Work with us
We're a dynamic new Ministry committed to transforming our community. As we grow, we need the right people to join our team and shape the future of disability services in New Zealand.
On this page
This is an exciting opportunity to challenge the way things have been done and deliver better outcomes for disabled people, tāngata whaikaha Māori, families and whānau in line with the Enabling Good Lives external URL approach.
We are committed to creating a workplace that is inclusive and accessible, staying true to 'nothing about us, without us'. (Our governing ethos that no policy should be decided without the input of the community it affects.)
Curious about working for Whaikaha?
Learn about Whaikaha and what motivates the Whaikaha team to do their work.
Subtitles are available and a transcript is available below the video. You can also download the video transcript word document (DOCX 47KB).
Video transcript
Speaker – Paula
Nau mai, Haere mai, welcome to Whaikaha, the Ministry of Disabled People. Ko Paula Tesoriero tōku ingoa, ko taku tūranga mahi, he Tumaki mō Whaikaha – the Ministry of Disabled People.Talofa lava, kia orana, warm Pacific greetings. I'm sitting in a chair wearing a green jacket with white pearl looking buttons down the side with a black T-shirt underneath and silver dangly earrings.
My sign name is this, which represents two bicycle pedals moving in a forward direction. And my job is the Chief Executive of Whaikaha. I'm joined this morning by my colleague, the Deputy Chief Executive, Policy, Strategy and Partnerships, Ben O'Meara.
Speaker – Ben
Thanks Paula, great to be here.
Speaker – Paula
Together, we want to give you some insights into Whaikaha and what motivates us to do the work that we do here. I'm delighted that you are curious about joining us. We are a new Ministry, and the first one like this in the world. We have a huge opportunity to make a meaningful difference for disabled people, tāngata whaikaha Māori and their whānau. To achieve our aspirations, we need to build a diverse and inclusive team.
We will work in partnership with our community to innovate and break down barriers to participation for disabled people in all areas of life, including things like sport, social activities, housing, health, education, and more.
Whaikaha is committed to listening to the voices of the disability community to understand how these barriers can be removed. We're nearly at 40% of our workforce identifying as disabled, and many more of our people are our allies, with lived experience, through whānau, and community connections.
We really benefit from this diversity, and we want to grow it. Whaikaha strives to be a creative, diverse, and flexible place to work. We want to be an exemplar employer, and we're working to improve our recruitment processes so that they have accessibility at their heart. We also want to be known for removing barriers to employment, providing workplace reasonable accommodations, and career development and pathways for our people. We want our people to have every opportunity to achieve their full potential.
So Ben, you're relatively new to Whaikaha. What motivated you to apply for a role here?
Speaker – Ben
Well, I think three main things, Paula. The first one was the opportunity to work with you of course, and others here who I knew before I started. The second thing was that I have spent 30 years doing policy work and working with policy teams, and when I started in my journey, I got a hand up from a scholarship for disabled people that was offered by the Ministry of Commerce.
And that brought me from Tāmaki Makaurau to Te Whanganui-a-Tara to complete my university studies and then do summer employment. And after that, I got an employment opportunity that started me in my career.
I see real potential at Whaikaha to develop people in similarways to the opportunities that I had, and to make opportunities available for disabled people.
And the last thing is the work programme. So a lot of the issues that we're working on are complex. We're looking at a system, continuing to operate a system that supports disabled people, while at the same time transforming that system to give the disabled people and tāngata whaikaha Māori more efficacy and influence, choice and control over the things that matter to them. And that's exciting work.
It operates within a partnership context with disabled people. It provides an opportunity to get alongside disabled people to amplify their voice and to work more directly with the community than is possible in many other government agencies. So that's the reason why I'm here.
Speaker – Paula
We've got so much to do and so much to look forward to and it's really neat having you with us and the contribution that you and your team make. What are some of the things that you've noticed about the way we can do things differently?
Speaker – Ben
We have quite a diverse workforce here at Whaikaha and people are very open and welcoming and look at different ways to manage and achieve things. One of the most interesting things for me as a blind person is people have said to me, can you access and read that document? You know, is that accessible for you? Or do we need to do things in a different way? And in many cases as a blind person, technology makes documents much more accessible than they used to be, but still, it's really great to know that that support is there if I need it. In terms of people actually thinking, without me even having to ask about the best way for me to access things.
Second thing is the opportunities to work closely with the disabled community from early on in the policy process. So, we're trying to share reports as we draft them for the Minister with disabled people on key topics, and get their input on those reports before they go before the Minister.
And finally, we're also looking for a really diverse workforce, it's a great opportunity to work with a wide range of people. I've learned a whole lot about other disabilities. Often when you're disabled, blind like me, I guess you know a lot about being blind, but I've learned a lot about other disabled people and the way that we can adapt the things that are helpful for them. And I think that that's really...By having more people out and working in Whaikaha and other organisations like us, the easier it will become for other disabled people to come and do this work, because it's often hardest to change the system the first time around, and then every time after that it hopefully gets easier.
Speaker – Paula
So, given all that, what sort of people do you think would enjoy working here at Whaikaha with us Ben?
Speaker – Ben
I think mainly people who are committed to making a difference for disabled people. One of the main things we're seeking to do is to transform the disability support system at the same time as we're keeping the current system running. So, we're looking for people who have a commitment to change.
Not everyone who works here needs to be disabled, we also want people who are allies of disabled people and can bring their skills and experience to influence the change in the way we deliver services. I think being able to partner with people is really important. So being able to get alongside disabled people and tāngata whaikaha Māori and to work with them on different ways to progress the kinds of mahi that we want to get done here in Whaikaha. Being open to new solutions, open to ways of changing things, but also understanding the way that Government operates and our role in advising ministers and cabinet on the kind of changes that are needed.
So, I think we need a real variety of skills from great policy people who have worked on system change before and understand what policy's role is in a system change process, through to people who can help manage programmes, big programmes of work to change things, who have really great relationship management skills and are able to partner with a wide range of people, understand Te Ao and Tikanga Māori to partner with tāngata whaikaha Māori.
And then in the operational space are able to work with our providers and all of those who are supporting disabled people out there on the ground, every day, to I guess integrate a way of working that helps to provide greater choice and control to disabled people.
Speaker – Paula
Plenty of opportunity.
Today we've given you a window into Whaikaha and a couple of examples of the opportunities we have before us. We need more people to help us achieve the aspirations of disabled people, tāngata whaikaha Māori and their whānau. And we'd love to hear from you if you're curious about a career with us.
If you're keen to contribute to an organisation where everyone belongs, where innovative thinking is rewarded, we would love to hear from you. We encourage you to apply for roles at Whaikaha via our website, or for you to refer your friends and whānau to us. Ngā mihi nui kia koutou katoa.
Whaikaha job vacancies
At the moment, we are relying on the Ministry of Social Development (MSD) and external job websites to host our recruitment advertisements.
If for any reason you can't use these sites, please contact us and we will make sure we send you specific information you are interested in regarding roles we have available.
- Senior Advisor - Operational Policy
- Advisor - Operational Policy
- Group Manager, Operations
- Manager - Operational Policy
- Manager - System Design
- Kaihautū - Chief Advisor Māori
- Director, Commissioning
Senior Advisor - Operational Policy
As a Senior Advisor Operational Policy, you will ensure that new policies or changes to existing policies are implemented in line with legislation and policy intent.
Location: Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, or Dunedin
Closes: 10 October
Alternate formats
- View the job description in NZSL external URL
- Audio of the Senior Advisor. Operational Policy job description (MP3 6.7MB)
- Large Print (Word) of the Senior Advisor. Operational Policy job description (DOCX 79KB)
- Large Print (PDF) of the Senior Advisor. Operational Policy job description (PDF 207KB)
- Braille version of the Senior Advisor. Operational Policy job description (BRF 5KB)
Advisor - Operational Policy
As an Advisor Operational Policy, you will focus on enhancing Whaikaha’s operational and system design. This will be done by developing and updating operational policy and guidelines and participating in projects to implement policy and operational policy changes for the Commissioning, Design and Delivery group.
Location: Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, or Dunedin
Closes: 10 October
- View the role and apply on the Advisor, Operational Policy page on MSD's job site external URL .
Alternate formats
- View the job description for the Advisor, Operational Policy in NZSL external URL
- Audio format job description for the Advisor, Operational Policy role (MP3 6.8MB)
- Large Print (Word) format job description for the Advisor, Operational Policy role (DOCX 79KB)
- Large Print (PDF) format job description for the Advisor, Operational Policy role (PDF 208KB)
- Braille format job description for the Advisor, Operational Policy role (BRF 5KB)
Group Manager, Operations
As the Group Manager, Operations you will provide strategic leadership and direction over the contracting and performance monitoring of disability supports to deliver an equitable, fair, and consistent disability support system to people receiving disability supports through Whaikaha.
Closes: 10 October
Location: Wellington
- View and apply for the role on the Group Manager, Operations page on the MSD job site. external URL
Alternate formats
- Audio - Job description Group Manager, Operations (MP3 7MB)
- Large Print (Word) - Job description Group Manager, Operations (DOCX 78KB)
- Large Print (PDF) - Job description Group Manager, Operation (PDF 209KB)
- Braille - Job description Group Manager, Operations (BRF 5KB)
Manager - Operational Policy
Are you an inclusive and collaborative leader looking for your next challenge? As we prepare to grow our organisation, we have created a new Manager, Operational Policy role.
Closes: 10 October
Location: Wellington
- View the role and apply on the Manager - Operational Policy page on the MSD jobs site external URL .
Alternate formats
- View the job description for Manager, Operational Policy in NZSL external URL
- Audio of the job description for Manager, Operational Policy (MP3 7MB)
- Large Print (Word) - Manager, Operational Policy job description (DOCX 79KB)
- Large Print (PDF) - Manager, Operational Policy job description (PDF 207KB)
- Braille - Manager, Operational Policy job description (BRF 5KB)
Manager - System Design
The Manager, System Design will be responsible for the leadership of a team of programme managers delivering development work within the Commissioning, Design and Delivery group.
Closes: 10 October
Location: Wellington
- View and apply for the role of Manager, System Design on the MSD job site external URL .
Alternate formats
- Audio of the Manager, System Design job description (MP3 7.1MB)
- Large Print (Word) format of the Manager, System Design job description (DOCX 79KB)
- Large Print (PDF) format of the Manager, System Design job description (PDF 208KB)
Kaihautū — Chief Advisor Māori
- View the role and apply on the Kaihautū - Chief Māori Advisor Jackson Stone application page Te Reo Version external URL
- View the role and apply on the Kaihautū - Chief Māori Advisor Jackson Stone application page English Version external URL
- Location: Wellington
- Closing 1 October 2023
Alternate formats
- Large Print - Kaihautū Chief Advisor Māori job description (DOCX 76KB)
- Large Print - Kaihautū Chief Advisor Māori job description (BRF 4KB)
- Braille - Kaihautū Chief Advisor Māori job description (BRF 4KB)
- Audio - Kaihautū Chief Advisor Māori job description (MP3 5.5MB)
Director, Commissioning
- View the role and apply on the Director, Commissioning MSD application page external URL
- Location: Wellington OR Auckland, Palmerston North, Christchurch, Dunedin or Waikato.
- Closing 1 October 2023
Alternate formats
- NZSL - Director - Commissioning job description external URL
- Large Print - Director, Commissioning job description (DOCX 80KB)
- Large Print - Director, Commissioning office job description (PDF 206KB)
- Braille - Director, Commissioning office job description (BRF 6KB)
- Audio - Director, Commissioning office job description (MP3 7.3MB)