Graduate Social Worker Opportunities

Are you a recent graduate or final year Social Work student looking for their first opportunity to work within the social services space when you graduate?  Join our Social Worker Graduate Talent Pool so that we can consider you for Graduate Opportunities throughout New Zealand as soon as they become available.

About us | mō mātou

Oranga Tamariki—Ministry for Children has a commitment to putting tamariki and rangatahi at the heart of what we do. In our work, we aim to demonstrate these values:

We put Tamariki first
We believe Aroha is vital
We respect the Mana of people
We are Tika and Pono  
We value Whakapapa
We recognise that Oranga is a journey
 

Our tamariki and rangatahi deserve to feel safe, have their voices heard and be surrounded by loving whānau. At Oranga Tamariki—Ministry for Children, we're on a journey to ensure that it happens. We are a leading social work service that is child-centred, trauma informed and effective for all cultures.

About the role | mō te tūnga

Our Social Workers make a difference to the lives of our children, young people and their family by:

• Co-working (building up to key working) cases with tamariki or rangatahi to hear their voices and support them and their whānau to make positive changes
• Working alongside various cultural groups and people from different backgrounds
• Complete initial safety checks and assessments on the child, young person and their family
• Being involved in planning interventions to be delivered to maintain wellbeing of tamariki and rangatahi
• Working alongside partners in our community, non-government organisations and state sector agencies
• Transitioning children and young people back to their families or into their forever home
• Being an advocate on behalf of tamariki and rangatahi to ensure they have the support and resources needed to reach their full potential.

We have opportunities across a range of areas such as Care & Protection, Youth Justice, Adoptions and Caregiver Recruitment and Support and would love to talk to you.

About you | mōu

We are interested in hearing from candidates who demonstrate the following:

• A full, clean, valid New Zealand driver's license or the ability to secure it prior to starting with us
• Provisional registration with New Zealand's Social Work Registration Board (SWRB) or working towards
• A social worker qualification recognised by the SWRB
• Eagerness to learn, be proactive and demonstrate tika and pono
• Good written skills as you will need to write court reports and case notes
• Sound judgement and organisational skills
• Excellent verbal communication skills with the ability to adapt to your audience
• Empathy, patience and ability to see past what someone may be struggling with
• A positive outlook and supportive nature

What we offer | tāu e tuku nei

For successful candidates the following is on offer:

• A starting salary of $81,000 with annual increase through tenure
• Payment of your provisional registration and Practicing Certificate fees with the SWRB
• Regular learning forums about our core fundamental social work processes and practice
• A great, supportive team environment
• Flexible work opportunities
• Rewarding and challenging work that truly makes a difference to the community
• Opportunities to work alongside various cultural groups, build your network and strengthen community relationships

How to apply | me pēhea te tuku tono 

Apply online with your CV. If you are an Oranga Tamariki employee already, please ensure you register or login using your work email address. For reporting and transparency, it is important that all expressions of interest are submitted through our careers site, please do not email through applications and/or CVs.  If you have any questions about the role, please contact info_recruit@ot.govt.nz

Please note that this is an expression of interest and we will advise you when a suitable role becomes available to consider your application for. We also recommend applying directly to any roles you see that you would like to be considered for.