Residential Youth Worker at Oranga Tamariki—Ministry for Children, Waikato

Mō tēnei tūranga mahi | About this role

• Permanent, Full Time Roles Available
• We need role models with a passion for supporting and empowering rangatahi
• Attractive remuneration and benefits package

Are you passionate about working with youth and contributing to a safe community?

Our team at Hillcrest Home in Hamilton are very driven, fun and warm. They understand that to create an environment for rangatahi to thrive there needs to be a space that is structured and predicable. Our values are important to us. We are focused and committed to making our kids reach their goals. Every day or evening in our home is different; it's busy because we're all striving to do the right thing for our rangatahi. Come join a high performing team who really are constantly raising the bar by getting paid to have fun and see real change.

Mō mātou | About us

Oranga Tamariki—Ministry for Children has a commitment to putting tamariki and rangatahi at the heart of what we do. In our work, we aim to demonstrate these values:

• We put Tamariki first
• We believe Aroha is vital
• We respect the Mana of people
• We are Tika and Pono
• We value Whakapapa
• We recognise that Oranga is a journey

Mō te tūnga | About the role

Residential Youth Workers provide rangatahi who have offended with the confidence and skills to become positive contributors to their whānau and communities.

Guiding a behavioural change is a massive task and means our residential youth workers have many responsibilities, including:

• Mentor rangatahi through our successful programme and through all life necessities
• Day and Night shifts available (as well as a fixed term opportunity for regular night shift hours)
• Do physical activity with our young people by playing sports, hitting the gym and going mountain biking
• Educate our rangatahi by helping them with their studies, teaching them to cook and play music
• Support, mentor and walk alongside our rangatahi's journey by showing them life skills
• Assist as and where you can with the young person's behavioural issues
• Build rapport with rangatahi including those who are effected by trauma
• Assist with preventative measures to reduce re-offending and provide better outcomes for rangatahi
   

Ngā pūmanawatanga ōu | What you will bring

We are looking for enthusiastic people that want to be part of a team that is instrumental in turning young lives around. As a member of the youth justice residence team, you are working all day with rangatahi. You must have a passion for wanting to make a positive difference in their lives. 
 
To excel in this role a tertiary qualification in sport, health, education or youth work would be useful but life skills such as carpentry, IT, culture and arts and sport skills are invaluable.

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills with the ability to adapt to your audience
• A positive outlook and supporting nature
• Knowledge of Tikanga and Te Reo would be ideal
   

Our ideal candidate, will have: 

• A full, clean, valid driver's licence
• Resilience, initiative and a proactive approach
• Empathy, patience and ability to see past what someone may be struggling with
• A tertiary education within psychology, social sciences, social work, sports, music, arts or teaching would be an advantage
• Experience working with rangatahi would be a plus
• Physically able to keep up with our rangatahi
• Sound judgement, the ability to manage risk and make tough decisions
• Life experience and understanding on what rangatahi may be going through
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills with the ability to adapt to your audience
• A positive outlook and supporting nature
• Knowledge of Tikanga and Te Reo would be ideal 

Applications Close: 14th February 2023

Me pēhea te tuku tono  | How to Apply

Apply online with your CV and Covering Letter. If you are an Oranga Tamariki employee already, please ensure you apply with a log in using your Oranga Tamariki email address. If you have any questions about role, please contact info_recruit@ot.govt.nz