Senior Service Designer

Mō mātou | About us 

Oranga Tamariki—Ministry for Children has a commitment to putting tamariki and rangatahi at the heart of what we do. In our work, we aim to demonstrate these values:

• We put Tamariki first

• We believe Aroha is vital

• We respect the Mana of people

• We are Tika and Pono

• We value Whakapapa

• We recognise that Oranga is a journey

We are committed to ensuring that New Zealand is the best place in the world to be a child. We are also committed to ensuring Oranga Tamariki partners with hapū, iwi and Māori organisations to find appropriate solutions for tamariki in need.

Mō te tūnga | About the role

We are looking for an outstanding Senior Service Designer to help us deliver a set of initiatives for one of the newer strands of our in-flight Enabling Communities Programme. Enabling Communities is a transformative initiative that gives selected partners an opportunity to redesign and reimagine what care looks like for their own aiga, tamaiti ma talavou, tamariki and whānau.  This role will support Pacific providers and Oranga Tamariki sites to partner together and implement a set of small-scale prototype initiatives dedicated to testing Pacific-centric concepts to support Pacific caregivers and provide coordination support for Pacific youth aged 15 to 17 preparing to transition to adulthood.

The purpose of the role is to drive co-design and collaboration activities to enable change at a local level and implement best practice service design approaches using up to date trends and techniques. The ideal candidate will be pragmatic and outcome‑focused, able to test, adapt and refine ideas and solutions within real‑world constraints.

The Senior Service Designer will have strong skills in cultural empathy, applying pan-Pacific and Pacific ethnic-specific lenses, knowledge and application of te ao Māori, understand different,  audiences, genders and neuro diversity to ensure inclusive design.

This role will ensure that the voices of Pacific aiga, tamaiti ma talavou and communities are at the centre of the design process in ways that are culturally appropriate, so that mana tamaiti, kotahitanga and rangatiratanga are realised.

Ngā pūmanawatanga ōu | What you will bring

Key requirements of the role include:

• Proven experience applying human‑centred and co‑design methodologies to develop, prototype, test and refine services in real‑world contexts, including test‑and‑learn environments.

• Ability to translate complexity into clear, actionable design artefacts (e.g., service blueprints, systems maps, journey narratives, logic models) that support shared understanding and confident decision making.

• Strong facilitation and relationship building skills, with the ability to create inclusive, culturally grounded spaces for Pacific providers, Oranga Tamariki sites, communities, and leaders to collaborate and shape solutions together.

• Experience working within iterative and continuous improvement cycles, including guiding rapid learning rhythms, reflective practice, and evolving design artefacts as prototypes progress.

• Exceptional communication , including tailoring messages to diverse audiences (operational, community, cultural and leadership) and producing clear visual and written outputs that support both strategy and delivery.

• Ability to operate effectively in complex, multi‑partner environments, picking up work already underway, navigating ambiguity, prioritising well, and maintaining momentum across multiple workstreams.

• Strong cultural competencies, including the ability to apply a te ao Māori lens and pan-Pacific and Pacific ethnic-specific lenses, and deep respect for the voices of tamariki, rangatahi, whānau, iwi, providers, and Pacific whānau and communities.