Whānau Voice Lead - Fixed Term until June 2028

Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu; Christchurch; Hybrid; NZD 80,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

Te Tauraki seeks a Whānau Voice Lead in Ōtautahi Christchurch to bring the Whānau Māori Voice Framework to life. You will build practical plans to gather, analyse and report whānau insights and ensure their input shapes what Te Tauraki does.

You will strengthen relationships with Papatipu Rūnaka, hauora providers and PHOs, oversee external researchers, and turn evidence into actionable insights, publications and senior-leader recommendations.

Qualifications

• Leading engagement with whānau, iwi or Māori communities.
• Commissioning and managing external researchers or providers from start to finish.
• Combining qualitative and quantitative evidence to find themes, gaps and priorities.
• Preparing reports, presentations or recommendations for senior leaders or Boards.
• Handling information safely and ethically, including privacy, informed consent.

Responsibilities

• Create and implement a practical plan to gather, analyse and report whānau insights.
• Ensure whānau input informs strategy, commissioning and decisions.
• Strengthen relationships with key stakeholders including Papatipu Rūnaka, hauora providers and PHOs.
• Commission and manage research and engagement projects and turn findings into insights, publications and advice.
• Establish safe, ethical processes to manage qualitative information and data storage.

Skills

Whānau engagement

Stakeholder engagement

Research commissioning

Qualitative analysis

Ethical data handling

Job description

Whānau Voice Lead - Fixed Term until June 2028

Ōtautahi Christchurch | Fixed term to June 2028

Te Tauraki is a subsidiary of Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu, established in 2022 as the vehicle by which health and wellbeing aspirations within the Kāi Tahu takiwā are promoted, bringing the voice and needs of whānau Māori forward.

We're currently the Iwi Māori Partnership Board for the Kāi Tahu takiwā and the Whānau Ora commissioning agency for Te Waipounamu and Wharekauri/Rēkohu. Our vision is “Whānau Māori living healthy lives”. Whānau tell us what matters most. Our job is to make sure that guides our strategy, commissioning, advocacy and decisions. This is where our new Whānau Voice Lead role comes in.

About the role

As our fixed-term Whānau Voice Lead, you'll bring our Whānau Māori Voice Framework to life across Te Tauraki. You'll build a practical plan and set up processes to gather, analyse and report whānau insights. You'll also make sure whānau can see how their input has changed what we do.

You'll strengthen relationships with key stakeholders including Papatipu Rūnaka, hauora providers and Primary Health Organisations. You'll commission and manage research and engagement projects, and turn evidence into insight products, publications and advice for senior leaders and our Board. You'll also help set up safe, ethical ways to manage qualitative information. You'll report to the Head of Data, Insights and Impact and work collaboratively across Te Tauraki.

Where you might be coming from

There's no single pathway into this role. We're interested in people from a wide range of backgrounds, including:

• Māori health, hauora, Whānau Ora or social services: you understand the health system, what drives whānau wellbeing and what works on the ground.
• Kaupapa Māori research, evaluation, data or insights: you've designed research or engagement frameworks and can bring qualitative and quantitative evidence together.
• Iwi, rūnanga or community development: you've led engagement with whānau, hapū, Papatipu Rūnanga or community groups and built trusted relationships.
• Policy, strategy, commissioning or project management: you can turn insight into clear advice for decision-makers and manage projects or providers from start to finish.

What will help you succeed

You'll bring solid, hands-on experience in most of these areas:

• Leading engagement with whānau, iwi or Māori communities, building trust and turning what people share into practical advice or plans.
• Commissioning and managing external researchers, contractors or providers from start to finish, and putting the findings to use.
• Combining qualitative and quantitative evidence to find themes, gaps and priorities.
• Preparing reports, presentations or recommendations for senior leaders or Boards.
• Handling information safely and ethically, including privacy, informed consent, culturally safe engagement and secure storage.

You’ll also bring strong facilitation and communication skills, a practical approach that gets things done, and a commitment to growing your knowledge of Kāi Tahutanga and te reo Māori.