Clinical Lead – Child and Youth Mental Health

Full-time, fixed term role until 30 June 2027

Auckland based

Birthday leave

Wellbeing benefits

Leadership role within our Kia Ora Ake team

Please note: We'll only accept applications made through Seek.

About the role

As a key member of the Kia Ora Ake team at Asian Family Services, this role provides operational leadership and clinical oversight to support the delivery of high-quality, culturally responsive mental health and wellbeing services for tamariki and whānau in school-based settings, with a particular focus on Asian communities.

You will oversee day-to-day service delivery, clinical governance, risk management and quality assurance, while supporting the team to meet programme objectives, contractual requirements and KPIs. You will also build strong relationships with schools, health and social service providers and other key stakeholders, ensuring our services are responsive to the needs of tamariki, whānau and the communities we serve.

This is a hands-on leadership role where you will contribute to service design and improvement, support workforce development, provide clinical oversight and help ensure safe, effective and integrated services across the Kia Ora Ake programme.

If you're passionate about improving mental health and wellbeing outcomes for Asian tamariki and whānau and have the clinical and leadership experience to make a difference, we'd love to hear from you. Applications are open until 5pm, Monday 2nd November – we encourage you to apply early as we'll fill the position as soon as we find the right candidate.

Key responsibilities

Oversee day-to-day Kia Ora Ake operations, including referral processes and whānau engagement with external agencies

Provide National Manager cover for service management matters when required, within agreed decision-making authority and scope

Provide internal supervision and essential cover for the Kia Ora Ake peer support teams to ensure continuity of service delivery

Provide leadership to the Kia Ora Ake team to achieve programme objectives and KPIs, including supporting staff orientation, training and ongoing development

Contribute to the design and delivery of Kia Ora Ake services, working with schools to understand and respond to their tamariki and whānau needs

Ensure quality assurance processes meet contractual requirements and AFS internal quality standards and frameworks

Monitor service delivery to ensure it is safe, culturally responsive and appropriate for diverse communities, particularly Asian tamariki and whānau

Hold Tier 3 authority and accountability for clinical risk management and clinical decisions within the Child and Youth team

Support safe environments and robust processes for tamariki, whānau, education partners and AFS staff, in line with AFS' Clinical Governance Framework and risk management guidelines

Build and maintain strong relationships with schools, school clusters and school communities, acting as a key contact for operational matters

Identify opportunities for continuous improvement and contribute to strengthening Kia Ora Ake services and outcomes

About you

Graduate qualification from a New Zealand-recognised tertiary institution in counselling, applied mental health sciences, psychology, psychotherapy, social work, nursing or a related discipline

Current membership of an appropriate professional body

Eligible for and able to maintain Children's Worker police vetting, which must be renewed every three years

Minimum 5 years' experience as a practising clinician in mental health or a related field, preferably within child and youth settings

Experience managing service delivery within health, mental health or social service environments, preferably 2+ years

Proven experience leading teams and supporting workforce development

Experience developing and implementing quality assurance processes and conducting audits

Experience providing clinical oversight and managing clinical risk within a governance framework

Strong understanding of Asian worldviews, values and lived experiences and how these relate to mental health and wellbeing, particularly for tamariki and whānau in school-based settings

Bilingual in English and at least one Asian language

Strong communication, relationship-building and stakeholder management skills

* A collaborative and culturally responsive approach, with the ability to work effectively across health, education and social service settings

About us

Asian Family Services (AFS) has been providing support to our Asian communities in New Zealand since 1998. We are a charitable trust and New Zealand's leading service provider for people of Asian backgrounds affected by mental health issues and gambling harm. Our services are based in the community and span across a variety of settings: telehealth via our Asian Helpline is offered in 7 different languages; harm minimisation and prevention work through our public health team; school-based child and youth mental health and wellbeing programmes via our Kia Ora Ake team; general counselling services through our Asian Wellbeing Services; and gambling harm clinical intervention services. On top of this, we are commissioned for several significant projects focused on our Asian communities ranging from suicide prevention, to researching the experience of those living with gambling harm, and much more!