Social Worker, Occupational Therapist, Registered Nurse - CAFMHS - Central Lakes

Te Whatu Ora; Queenstown; On-site; NZD 75,000 - 107,000; Full time

Job summary

Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora is seeking a Social Worker, Occupational Therapist or Registered Nurse (Key Worker) to support tamariki and rangatahi in CAFMHS, Frankton, Queenstown. You will manage your own caseload within a multidisciplinary team delivering youth-focused, evidence-based care.

The role requires NZ registration and an Annual Practising Certificate. After DAO training, a $3,400 annual allowance is provided. Expect on-call duties up to 10 shifts monthly.

Qualifications

• Experience in mental health assessment, intervention and treatment for youth (0–18 years).
• Ability to work in a multidisciplinary team and with external agencies.

Responsibilities

• Undertake mental health assessments and deliver tailored interventions.
• Collaborate with the care team to ensure continuity of care and patient flow.
• Support safeguarding processes including child protection and risk assessment.
• Engage with external agencies for wrap-around services.
• Pursue ongoing professional development and service improvement.

Skills

Mental health assessment

Intervention planning

Safeguarding

Multidisciplinary collaboration

Education

NZ Registration Board registration

Annual Practising Certificate

Job description

Social Worker, Occupational Therapist, Registered Nurse - CAFMHS - Central Lakes

Social Worker, Occupational Therapist, Registered Nurse (Key Worker) - CAFMHS

Frankton, Queenstown Central Lakes

Salary - $75,000 - $107,000 + Kiwisaver

• 1.0 FTE (40hrs per week) permanent opportunity

About the Role

As a Social Worker, Occupational Therapist, RN (Key worker) within the Child, Adolescent and Family Mental Health Service (CAFMHS), you will play a key role in supporting tamariki and rangatahi (0–18 years) experiencing moderate to severe mental health challenges. Based in Frankton, you'll work within a specialised outpatient service providing comprehensive mental health assessment, intervention, and treatment that is youth-focused, evidence-based, and grounded in whānau inclusion.

You will manage your own caseload and work collaboratively as part of a multidisciplinary team, which includes Allied Health, Public Health, Scientific and Technical professionals across Te Whatu Ora Southern. This role is central to delivering care that is consistent with our organisational values and vision, including interprofessional practice that empowers families and communities.

Your core responsibilities include:

• Undertaking mental health assessments and delivering tailored interventions.
• Working closely with the wider care team to ensure continuity of care and patient flow.
• Supporting safeguarding processes involving child protection, family violence, and risk assessment.
• Collaborating with external agencies to provide wrap-around services.
• Engaging in continuous professional development and contributing to service improvement initiatives.

With a sound understanding of child and youth-focused mental health interventions, you bring a therapeutic, evidence-based, and whānau-inclusive approach to your practice. You are confident working both independently and as part of a multi-disciplinary team, contributing to interprofessional care across diverse communities.

Your ability to build effective, respectful relationships with young people, their families and wider support networks is central to your practice.

In addition, you are:

• Experienced in mental health assessment, intervention, and treatment planning for youth (0–18years) with moderate to severe needs.
• Skilled in safeguarding practices and navigating complex family systems.
• Committed to service improvement, innovation, and evidence-based care.
• Registered with the New Zealand Registration Board and hold a current Annual Practising Certificate.

It is a requirement of this position for you to become a Duly Authorised Officer (DAO) under the Mental Health Act 1992, and it is expected you will complete this training within 6-12 months of your commencement date. Once you are trained as a DAO and fulfilling the responsibilities of the position, you will receive an allowance of $3,400 per annum, pro rata whilst working as a DAO.

You will be required to participate in an on-call roster of a maximum of 10 shifts per month

Salary range

This role falls between Step 1 ($77,087 p.a) and Step 7 ($107,600 p.a pro rata) of the Allied, Public Health and Technical scale. Or betweenstep 1 ($75,773 p.a) and Step 7 ($106,739 p.a prorata) of the RN scale

Working at Health New Zealand

Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora is dedicated to ensuring excellent healthcare for the people of New Zealand. We embrace a workforce that is diverse and inclusive so that we are better positioned to understand and service our community. We welcome applications from our diverse Māori, Pacific, disabled, and rainbow communities.

Job details

Job Reference:

Job Reference: 1956864A

Location:

South Island - Otago - Queenstown

Job type:

Job type: Permanent Full time

Expertise:

Clinical - Nursing - Registered Nurse

Clinical - Allied Health - Occupational Therapist

Clinical - Allied Health - Social Worker