Kaihautū | Chief Executive

Amy Tea Consulting Limited; Howick; On-site; NZD 180,000 - 260,000; Full time

Job summary

Whakaata Māori, New Zealand’s Indigenous public broadcaster, seeks an experienced Kaihautū to lead strategic direction and digital transformation in a kaupapa Māori environment. Reporting to the Board, you will balance commercial performance with cultural obligations and steer a high-performing leadership team.

You will drive editorial integrity, oversee financial performance, build trusted Crown and iwi relationships, ensure regulatory compliance, and guide the organisation through its next

Qualifications

• Demonstrated organisational leadership across a large entity with commercial, cultural and social objectives.
• Strong financial and commercial acumen; experience in media, digital, or consumer sectors is advantageous.
• Commitment to revitalisation of te reo Māori and the role of media in language preservation.
• Established networks across iwi and the Māori media sector; able to operate in a kaupapa Māori environment.
• Capability in te reo Māori and tikanga Māori; fluency desirable.
• Judgement and courage to navigate relationships with Government, Board, iwi and stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Lead strategic and business planning with the Board, reflecting trends in media, digital platforms and Māori development.
• Lead the next phase of digital transformation at Whakaata Māori, ensuring platforms, technology, data, content and capability evolve with audience behaviour.
• Oversee financial management and commercial performance, ensuring long-term sustainability.
• Lead, develop and inspire a high-performing executive team and wider staff, embedding te reo me ngā tikanga Māori across the organisation.
• Maintain editorial integrity and manage editorial risk across all content and platforms.
• Build and sustain trusted relationships with the Crown, Te Mātāwai, iwi, funders and the wider broadcasting and Māori media sector.
• Ensure compliance with all statutory and regulatory obligations, including the Māori Television Service Act.

Skills

Leadership

Financial acumen

Strategic planning

Governance

Te ao Māori fluency

Stakeholder engagement

Job description

Mō mātou | About Us

• Lead Whakaata Māori, the Indigenous public broadcaster of Aotearoa, into its next chapter
• Ambitious digital-first future grounded in tikanga and reo Māori
• A rare, nationally significant kaupapa Māori leadership role

Mō mātou | About Us

Whakaata Māori is the Indigenous public broadcaster of Aotearoa. Our kaupapa is to promote, revitalise and normalise te reo Māori through education, entertainment and engaging content across television, digital and social platforms.

Guided by the legacy of Hawaikirangi and grounded in the values of Kia Tika, Kia Pono, Kia Aroha and Kia Māori, Whakaata Māori is anchored by the enduring vision of Kia mauriora te reo - a future where te reo Māori thrives as a living language, spoken, valued and passed from one generation to the next. The organisation reaches audiences nationally and internationally through Whakaata Māori, MĀORI+ and Te Ao Māori News, and holds a role in the World Indigenous Broadcasters Network.

Over the past eight years, Whakaata Māori has undergone significant transformation. It is now a financially stronger, digital-first organisation with growing audience reach, a strengthened operating model and a clear strategic direction. Budget 2026 provides $8 million in Government investment over three years to accelerate the digital transformation of Whakaata Māori, with work already underway. The incoming Kaihautū will inherit strong foundations, a clear strategic direction and the opportunity to lead and shape the next phase of transformation.

Mō tēnei tūranga mahi | About this role

As Kaihautū, you will lead the strategic and operational direction of Whakaata Māori, building on strong foundations to deliver the next phase of its digital-first future. Reporting to the Board, you will balance commercial performance with the cultural and statutory obligations of Whakaata Māori and lead a talented team continuing to tell stories that matter to Māori and to Aotearoa.

Key responsibilities:

• Lead strategic and business planning with the Board, reflecting trends in media, digital platforms and Māori development
• Lead the next phase of digital transformation at Whakaata Māori, ensuring platforms, technology, data, content and organisational capability evolve with changing audience behaviour
• Oversee financial management and commercial performance, ensuring the organisation's long-term sustainability
• Lead, develop and inspire a high-performing executive team and wider staff, embedding te reo me ngā tikanga Māori across the organisation
• Maintain editorial integrity and manage editorial risk across all content and platforms
• Build and sustain trusted relationships with the Crown, Te Mātāwai, iwi, funders and the wider broadcasting and Māori media sector
• Ensure compliance with all statutory and regulatory obligations, including the Māori Television Service Act

He Kōrero Mōu | About you

We are looking for an experienced, values-led executive with a genuine connection to te ao Māori and a track record of leading complex organisations through change. You will bring:

• Demonstrated organisational leadership, ideally across an entity of similar scale, with commercial, cultural and social objectives
• Strong financial and commercial acumen; experience in media, digital, advertising or a consumer-facing sector is an advantage
• A deep commitment to the revitalisation of te reo Māori and an understanding of the role media can play in strengthening language, identity and connection across generations
• Established networks across iwi and the broadcasting and Māori media sector, and genuine comfort operating in a kaupapa Māori environment
• Strong capability in te reo me ngā tikanga Māori, with the cultural confidence to lead authentically in a kaupapa Māori environment; fluency in te reo Māori is highly desirable
• The judgement and courage to navigate relationships between Government, the Board, iwi and key stakeholders, and to make timely decisions in the organisation's best interests

You must have the right to live and work in Aotearoa New Zealand to apply for this job.

Kaihautū

• Arahina te hinonga pāpāho taketake tūmatanui o Aotearoa
• Whakatinanatia ngā wawata ki te anamata e noho mātāmua ai ngā ara matihiko e tiria ana ki te reo me ngā tikanga Māori
• He tūranga hirahira hei ārahi i tētehi kaupapa Māori nui, ki te motu

Mō mātou

Ko Whakaata Māori (Māori Television i mua) te kaipāho taketake tūmatanui o Aotearoa. Ko tā mātou he whakatairanga, he whakarauora, he whakaū i te reo Māori kia māori noa te rere mā roto i ngā huapāho mātauranga, ngahau, āhuareka hoki ki ngā pae pāho pouaka whakaata, matihiko, pāhopori anō rā. E aratakina ana e te ōhāki i takea mai i Hawaikirangi, ko ngā uara taketake kia tika, kia pono, kia aroha, kia Māori. Ko te punga o te whakakitenga o Whakaata Māori, kia mauriora te reo - ko te anamata e manakohia ana, ko tērā e māhorahora ai te reo Māori. E toro ana te whakahaere i ngā apataki o te motu, waihoki, o te ao, mā Whakaata Māori, MĀORI+ me Te Ao Māori News. He kaiārahi hoki mō WIBN (World Indigenous Boradcasters Network).

Mō tēnei tūranga mahi

Hei Kaihautū, ka arahina e koe te rautaki me te ahunga whakahaere o Whakaata Māori, ka whakamarohi ake i te tūāpapa kia tutuki te hātepe hou, arā, kia mātāmua ai ngā ara matihiko ā ngā rā kei te heke mai. Ko tāu he pūrongo atu ki te Poari, ko tāu anō, he whakataurite i ngā tutukinga tauhokohoko me ngā haepapa ā-ahurea, ā-ture hoki hei whakatutuki mā Whakaata Māori. Waihoki, ko tāu he ārahi i tētehi tira pūmanawa rau kia pāho tonu ai ngā pūrākau whaihua ki a ngāi Māori, otirā, ki a Aoteaora whānui.

Ngā haepapa matua:

• He mahi tahi ki te Poari ki te ārahi i te mahere rautaki, te pakihi hoki kia hāngai ki ngā ia pāpāho, arā, te pae matihiko, me te whakanaketanga o te iwi Māori.
• He arataki i te whanaketanga ā-matihiko ki Whakaata Māori, kia hāngai ngā paepāho, ngā hangarau, ngā raraunga, ngā huapāho, me ngā āheinga whakahaere ki te whanaketanga o ngā whanonga apataki.
• He ārahi i te whakahaerenga pūtea me ngā tutukinga ahumoni kia toitū te pakihi.
• He ārahi, he whakawhanake, he whakaawewae hoki i tētehi tira hautū e eke panuku ana me ngā kaimahi kia tiritiria te reo me ngā tikanga Māori ki te katoa o te wāhi whakahaere.
• Whakaū i te pono ā-ētita, me te whakahaere i ngā tūraru ētita ki te huapāho i ngā paepāho katoa.
• Rangitāmiro i te taukaea ki te Karauna, Te Mātāwai, ngā iwi, ngā kaituku pūtea, te rāngai pāpāho Māori, me te rāngai pāpāho whānui.
• Whakaū i te tautukunga ki ngā haepapa ā-ture, ā-kaupapa here hoki, otirā, ki te Ture Ara Tuku Whakaata Irirangi Māori.

He Kōrero Mōu

Kei te kimi mātou i tētehi Kaihautū tautōhito e ū ana ki ngā uara, otirā, e mātau ana ki te ao Māori, kua waia ki te ārahi i ngā whakahaere tuatini i roto i ngā whanaketanga. Ko ngā pūkenga kei tō kete:

• He wheako ārahi whakahaere, ko te painga atu mehemea he hinonga e rite nei te rahi ki a Whakaata Māori, otirā, he whāinga ahumoni, ahurea, pāpori anō hoki.
• He mātau, he tautōhito ki te arumoni, otirā, ka whaihua mehemea he wheako i te rāngai pāpāho, i ngā ara matihiko, i te whakatairanga, i te rāngai aro ki ngā kiritaki hoki.
• E ū ana ki te whakarauora i te reo Māori, ā, e mārama ana ki tā te ao pāpāho whakakaha i te reo, i te tuakiri me te hononga o ngā whakatupuranga.
• He pānga, he tūhononga ki ngā iwi, ki te rāngai pāpāho, otirā ki te rāngai pāpāho Māori, ā, e taunga ana ki te mahi ki te taiao kaupapa Māori.
• E mātau ana ki te reo Māori, ki ngā tikanga Māori, ā, e ngākau titikaha ana ki te ārahi i tētehi taiao kaupapa Māori. Mehemea e mātau ana ki te reo Māori, ko te painga atu tēnā.
• Te māia me te kaha ki te hautū i ngā kōtuinga whanaungatanga ki te Kāwanatanga, ki te Poari, ki ngā iwi, ki ngā kiripānga, kia tatū hoki ngā whakataunga hei painga mō te whakahaere.