Puāwaitanga Counsellor - Contractor

To tatou tikanga | Our Culture

Our staff are passionate people, each driven to contribute to better health outcomes, with a focus on high priority populations. We are focused on hiring kaimahi who live and work in the communities they serve.

Whakarongorau Aotearoa is committed to understanding and improving mana taurite (equal status) starts with the understanding of self and how we, as health professionals, think and behave each minute of each day to serve the health needs for Aotearoa.

We are committed to ensuring our workforce reflects the community we support.

Ko wai mātou | About us

Whakarongorau Aotearoa (Whakarongorau), a social enterprise, is a digital health and social services organisation with a proven record of connecting people seamlessly with care when they need it.



Whakarongorau has the privilege of running free to the public, virtual health, mental health, and social services for the people of Aotearoa. We want to give everyone in Aotearoa the opportunity for wellness. We focus on the connected world of digital care, where we can help join all the dots, and select the right services, advice, support and help for the right need.

We use our healthy imagination to solve big problems by understanding the tiny ways that people are blocked from getting the care they deserve. Our imagination comes from our people and our partners and their drive to never give up.

Atu mo te mahi | About the role   

Puāwaitanga means to blossom, to flourish, to break through, and is a phone and web-based service to support people to improve their emotional wellbeing – their hauora. The service is an alternative to face to face counselling for people who may have barriers to getting to in-person sessions.

Puāwaitanga was developed through a te ao Māori lens so an understanding of te ao Māori is essential for this role. Being able to hold sessions in te reo is desired but not essential.

• Work from home
• Flexible work hours – schedule your own availability (Monday to Sunday, 9am to 9pm)
• Be a part of a growing service with a dedication to supporting tāngata whai ora to move towards the life they wish to lead
• Expand opportunities for tāngata whai ora across Aotearoa to access counselling in a way that best suits their needs
• Deliver counselling sessions via phone call and video

How Puāwaitanga works

Puāwaitanga has partnered with various organisations throughout Aotearoa (including MSD, tertiary education providers and PHO) to offer brief intervention counselling support to their tāngata whai ora.

Tāngata whai ora choose the clinician they would like to book with and choose a time for initial session (45mins). Follow up sessions (30mins) are then continued with the same clinician.

Tāngata whai ora reach out to Puāwaitanga for support around a wide range of experiences; low mood, anxiety, grief, substance use, relationships, stress, self-identity.

We provide focused support around a key area or situation to help tāngata whai ora move closer to the life they would like. The number of sessions varies per person but it is useful to note that this is within the scope of brief intervention.

Pehea koe | About you   

We are looking for someone who connects well with others and brings diverse cultural and life experiences with them.

• Completed qualification in a relevant field and full registration with a professional body (e.g. DAPAANZ, NZAC, SWRB or similar)
• 2+ years’ experience working therapeutically in a counselling environment
• A strong understanding of mental health and addiction concerns with particular understanding of mental health needs of Māori and Pacifica communities in Aotearoa
• Strong risk assessment skills
• A belief in the value of brief intervention counselling and the ability to kōrero within this framework
• Confident with technology and troubleshooting basic issues (eg. video call settings)
• The ability to speak Te reo Māori, Tongan, Samoan, Cantonese, Mandarin or other languages would be highly advantageous (to a degree of fluency sufficient to hold sessions with tāngata whai ora)
• Whakarongorau Aotearoa acknowledges Mana Māori and mātauranga Māori  as a professional skill set

If you're excited about this role and think you have what it takes, but your experience doesn't align 100%, we still want to hear from you and would encourage you to apply. 

Ō mātou uara | Our values

E kimi ana mātou i ētahi tangata e kaha whakanui i ēnei uara - We are looking for people who align naturally with these values and will champion them

• Mahia te mea tika / Do the right thing
• Hihiri e te kounga / Motivated by quality
• Ngākau nui ki te pai ake / Passion for better