Mō te tūnga | About the role

Oranga Tamariki—Ministry for Children has a commitment to putting tamariki and rangatahi at the heart of what we do. The team at our Korowai Manaaki Youth Justice Residence take pride in offering our tamariki support that will help them to get their lives back on track. As a team, we are committed to ensuring that the time tamariki spend in our residence will improve their prospects for the future.

We are searching for two Manager Residence Operations (MRO) to join us as a key, strategic member of our leadership team at Korowai Manaaki. The MRO will act as 2IC to our Residence Manager and work closely with them to shape and influence the direction and oversight of the operational functions at Korowai Manaaki.

What is a youth justice residence? A youth justice residence is a place where 13-17-year-olds accused of an offence stay to await court proceedings or service a sentence. This means that they are not free to leave. However, a residence is not a prison. We offer our tamariki valuable experiences and sets them up with the skills they will need to meaningfully contribute to their whānau and community.

To succeed in the MRO role, you must have a demonstrated track record of consistently high performance and delivery leadership in complex, high-risk and dynamic operational environments. You'll have significant experience leading other leaders and stepping into a team a dynamic environment, assessing the operating challenges, identifying key opportunities to drive improved performance and creating a team that can withstand scrutiny from external monitors and key stakeholders.

You will be responsible for all people management of the Korowai Manaaki team leads. You will utilise your strong leadership capabilities and work closely with them to ensure that front lines are consistently supported with strong and stable front line leadership. You will work with the Korowai Manaaki leadership team to manage daily operations and ensure that our regulatory obligations are fulfilled and that our teams are supported to navigate areas of critical risk. We will look to you for the information and insight that is needed to ensure that best practice models are both in place, and properly embedded into our ways of working in the Youth Justice residences.

With your passion for youth work and strong commitment to role modelling therapeutic, trauma informed and care-centric ways of working, you will be a unifying and consistent presence for our tamariki and our teams on site. You'll lead our operations team in a way that ensures rangatahi in care have structured days that are stimulating, purposeful and tailored to their individual needs. From an operational perspective, you will assess our available workforce to ensure that each shift has balanced units (safe mix), appropriate risk mitigation and management strategies in place and that the leaders reporting to you share your commitment to continually improving the overall performance of our Korowai Manaaki residence.

We want to call it out upfront - this role will be challenging at times. Residences are dynamic and, at times, high-risk environments and some of our Tamariki are at high-risk of readmission. As MRO, you will be on the frontlines of responding to any incidents and coordinating our responses. However, despite the challenges, this work is deeply rewarding and offers you the opportunity to make a tangible difference for tamariki.

This role will be on call to provide senior leadership to the Residence after hours and nationally if required on a roster basis.

It is important that you are motivated to engage in our way of being so knowledge in Māori restorative approaches is essential. You will work within a collaborative and reflective workplace so need to be open minded and a leader who is committed to achieving Oranga Tamariki's vision, purpose, and values and achieve regulatory compliance in the operation of the accommodation units.

Nōu te rourou | What's in it for you

Oranga Tamariki offer an impartial remuneration package, that offers progression annually for experience through. Annual remuneration for this position is between $125,926 and $139,459 dependent on experience, with tenure-based progression steps available above this range. We offer a vibrant and supportive team, flexible work options and a genuine commitment to wellbeing. We offer significant training and professional development so that you can thrive and grow.
To see all the benefits of working for Oranga Tamariki, please visit https://mahi.orangatamariki.govt.nz/working-with-us/employee-benefits/


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. Please note; our work requires you to present at work free of the influence of drugs and alcohol.

If you have any questions about role, please contact info_recruit@ot.govt.nz

Applications close: Wednesday 29th January 2025