"Kaiwhakamahereora - Counsellor, Outreach"

Job Description:

• Can you offer support to people from a range of backgrounds and cultures?
• Have you got experience providing phone counselling, nursing triage, or holistic need assessment?
• Do you have a completed (or nearly completed) tertiary qualification in counselling, nursing, social work, or a related field?

Kōrero mō te tūranga - About the role

Te Herenga Waka - Victoria University of Wellington is currently recruiting a Kaiwhakamahereora - Counsellor, Outreach to join our team at Mauri Ora - Student Health and Counselling on a casual basis.

The role of the Kaiwhakamahereora - Counsellor, Outreach is to assist students seeking counselling to access support in a timely and relevant manner. This is achieved through outreach calls to assess their needs, advise on their support options, and help them link appropriate support and resources.

Ō pūmanawa - About you

Key requirements:

• Completed or working towards the completion of a tertiary qualification in a counselling, nursing, social work, or psychology related field.
• Experience providing phone counselling, nursing triage or holistic need assessment.
• Demonstrated understanding of risk assessment.
• Strong active-listening skills and semi-structured interviewing skills.
• Strong relationship development skills, organisational ability and communication skills.
• A high level of professionalism with strong time management, good administrative practice, and attention to detail.
• Commitment to application of Te Tiriti o Waitangi in an educational context.
• Demonstrated experience providing support to people from a range of backgrounds and cultures, particularly young adults.
• Proven ability to counsel using an approach that is non-judgemental, flexible, empathic and sensitive to cultural and religious differences and sexual orientation.

Desirable:

• Experience and interest in working with Māori, Pasifika, Gender Diverse and International communities.
• Experience in university/tertiary education or multidisciplinary team.
• Knowledge of the support needs of university students and of equity issues.
• Proven understanding of issues relating to late adolescence and early adulthood.
• Knowledge of The Education (Pastoral Care of Tertiary and International Learners) Code of Practice 2021.
• Proven experience using practice management software preferably Indici.

Role Description: Click here to see further information, including salary details.

If this link is not available, click 'apply' to view this on the University careers page.

Close date for vacancy: 11 March 2026.

Contact details for vacancy: If you have any questions regarding this role please get in touch with Emma O’Brien (emma.s.obrien@vuw.ac.nz).

How to apply: Please ensure you are applying for this role directly on our careers page and not via email. Candidates must submit supporting documents along with their resume, such as a cover letter. Applicants who do not have residency or citizenship and require a visa to work at the University must clearly indicate their visa status in their application and understand that if they do not have a current, relevant visa, they will need to secure this independently.