tamariki to ensure they have the support and resources needed to reach their full potential

Ngā pūmanawatanga ōu | What will you bring

Key requirements of the role include:

• cultural awareness and an understanding of Tikanga Māori principles
• a commitment to Te Tiriti o Waitangi
• full registration with New Zealand's Social Work Registration Board (SWRB)
• a social worker qualification recognised by the SWRB
• a full, clean and valid driver's licence
• the ability to analyse and prepare social work and financial plans
• sound judgement skills
• strong organisational skills
• the ability to manage risk and make tough decisions
• excellent verbal communication skills with the ability to adapt to your audience
• good written skills as you will need to write court reports and case notes
• a positive outlook and supporting nature

Mō mātou | About us

Oranga Tamariki is a name that has been gifted to us and is our commitment to improving the safety and wellbeing of tamariki and that of the community we serve, Whangarei.  As a values-led organisation, we use the principles of mana (prestige), tika & pono (doing things the right way), aroha (love) and whākapapa (relationships) to shape how we work and deliver the outcomes in our site plan.

This role represents an opportunity to shape a new way of working with culturally grounded solutions and innovations that support our approach and direction toward transformational change for the care and protection system - one that builds on the good things that are already happening, and, most importantly, innovates to find new ways of doing things to achieve better outcomes for all. 

How to Apply | Me pēhea te tuku tono

Apply online with your CV and Cover Letter. If you are an Oranga Tamariki employee already, please ensure you register or login using your work email address.

For reporting and transparency, it is important that all applications are submitted through our careers site, please do not email through applications and/or CVs. 

If you have any questions about the role, please contact info_recruit@ot.govt.nz

At Oranga Tamariki—Ministry for Children, our highest priority is the safety and welfare of our kaimahi and the tamariki and whānau we support.

At this time Oranga Tamariki invites applications from fully vaccinated people or people with a valid medical exemption (under the COVID-19 Public Health Response (Vaccinations) Order 2021). We will require evidence of your vaccination status or a valid exemption. We will require evidence of your vaccination status at the pre-employment stage of our recruitment process.