Community Mental Health Nurse, Social Worker or Occupational Therapist - Raahui Pookeka (Huntly)

• Tai Timu Tai Pari Hauora Hub - Raahui Pookeka, Huntly
• Permanent 80 hours per fortnight
• Te Whatu Ora and Matawhaanui Trust seek a registered nurse or occupational therapist who will partner with Matawhaanui trust as a Te Whatu Ora employee to engage, support and join our Tai Timu Tai Pari team.

Health New Zealand \| Te Whatu Ora is firmly grounded in the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and is committed to building a health system that serves all New Zealanders.

Matawhaanui Trust is a community inspired and driven Maaori provider based in Raahui Pookeka. Its vision is to `reclaim Raahui Pookeka; street by street, whaanau by whaanau. Together with the Maaori/Marae and Iwi community of Raahui Pookeka it works towards Mana Motuhake under the movement of Kingitanga and within the korowai of Waikato-Tainui.

About the Role

We are seeking a registered nurse, social worker or occupational therapist who can relate and work with our people of Raahui Pookeka/North Waikato. A clinician who has local experience and can relate to all people who make up the Raahui Pookeka community, will be the right professional to join our new Tai Timu Tai Pari Hauora Hub, based in Raahui Pookeka Huntly.

You will need to be a team player, and work within an intensive, personalised, Māori led, community focussed and clinically underpinned response to hauora, cultural and social needs of the Raahui Pookeka and North Waikato community.

This group of taangata whaiora have been identified as having high needs, `high needs being defined as a mixture of mental health and addiction problems, physical health conditions, and disability combined with significant impairment and disadvantage across a range of social, psychological, behavioural, occupational and interpersonal domains.

Day to day you will need to engage with the wider team, consult with your colleagues and assess the taangata whaiora readiness to change, identify and mitigate immediate risk and safety concerns, and provide clinical and therapeutic intervention.

Key responsibilities:

• Comprehensive knowledge of Raahui Pookeka, Kingitanga, Waikato-Tainui and the aspirations of Maaori and the general community of Raahui Pookeka and North Waikato.
• Have sound networks including government, non-government and Maaori providers to support your role, assessments and interventions.
• Mental Health and Addictions Service in the Waikato are about to embark on a transformation change to be a Māori led service. You will need to be able to embrace these changes and to support the implementation of a Māori led service within the team and the wider service.
• Work with your leadership to support and lead a well-functioning mental health and addictions community team.
• To be committed to understanding the needs of the communities that we work in and building networks within them.
• To have sound decision making skills especially in high pressure situations.
• Demonstrate knowledge and aims, philosophies, practices, policies, expected outcomes and availability of a spectrum of alcohol and other drug intervention models, programmes and approaches.

Click here to view the position description for Registered Nurse, click here for Social Worker or click here for Occupational Therapist.

About the Team

Tai Timu Tai Pari is a philosophy inspired in partnership between Matawhaanui Trust and Te Whatu Ora. It is a Hauora hub inspired and driven by the community of Raahui Pookeka to provide a community and Maaori approach towards a centralised point of access to wellbeing care by teams of Maaori health workers including rongoa practitioners, whaanau ora, support workers, mental health and addictions service staff, primary care and social services.

Tai Timu Tai Pari Hauora Hub will provide the taangata whaiora the opportunity to receive immediate, responsive and relevant services and support by kaimahi who understand their community and have the appropriate skills to support and care.

Our success will be driven by the community responsiveness to Tai Timu Tai Paris kaupapa of reclaiming the wellbeing of Raahui Pookeka and North Waikato.

About you

• Competency and experience of working within Raahui Pookeka and having strong networks in Te ao Maaori, tikanga, and te reo Māori and a commitment to starting your journey and taking ownership of your learning and growth.
• Experience in upholding the Kingitanga, the values of Ngati Maahuta, Ngaati Whaawhaakia and Te Tiriti principals and frameworks, and the application of Maatauranga Māori and Kaupapa Māori approaches, particularly as they apply in healthcare/Hauora settings.
• A current annual practicing certificate.
• Minimum of 2 years work experience working with high need individuals and or whanau experiencing significant mental health and addiction problems.
• A strong desire to work from a Kingitanga, Te ao Māori perspective, acknowledging contributions from both cultural and clinical perspectives.
• Display initiative and resourcefulness that will allow you to navigate the variety of challenges you could face.
• This is a challenging, diverse role which requires creativity, reliability and exceptional organisational skills.
• Current full drivers license.

How to Apply

To apply please click Apply online or apply via our Waikato Careers website by clicking here.

All applications must be submitted through our online careers portal before 11:59 pm on 30 September 2026. If you have any questions about the role, please contact Aimee Fraser at [email protected]

We will review applications as received and may proceed with the recruitment process, before the closing date of this advert.

Whilst Health New Zealand is undergoing change, affected employees will be given preference and priority for this position.