Tumu Whakarae | General Manager

RYHR; Rotorua; Hybrid; NZD 180,000 - 260,000; Full time

Job summary

Te Taumata is seeking a Tumu Whakarae to lead its next growth phase in Rotorua. You will provide strategic backbone to the Board, chair a senior leadership team, and shape education, housing and wellbeing initiatives.

You will also drive the development of Te Taumata’s commercial arm, position for long-term sustainability, and maintain trust-based government funding relationships. This role requires strong manaakitanga and kaupapa Māori leadership.

Qualifications

• Executive leadership experience in a senior role guiding organisations.
• Track record of leading through change, restructuring or transformation.
• Deep, authentic connection to te ao Māori with credible iwi/hapū relationships.
• Ability to navigate iwi, hapū and government relationships with trust.

Responsibilities

• Lead the senior leadership team and set strategic direction for Te Taumata.
• Grow the organisation's new commercial arm, including property development and sustainability.
• Manage government funding relationships and diversify funding sources.
• Ensure all decisions reflect kaupapa Māori values and organisational aspirations.

Skills

Executive leadership

Change management

Māori connectivity

Governance relations

Job description

About Us

Nā tō mātau rōpū Poumahi pūmau mātau e ārahi, ā, ko ngā mātāpono o te manaakitanga, te whanaungatanga, te kaitiakitanga, te pono me te tika, me te mana motuhake e pou here ana i wā mātau mahi katoa.

He rōpū hautū a Te Taumata i whakatūria e Ngāti Whakaue, hai painga mō Ngāti Whakaue, e kawe ana i ngā kaupapa mātauranga, te reo Māori, te whakawhanaketanga whare, me te oranga ā-pāpori.

I ēnei rā, e toro atu ana ā mātou mahi ki ngā rau tini whānau, rangatahi, tamariki me ngā kōhungahunga, mā roto mai i ngā hōtaka me ngā ratonga kounga tiketike e ū ana ki te whānau.

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

Over the past year we've done the hard mahi, a full organisational review, restructure and reset of our leadership, systems and ways of working. The foundations are in place. What we need now is a Tumu Whakarae to pick up the reins, build on that momentum, and lead Te Taumata through its next phase of growth.

You'll provide the strategic backbone the Board relies on, leading a senior leadership team that keeps education, housing and wellbeing at the heart of what we do.

Alongside that, you'll grow our new commercial arm, including property development, positioning Te Taumata for long-term sustainability for generations of Ngāti Whakaue still to come.

You'll hold financial and contractual performance to a high standard, manage government funding relationships, and drive the diversification that reduces our reliance on contestable funding.

Every decision, commercial or social, needs to reflect the kaupapa, tikanga and aspirations of Ngāti Whakaue, led with the cultural grounding and mana our whānau expect.

This is a role for someone who wants to build, challenge the status quo, with creativity, empathy and drive. Someone who can walk into an organisation being reshaped and see the opportunity to rebuild an organisation consisting of passionate people that love the mahi they do.

What you’ll bring/Ngā Aheinga māu e kawe mai

• Current Executive leadership experience in a Tumu Whakarae role, ready to hit the ground running from day one
• A track record of leading through change, restructuring or organisational transformation
• Deep, authentic connection to te ao Māori, with the credibility and relationships to represent Te Taumata among iwi, hapū and whānau
• The mana and lived understanding to lead within a kaupapa Māori environment, and to navigate iwi, hapū and government relationships with genuine trust

Why join now/ He aha ai ko tēnei te wā tika?

This is a genuinely rare moment. The reset is done, the direction is clear, and the organisation is positioned for a leader to take it forward. You won't be inheriting problems, you'll be inheriting momentum. If you want your leadership to leave a lasting mark for Ngāti Whakaue whānau, this is the role.

He tino whai wāhitanga onge tēnei. Kua oti kē te whakahou me te whakatakoto anō i te huarahi whakamua, ā, kua tū pakari te whakahaere mō te pouārahi ka kawe i a ia ki tōna taumata e whai ake nei. Kāore koe e whakawhiwhia ki tētehi whakahaere e taumaha ana i ngā raruraru, engari ki tētehi whakahaere kua mau kē te ia whakamua. Mēnā e hiahia ana koe kia waiho tō mana hautū hai taonga tuku iho mō ngā whānau o Ngāti Whakaue, koinei te tūranga mōu.