Other professions

We work with many of New Zealand's most vulnerable children and young people and need to operate with compassion, courage and professionalism. If you're not a social worker, but are passionate about seeing children and young people succeed, we have a great variety of other roles at Child, Youth and Family.

We are a large organisation and have a variety of roles on offer to support our frontline people.  We have;

  • Approximately 3,000 employees
  • 58 local offices supported by four regional offices
  • Four care and protection residential facilities
  • Four youth justice residential facilities
  • A national contact centre

Some of our work areas include:

  • Support services who provide support for social workers, caregivers and families
  • Residential services which includes youth workers and clinical practitioners
  • Advisors who help develop and drive our world-leading social work practice
  • Specialist services which includes disability specialists, psychologists and therapists
  • Corporate services which includes human resources, information technology and finance.

You can apply to our vacancies in four easy steps;

Step one: Complete an application form

Apply online for one of the advertised vacancies on our website. Submitting your application online is the quickest and easiest way to apply.

You need to complete the application to a high standard, so take the time to ensure the information you submit represents you in the best possible way. When completing competency examples use real life experiences that demonstrate the required skill. This will also show us your ability to write clearly and concisely. The position description will give you a better understanding of which competencies to cover.

Tip: Before clicking on the apply now button have your CV and cover letter ready and saved where you can easily browse to upload them when asked.

Step two: Progress through the shortlisting process

As part of the short-listing process you may be contacted by telephone to talk about your application, experience and motivation to work with us.

Step three: Attend an interview and assessment process

If you are selected for an interview well done – you’re half way there! The panel who interview you will consist of senior staff members and potentially a community stakeholder representative. The interview will follow a structured process with questions that relate to the competencies necessary for the role you have applied for.  We will be looking for you to give us specific examples from your past experiences to prove to us you have what it takes to do the job.

The position description gives you more information around these competencies. You may also be asked to conduct a brief work sample exercise, verbal reasoning test or we could ask you to prepare a presentation for some of our more senior roles.  

Pre-existing conditions: If you are interviewed for the position you will be asked whether you have any physical or medical conditions or disabilities that might prevent you from performing the position satisfactorily. If you require special services or facilities, and it is reasonable for the Ministry to provide these, then we will work to accommodate you. Letting us know that you have a medical condition or disability will not exclude you from being considered for the position.

Stage four: Pass the background checks

Referees: Child, Youth and Family will talk with two to three referees to check your suitability for the position. Appropriate referees could be past or present employers and ideally will be your supervisor or manager, or someone that you report/reported to.

Background checks: Because of the nature of our work, Child, Youth and Family complete a very in-depth background checking process on our preferred candidates. 

  • Criminal convictions check: It’s important to note that the Clean Slate Act (2004) does not apply to most roles within Child, Youth and Family as they either involve the care and protection of children and young people, or access to records for children and young people in our care. This means that when you complete the background checks authorisation form you must disclose all convictions that you have received in your lifetime, regardless of whether the crimes were committed many years ago or rehabilitation has been undertaken.   More information on this can be found on our application form.
  • Benefit history check: Child, Youth and Family is a service line of the Ministry of Social Development and due to this we have hiring conditions relating to benefit overpayments. If you are currently, or have in the past received a benefit or other support such as a student loan, student allowance or employment product or service it is important that you disclose this in your background checks authorisation form.
  • CYRAS check: A Care and Protection, Youth Justice, Residences and Adoptions Services (CYRAS) check is carried out on each preferred candidate. It is important to let us know if you have ever had contact with Child, Youth and Family, either in a professional capacity or otherwise.

Providing misleading information or failing to provide information may be grounds for your application to be declined. If you are unsure about anything relating to the background checks please contact your local recruitment consultant