Atawhai Ākonga | Student Care
Located in Ōtautahi | Christchurch, Aotearoa | New Zealand
- Full-time (37.5 hours per week)
- Permanent position
- Generous annual leave provisions and professional development opportunities
Kia hiwa rā, kia hiwa rā!
He hiahia, he pūkenga nōu ki te mahi a te Suicide Prevention Programme Lead? Nāia te pōwhiri nā Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha kia tono mai i te tūranga nei.
Āu Mahi | What You Will Do
We are seeking a compassionate, strategic, and collaborative professional to join our Student Care team as the Suicide Prevention Programme Lead. In this pivotal role, you will drive the development and implementation of a university-wide suicide prevention strategy, fostering wellbeing, early intervention, and postvention support. You will work closely with academic faculties, student services, and community partners to ensure a culturally responsive, data-informed, and trauma-aware approach to mental health and suicide prevention. This is an opportunity to create meaningful change by building institutional capability and supporting the wellbeing of our diverse student community.
Mōu | Who You Are
You will be an experienced mental health practitioner with expertise in prevention and postvention trauma-informed practice, inclusive wellbeing frameworks, and the tertiary education context. You will have demonstrated your ability to lead complex programmes, collaborate across teams, and engage sensitively with students and staff from diverse backgrounds. Your training delivery and project management skills, combined with cultural competence. will be key to success in this role. You will also have:
- a minimum 5 years' experience in suicide prevention, mental health, or a related field
- a Bachelor's degree in social work, counselling, health, education or a related field
- a strong background in designing and delivering training programmes and resources (online and in-person).
- proven ability to apply evidence-based, culturally safe practices in diverse settings.
- confidence working with staff and students while maintaining ethical boundaries and confidentiality.
- demonstrated collaboration with community mental health services, Māori, Pacific, and equity stakeholders.
- knowledge of relevant legislation and the Education (Pastoral Care of Tertiary and International Learners) Code of Practice 2021.
- project management experience, with excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
- an understanding of te reo Māori me ōna tikanga and active commitment to UC's values and Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
With your in-depth knowledge of suicide prevention, you will bring a strong understanding of the Ministry of Health's Suicide Prevention Action Plan 2025-2029, including its strategic goals, priority groups, and evidence-based approaches - https://www.health.govt.nz/publications/suicide-prevention-action-plan-2025-2029
Ngā Painga o UC | Why UC
Ngā Uara | Our Values of manaakitanga, whanaungatanga and tiakitanga guide our decisions and behaviour and provide a roadmap for how we do things at UC, affirming our commitment to pastoral care and support for our ākonga and staff. They challenge and inspire us to be the best we can, and make UC a great place to work and study. For more info on Ngā Uara | Our Values visit us here.
We are committed to accessible higher education, service to the community and the encouragement of talent without barriers of distance, wealth, class, gender or ethnicity. The University explicitly aims to produce graduates and support staff who are engaged with their communities, empowered to act for good and determined to make a difference in the world.
We offer a range benefits, for more information, please visit us: https://www.canterbury.ac.nz/about-uc/work-at-uc/benefits-working-uc
For more information about Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha | University of Canterbury, please visit https://www.canterbury.ac.nz/
The closing date for this position is: Sunday, 10 August 2025 (midnight, NZ time)
Please note applications will be reviewed after the close date.
Pēhea te tono mai | How You Apply
Applications for this position must be submitted via our careers website and should include a cover letter and resume.
Please note, we do not accept applications by email, however we are happy to answer your queries in relation to the application process, please forward these to [email protected]
You must have Aotearoa New Zealand or Australian citizenship/permanent residency or hold a valid NZ work visa to be considered for this role.
