Title:Senior Advisor YJ Community Placements
Group:Youth Justice Services
Reports to:Manager Youth Justice Community Placements
Location:As specified
Direct Reports:No
Budget:No
OUR ORGANISATION
About us / Oranga Tamariki—Ministry for Children is a new Ministry dedicated to supporting any child in New Zealand whose wellbeing is at significant risk of harm now, or in the future. We also work with young people who may have offended, or are likely to offend. Our belief is that in the right environment, with the right people surrounding and nurturing them, any child can, and should flourish.Our vision / Our vision is: New Zealand values the wellbeing of tamariki above all else.
Our purpose / Our purpose is: To ensure that all tamariki are in loving whānau and communities where oranga tamariki can be realised.
The Oranga Tamariki way / We’re introducing a new way of doing things. A way of looking at the world that guides everything we do:
Our core outcomes / Our core outcomes are:
-All children and young people are in loving families and communities where they can be safe, strong, connected, and able to flourish
-Improved outcomes for all children, especially tamariki and rangatahi Māori.
POSITION PURPOSE
The purpose of this role is to contribute to the development of youth justice practice models, systems and programmes that are evidence based, innovative, practical and have a direct relationship with contributing to the Government’s and Ministry’s youth justice goals and outcomes.The Senior Advisor will champion service consistency and excellence throughout Oranga Tamariki in youth justice, monitor youth justice processes and practices to identify and promote opportunities for improvement and lead the development of youth justice issues and practice development opportunities.
Specific Focus on:
- Advocating the correct placements for need and risk – working with individual and external partners
KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES
Key Result area / Key AccountabilitiesService delivery / -Maintain a strong focus and rigour in the work of the Youth Justice Team in identifying and developing leading edge practice models and solutions to improve life outcomes for children, young people and their families and to meet Oranga Tamariki and the Government’s objectives and outcomes
-Lead the development of high quality youth justice practice and programme initiatives which take account the wider environment within which Oranga Tamariki delivers its services, including the operational realities
-Act on Admissions “Child Centre” not bed focus
-Contribute to the provision of specialist advice and leadership in youth justice services
-Champion service consistency and excellence throughout Oranga Tamariki in Youth Justice
-Actively contributing to policy perspectives/development as required
-Identify and monitor trends and developments in the delivery or purchase of Youth Justice services and their impacts for children, young people and families, and ensure that ongoing monitoring and evaluation of those impacts and outcomes inform development of new practice models and systems, and programmes
-Provide high quality Youth Justice practice and programme advice that is consistent with Government and Oranga Tamariki objectives and outcomes for children, young people and their families
-Work in an inter-agency environment, which will include intra- and inter-agency consultation on practice and programme development
-Take responsibility for specific practice or programme
-Provide Service Development input and reporting as required including input into:
- Ad hoc reports as required
- Ministerial estimates
- Ministerial Budget bids
- Post-election briefing papers
- Legislative amendments
- Policy initiatives
- Regular Ministerial performance reports.
Relationship management / -Ensure effective stakeholder relationships are developed and maintained such that the Ministry reinforces its role and standing as a key youth justice service provider and funding body, and as a professional organisation respected for its leading edge service procedures, practice development and programme initiatives
Risk Management / -Identify any organisational risks and take action to minimise their impact
-Effectively manage risks and escalate risks and propose appropriate mitigation where necessary.
Being part of the Oranga Tamariki team / -Actively and positively participate as a member of the team
-Proactively look for opportunities to improve the operations of Oranga Tamariki
-Perform any other duties as needed by Oranga Tamariki
-Comply with and support all health and safety policies, guidelines and initiatives
-Ensure all incidents, injuries and near misses are reported into our H&S reporting tool
-Comply with all legislative and regulatory requirements, and report any breaches as soon as they become known
-Adhere to all Oranga Tamariki procedures, policies, guidelines, and standards of integrity and conduct
-Demonstrate a commitment to and respect for the Treaty of Waitangi and incorporate these into your work.
KEY RELATIONSHIPS
Internal / -Youth Justice team-Policy and Senior Policy Analysts, Strategy and Planning Group, and Advisors and Senior Advisors, Operations
-Other equivalent staff in the Office of the Chief Social Worker, Quality Assurance, People and Capability, Organisational Services, and Communications
-Oranga Tamariki staff
External / -New Zealand Police
-Ministry of Justice (including Courts)
-Department of Corrections
-Te Puni Kōkiri
-Ministry of Pacific Island Affairs
-Office of the Children’s Commissioner
-Law Society
-Judiciary
-Ministry of Health
-Ministry of Education
-Relevant Non-Government Organisations (NGOs), including voluntary sector groups
-Iwi/Māori and Pacific communities
QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE
Qualifications / -A relevant tertiary qualification is desired, preferably in a justice or related discipline-A clean, current driver’s licence is essential.
Other requirements / -Willing to travel to fulfil job requirements
Experience / -Experience in working in an operational agency
-A good level of knowledge and experience in the process of developing innovative and creative practice, systems (including operating procedures) and programmes
-Successful experience in presenting practice or programme advice to senior Managers and/or other Government officials
-A breadth of experience and an approach which challenges conventional wisdom and prompts managers and staff to reassess assumptions.
Skills and knowledge / -Excellent verbal, written and interpersonal communication skills
-Ability to communicate complex ideas to a variety of audiences and build and maintain rapport with others
-Understanding and appreciation of cross cultural issues and concerns, in particular, knowledge of tikanga Māori, and Pacific peoples’ culture
-A good level of general and/or technical knowledge of New Zealand’s Youth Justice system
-A good working knowledge of trends and developments in the justice sector or demonstrated ability to quickly acquire this
-A good working knowledge of the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989 or demonstrated ability to quickly acquire this
-An understanding of the Treaty of Waitangi and its implications for practice and programme development and implementation
-Robust intellectual and analytical abilities, including the ability to carry out the following key processes in a timely manner:
- seek information.
- analyse and select the key relevant points.
- collate information and structure it so that it is easily understood.
- demonstrate its applicability to the Youth Justice system.
- identify the benefits and risks
-A demonstrated ability to describe the barriers that can impede effective and efficient operationalisation of policy and practice development and the capacity to design approaches that could be employed to resolve these
-A demonstrated understanding of the key processes required to develop innovative practice, systems and programmes that will contribute to achieving the Government’s goals and the Ministry’s Youth Justice outcomes
-The capacity to develop innovative approaches to the marketing of advice and to successfully implement those approaches
-The ability to establish standards of excellence and to drive for results to ensure optimal performance from teams and/or individual team members.
Position Description – Senior Advisor YJ Community Placements 1