Nau mai, Haere mai

Ehara taku toa i te toa takitahi, engari kē he toa takitini

My success should not be bestowed onto me alone; it was not individual success, but the success of a collective

Are you looking for interesting, responsible and fulfilling mahi (work) that makes a real difference to people’s lives? Come and join our kaupapa (purpose) of supporting whānau to uphold and express their mana motuhake (self-determination).

Our poumahi (staff) are as important as the whānau we awhi (support).

Join us if you want to:

• Be appreciated and rewarded for a job done well.
• Receive fair pay for important mahi that makes a real difference.
• Have work-life balance, and work flexibly.
• Have opportunities for professional and personal development.
• Get to know a disabled person and help them live a richer life.
• Work in a culturally diverse, inclusive and proudly Māori-led organisation with people who are skilled, empathetic and care about dignity, equity and human rights.
• Be part of a collective that values the wisdom of tikanga (system of values and practices) including manaaki (support, generosity, care), tika (doing the right thing, in the right way), pono (truth, honesty, genuineness, sincerity) and aroha (compassion, empathy, joy for others).

Interested in being a Pouāwhina?

In te ao Māori, a ‘pou’ is an upright support, commonly found at the centre of a whare tīpuna (ancestral meeting house), representing strength and stability.

The kupu (word) ‘awhi’ means to support, assist and help. Awhi is part of showing ‘aroha’ (empathy, generosity and joy for others), and is one of the three fundamental principles of te ao Māori, along with ‘tika’ (just, fair and proper) and ‘pono’ (true, genuine, honest and sincere).

At Mana Ātea, Pouāwhina are the metaphorical pou driving our high-quality awhi, in tika and pono ways, that enable whānau to express and uphold their mana motuhake (self-determination) and live life to the fullest.

The whānau we support are at the centre of what we do. This means that it is the whānau who choose who will awhi them as their Pouāwhina, and they also decide what Pouāwhina will do, when they’ll do it and how they’ll do it.

We frequently recruit for Pouāwhina across the Tāmaki Makaurau (Auckland), Waikato, Hauraki, Tauranga Moana and Te Moana Nui a Toi (Bay of Plenty) regions.

The mahi of a Pouāwhina varies greatly based on the whānau we awhi and their needs, goals and aspirations.

Depending on the whānau we are supporting, mahi can include: