Kaiarahi Tauira | Māori Lead Counsellor

• Are you interested in building culturally safe clinical practices and communities? 
• Do you have a passion for supporting Tauira Māori to thrive and achieve their goals?   
• Have you got experience as a mental health practitioner and are looking to work within a collegial and supportive team? 

Kōrero mō te tūranga - About the role

Te Herenga Waka - Victoria University of Wellington is currently recruiting a Kaiārahi Tauira - Māori Lead Counsellor to join the Mauri Ora - Student Health and Counselling team on permanent, full-time basis. This exciting opportunity is to be a part of our Counselling Team which provides short-term counselling or therapeutic support to university students. You will have a strong passion in supporting Māori people and communities as well as working with young adults and mature students. 

This role sits within the Counselling Leadership team and provides cultural and strategic leadership to develop culturally appropriate counselling services that reflect Mātauranga Māori and support the on-going development of cultural capabilities in Mauri Ora Team. 0.5 FTE is also dedicated to direct clinical work with Tauira Māori to support their wellbeing and academic success.  

The Student Counselling Service works in a holistic and collaborative manner with our medical and nursing team, and other student services including Āwhina, the Pasifika Student Success team, Te Amaru - Disability Services, Student Learning, the International Student Experience team and Student Interest and Conflict Resolution. 

Ō pūmanawa - About you

Key requirements:

• An experienced, qualified practitioner with a current practising certificate that complies with the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act (2003) or a Counsellor with NZAC full registration and Te Whatu Ora Accreditation. 
• University Degree or Post graduate qualification in a mental health related discipline such as counselling, psychology, psychotherapy, social work, mental health nursing or occupational therapy.
• Commitment to application of Te Tiriti o Waitangi in an educational and primary health care context. 
• Demonstrated experience leading change and growing cultural capability.
• Demonstrated experience supporting Māori people and communities.
• Experience and interest in working in a culturally safe approach with Pasifika students and applying cultural models of wellbeing.
• Proven understanding of issues relating to late adolescence and early adulthood.
• Experience in providing holistic mental health assessments and delivering a range of therapeutic approaches including solution focused, brief / time limited models of counselling.   
• Experience in mental health crisis management and intervention.
• Proven ability to counsel using an approach that is non-judgemental, flexible, empathic, and sensitive to cultural, religious differences, gender, and sexual orientation.  
• Experience incorporating tauira and whānau voice in service development and delivery.

This role requires safety checking through the police vetting system under the Vulnerable Children Act 2014. 

Role Description: Click here to see further information, including salary details.

If this link is not available, click 'apply' to view this on the University career's page.

Close Date for Vacancy: 23 February 2026.

Contact Details for Vacancy: If you have any questions regarding this role, please get in touch with Laureline Darques, Clinical Lead Counselling (022 023 9296, laureline.darques@vuw.ac.nz).

How to apply: Please ensure you are applying for this role directly on our careers page and not via email. Candidates must submit supporting documents along with their resume, such as a cover letter.

We can only consider applicants who are citizens or residents of New Zealand or Australia or on a current working visa. Applications will be reviewed as they are received, and we may progress with suitable applicants prior to the application closing date. Applications from recruitment agencies are not accepted.