Schools’ Liaison – Auckland

Job Description:

SCHOOLS’ LIAISON – AUCKLAND
DIVISION OF EXTERNAL ENGAGEMENT | TE RINGA TORO

Ko te aronga matua o te tūranga Kaitakawaenga Māori, he akiaki i ngā ākonga Māori hurinoa i te Ika a Māui, ki te whai i te ara o te mātauranga ki te Whare Wananga o Otākau. Tika tonu ka ea noa tērā whai, e te kaitono ngākau Māori, whakaaro Māori, arero Māori hoki.

Me āhei te kaitono ki te whai hononga ki ngā ākonga Māori, nō ngā kura Māori, kura auraki hoki, i raro i ngā mātāpono o te whare wānanga, ma te mātauranga te tō keke.

Me tautōhito te kaitono ki te reo me ngā tikanga, kia Māori ai te kawe o ngā mahi, ahakoa te horopaki.

The role/Te mahi

As the Māori Liaison Officer within the External Engagement Division, you will work with a highly professional, successful team of Liaison Officers to increase the number of Māori secondary students enrolling at Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka. You will be a leader, a facilitator and instrumental in encouraging and helping greater numbers of Māori secondary school students to enrol at the University.

You will be responsible for making presentations at secondary schools, mainly across Te Ika-a-Māui, delivering information about enrolling, living and learning at Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka. You will work alongside prospective students to assist them with course planning, decision-making and other aspects of university transition.

This role includes managing a number of outreach programmes, some carried out on campus, where you will help tauira to experience the unique Ōtepoti tertiary environment. You will work with kura, community groups and school careers advisers, providing them with knowledge of the opportunities for Māori at Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka. Collaboration with relevant university staff on iniatives to increase the number of tauira Māori enrolling at Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka is an important part of the role, as is providing feedback, strategic information and advice to the University on the effectiveness of these initiatives to increase tauira Māori recruitment.

Your skills and experience/Kā pūkeka me kā wheako

Successful candidates will:
• Have extensive knowledge and understanding of Te Reo Māori me ngā tikanga Māori.
• Be a university graduate
• Be able to advise, work with and relate to teenagers and young adults
• Have the ability to be accepted widely in kura Māori, kura kaupapa Māori, on marae and in other relevant community contexts
• Appropriate fluency to present exclusively in Te Reo Māori within Kura Kaupapa Māori
• Enjoy making effective, professional presentations to groups of school students and others
• Have highly developed project management skills
• Ideally have an excellent knowledge of Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka and its courses, but if not, the ability to quickly learn
• Ideally have a sound working knowledge of the current Aotearoa secondary school curriculum and assessment matters, especially pertaining to Year 11-13 students
• Have a high level of writing, editing and proof-reading skills
• Be able to work evenings when required and enjoy considerable out-of-town travel for which a vehicle is provided
• Have a clean, full driving license

About our team/Mō te tīma

Based all around New Zealand, The Schools’ Liaison Office are experts in everything University of Otago. We are the first point of contact for high school students studying in New Zealand. We let senior students know about the opportunities for living and learning at Otago and also help potential students figure out their options to plan their study.

Further details/Pūroko

This is a full time (37.5 hours), fixed term position, based in Auckland. The preferred start date is late-June 2026 ending on July 31st, 2027.

You must have the right to live and work in New Zealand to apply for this role.

The University is committed to meeting its obligations under the Children Act 2014. Candidates who successfully make the final stages of the recruitment process will be required to undergo a safety check. Further information HERE

We offer competitive salary, five weeks’ annual leave, a 6.75% superannuation scheme, and the ability to achieve real work/life balance. More information regarding employee benefits can be found here.

For further information, please contact Rhonda Brodie, Head of Schools’ Liaison via the contact details below.

Application/Tono

To submit your application (including CV and cover letter), please click the apply button.

Applications quoting reference number 2600693 will close on Sunday, 10 May 2026.

He hōnore nui te whai wāhi atu ki ngā kura, ki mua i ngā ākonga Māori, te ārahi i a rātau ki te ara o te mātauranga. Mena ka kipakipa tō ngākau, ki te tū hei ringa ārahi mō ngā whakatipuranga e whanga mai ana, koinei pea te tūranga māu.