Expressions of Interest - Disability & Education Roles (New Service)

Are you passionate about disabled children and making the education system work better?
Do you bring experience across disability and education — and want to use it to remove barriers, not add to them?

Kaikaranga will soon be launching a new service which is focused on supporting disabled and neurodiverse children who are no longer engaged in education or are at risk of disengaging. We are now entering the planning and mobilisation phase and are keen to connect with people interested in being part of this work as roles are established over the coming months.

About the initiative

This is not business-as-usual service delivery. It’s relational, system-shaping work that sits at the intersection of disability, education, and whānau wellbeing.

This service will support disabled and neurodiverse tamariki to re-engage with education by:

• Working closely with children, whānau, and schools to understand what’s getting in the way of participation
• Facilitating the coordination of the right supports at the right time
• Removing system barriers that currently make successful navigation dependent on parent capability, persistence, or luck

The work recognises that fragmentation between education, health, and disability systems is a major driver of exclusion - and that children thrive when someone walks alongside them and someone else clears the system roadblocks.

Upcoming opportunities:

Kaituhono (Navigators)

Kaituhono work directly with disabled children and their whānau, alongside schools and other services, to support re-engagement with education.

This role will suit people who:

• Have experience working with disabled or neurodiverse children and their families
• Understand education settings and school processes
• Are skilled at building trust, coordinating supports, and working across agencies
• Bring a calm, relational, problem-solving approach in complex situations

Kaituhono are not necessarily social workers - what unites the role is strong disability experience, with emphasis on education understanding and confidence.

Service Manager / Enabler

The Enabler role operates at a system level more than directly with families. This role focuses on:

• Removing systemic barriers across education, health, and disability services
• Strengthening collaboration between agencies
• Identifying bottlenecks, gaps, and duplication — and fixing them
• Supporting learning and improvement across the system

This role suits people with:

• Senior experience across disability, education, health, or social services
• Strong system-navigation and influencing skills
• Comfort working across operational, strategic, and policy environments

What we’re looking for

Across all roles, we’re interested in people who bring:

• Experience in disability and education (formal or lived experience)
• Strong relationship and stakeholder skills
• A commitment to equity, inclusion, and making systems fairer
• Cultural capability and comfort working with Māori, Pacific, and diverse communities
• Alignment with Kaikaranga values and a whānau-centred way of working

Interested?

This is an Expression of Interest, not a formal application at this stage.

If this work resonates with you and you’d like to be kept informed as roles are confirmed and advertised over the coming months, we’d love to hear from you.

Salary and employment conditions will vary depending on role, experience, and qualifications.

Register your interest by submitting your application.

Why Kaikaranga?

Since 2002, Kaikaranga has supported disabled people and their whānau to access the services they need to live good lives. We’re known for our relational approach, strong systems, and ability to scale and innovate when new needs emerge.

You’ll be joining:

• A supportive, values-led organisation
• Teams with deep disability expertise
• Robust systems, supervision, and wellbeing supports
• Flexible working arrangements
• A culture that welcomes lived experience and diverse backgrounds

At Kaikaranga, we don’t just accept difference — we welcome it, we support it, and we thrive on it for the benefit of our employees, our clients and our community.

We are proud to be a diverse, equal opportunity workplace and welcome applications from people with lived experience of disability and from diverse backgrounds. 

If you require support with your Expression of Interest, please contact Paula Henriques, Recruitment Partner, by email at Paula.henriques@kaikaranga.org.nz or mobile 027 2995 622.