Kaiwhakamahereora | Counsellor (Pasifika)

Talofa lava Malo e lelei Warm Pacific greetings

• Do you have experience as a mental health practitioner and are seeking a fixed-term position
• Have you got an interest in supporting Pasifika young people to thrive and achieve their goals
• Are you looking for a workplace that actively supports diversity and encourages professional development

Kōrero mō te tūranga - About the role

Te Herenga Waka - Victoria University of Wellington is currently recruiting for an experienced mental health clinician to join our team on a fixed-term part-time basis until November 2026.

Mauri Ora Student Health and Counselling has an exciting opportunity for a qualified and experiencedKaiwhakamahereora -Counsellor Mental Health Nurse Occupational Therapist Psychologist Psychotherapist or Social Worker to join our passionate and motivated team. You will have a strong passion in supporting Pasifika people and communities as well as working with young adults and mature students. If you are interested read on.

This exciting opportunity is to be a part of our Counselling Team which provides short-term counselling or therapeutic support to university students.

This role will focus on supporting our Pasifika students wellbeing and academic success. You will provide culturally safe mental health support as well as build connections with all relevant community partners that will contribute to students thriving.

The Student Counselling Service works in a holistic and collaborative manner with our medical and nursing team and other Students Services including Pasifika Student Support Awhina Disability Services Student Learning Wellington International 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.
• Proven/demonstrated experience supporting Pasifika 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.
• Commitment to application of Te Tiriti o Waitangi in an educational context.

Ideally you will have the following:

• Fluency in a Pasifika language(s).
• Experienced in the provision of consultation and mental health promotion/preventive services.
• Knowledge of The Education (Pastoral Care of Tertiary and International Learners) Code of Practice 2021.
• Knowledge of the support needs of university students and of equity issues.
• Familiarity with practice management software and Microsoft Suite.

Ētahi kōrero hai āwhina i a koe - Why you should join our team

We are a collegial team from a variety of cultural and professional backgrounds. We cultivate regular professional and social connections to foster a supportive and warm atmosphere. We offer competitive salary and our team benefits include:

• 5 professional development days and individual professional development budget (FTE pro rata)
• In-house professional development sessions on cultural and clinical topics
• Fortnightly external clinical supervision (FTE pro rata) & fortnightly in-house peer supervision
• Professional indemnity insurance and annual registration (FTE pro rata)
• As a staff member of Te Herenga Waka you will also benefit from University Holidays and staff discounts and packages. More info can be found here.
• If you are curious eager to work in a tight knit team and have a great sense of community you will fit right in!
• 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.

If this link is not available click apply to view this on the University careers page.

Close date for vacancy: 13 December 2025.

Contact details for vacancy: If you have any questions regarding this role please get in touch with Laureline Darques ().

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. Applicants who do not have residency or citizenship and require a visa to work at the University must clearly indicate their visa status in their application and understand that if they do not have a current relevant visa they will need to secure this independently.

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.