Nau mai, Haere mai!  We welcome you to join our whānau.  Bring your passion and commitment to Ara Poutama Aotearoa.

• An exciting opportunity to utilise your specific set of skills to support and make a positive difference
• Fixed term role – 18 months
• Support tāne to reconnect with whānau, hapu and iwi

‘Kotahi anō te kaupapa, ko te oranga o te iwi' – ‘There is only one purpose to our work:  the wellness and wellbeing of our people.'

This is a unique opportunity which will see you making differences in the lives of the men you will work with as well as their families.  The Pou Ārahi role is tāne-centric, meaning that work undertaken in this role should directly relate to the well-being and reintegration of tāne within our Te Tirohanga Māori units. The Pou Ārahi works closely with the Pou Ārataki and Case Manager of that tāne to incorporate the reintegrative needs into the sentence plan, sentence management activities and in the provision of reintegrative services. 

We are looking to appoint 1 Pou Ārahi at Hawke's Bay Regional Prison 

About the role | Mō te tūnga

As the role title suggests, Pou Ārahi is about being that stable & reliable person (Pou / post) - who can conduct, lead, point out and guide (Ārahi) tāne in prison.  Offering guidance to tāne that identify as Māori, tāne who don't identify as Māori but recognise and understand Māori concepts - and tāne that have Māori partners, tamariki and whanau.  These tāne reside and complete an intervention,  within one of five specialist units and known as Te Tirohanga Māori Whare and Northland Region Corrections Facility, where Pou Ārahi will be a central support figure.

 Key responsibilities include:

• Work closely with the Te Tirohanga Whare staff to support nga tāne to connect or reconnecting with whānau, hapū and iwi, and establish good support systems for their release.
• Identifying the different iwi and hapū that nga tāne affiliate to and ensuring that they are registered with that iwi / hapū formally.
• Delivering robust and effective reintegration plans for the tāne that they are working with. 
• Establishing and maintaining effective contact between nga tāne and their whānau. 
• Delivering reintegrative support to nga tāne through a Tikanga Māori framework that supports kawa and kaupapa of the Te Tirohanga Māori Whare environment. 
• Actively supporting nga tāne through the Māori Therapeutic Programme and provide support and advice to whānau relating to content and outcomes of the programme
• You will work closely with the site case management team and other key reintegration functions

About you | Mōu

 To be successful in this position you will need to be someone who:

• Actively supports the goal of reducing re-offending and understands the issues that nga tāne face when they reintegrate into communities. 
• Has experience in using Tikanga Māori in delivering outcomes.
• Has the ability to coordinate/ facilitate a large number of different groups to produce positive reintegration outcomes.
• Has the ability to evaluate and respond to issues involving complex or competing ethical concerns. 
• Clearly demonstrates the ability to network and build effective communications with iwi, hapū, mana whenua, whānau ora and other organisations to assist the reintegrative needs of a tāne.
• Can act assertively, decisively and confidently when required, but equally can seek advice when dealing with external organisations.
• Displays an understanding of professional standards (confidentiality, informed consent, maintaining boundaries, professional detachment etc).

Preferably, you will have a formal qualification in social work, counselling or have relevant demonstrated life experience.  Knowledge of Te Reo would also be an advantage.  Applicants must have a current full driver's licence. 

About us | Mō mātou

Corrections Services is the operational arm of the Department, made up of all frontline service delivery positions operating across four regions, as well as specialist support groups based at National Office.  This includes prisons, probation, rehabilitation and employment, offender health, support to Maori in our care programmes and psychological services, service delivery frontline operational support activities, operational performance and quality, risk and incidence response, operational planning and performance.

Please note: We welcome your Application with a tailored Cover Letter and CV highlighting your skills and experience relative to the role.  Applications close at 11:00 pm Thursday st October 2020. We will endeavour to contact you within two weeks of the closing date regarding the status of your application, however in some cases this may take a little longer.

For reporting and transparency, it is important that all applications are submitted through our careers site.  If you want to find out more about a career with us, visit careers.corrections.govt.nz or email our team at careers@corrections.govt.nz

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