Mental Health and Addiction Specialist

About Us

Guided by a dedicated team of Poumahi, we embody and uphold the values of manaakitanga, whanaungatanga, kaitiakitanga, pono me te tika, and mana motuhake in all that we do. 

Te Taumata is a leadership organisation established by and for Ngāti Whakaue, working across education, te reo Māori, housing development and social wellbeing.  

Today, our work reaches hundreds of whānau, rangatahi, tamariki, and kōhungahunga through high-quality, whānau-centred programmes and services.  

The Role

Te Taumata’s Housing and Wellbeing team is rebuilding and growing, and clinical capability is central to that. We’re expanding our clinical team to three. This is a new role, sitting alongside our existing Registered Nurse and a Social Worker we’re recruiting at the same time.

Mental health concerns and addiction are common concerns that sit underneath tenancies that fall over, referrals that don’t stick, and whānau who lose contact with each other. This role is us deciding to work with that directly rather than around it, and you’d be first in the seat.

Key Workers hold the relationship and the plan; you bring the depth, and the confidence for the whole team to talk about Mental Health and substance use without shame.

Like everything we do, it’s grounded in kaupapa Māori, trauma informed practice, Housing First principles and mana enhancing support. Because the role is new, there’s real scope to shape what this clinical practice looks like here.

Day to day this looks like:

• Lifting the team. Coaching Key Workers, Peer Support Workers and front of house to open conversations about mental health, substance use, how to respond to relapses without withdrawing support, and how to spot deterioration early.
• Therapeutic work. Brief intervention, motivational interviewing, relapse prevention and safety planning, with people in active use and people still weighing up whether they want to change.
• The hard-to-reach end. Manahā who aren’t ready, aren’t eligible, or won’t walk into a mainstream service.
• The transitions. Entry into other mental health services, detox, opioid substitution or residential treatment, and the weeks after discharge, the highest risk window for relapse and overdose.

You'll need:

• A relevant tertiary qualification in counselling, addiction, mental health or psychology
• Current registration or membership with DAPAANZ, NZAC, NZCCA, NZCCP or equivalent
• Experience with addiction and co-existing mental health needs, and sound risk assessment
• A current full New Zealand Driver Licence

You'll be working with vulnerable whānau, so the right skills and experience really matter.

This role is fixed-term through to June 2028, with review at the end of contract depending on further funding available.

This role could be full-time or part-time

Based in Rotorua.

Contact Lauren on 021 192 3497 or recruit@robynyoung.co.nz to learn more about the role.