Lived Experience Lead

Te Whiwhinga mahi – The opportunity

Purapura Whetū acknowledge Lived experience practice as a legitimate and essential component of practice to inform and enhance whaiora engagement and Hauora outcomes.

We recognize Lived Experience as a valid and valuable practice approach. It brings unique insights, complimenting other clinical approaches and challenges traditional hierarchies of expertise.

Incorporating lived experience into practice and service delivery leads to more responsive, person-centred care. It helps identify gaps and improve outcomes by grounding decisions in real-world perspectives.

Validating lived experience challenges power imbalances and promotes more inclusive practices. It ensures that lived experience voices are incorporated into all practice development and delivery.

Nga kawenga matua o te mahi – Key responsibilities of the role

The Lived Experience Lead will ensure that whānau voice and lived experience leadership are embedded across Purapura Whetū services. The role is focused on :

• Leading service quality improvement initiatives informed by lived experience practice
• Building, developing, and sustaining the peer and lived experience workforce
• Supporting kaimahi and leaders to understand and integrate lived experience practice into everyday practice
• Providing expert advice to strengthen accountability, safety, and responsiveness of services.
• Provide expert advice to inform Purapura Whetu strategic development
• Ensure that Purapura Whetu service delivery is informed and shaped by evidenced best practice Lived experience knowledge Nationally and internationally
• This is a provider-focused role with strong influence across strategic development, service design, workforce capability, and continuous improvement.

Ngā pūmānawatanga ōu – What you will bring

• Personal lived experience of mental distress and / or addiction, with the ability to draw on this experience appropriately in leadership
• Proven experience in service quality, audit, or continuous improvement in health or social services
• Demonstrated capability in workforce development, including training, mentoring, or professional development
• Strong networks across mental health, addiction, Māori, and lived experience communities

Mō mātou – Our organisation

Purapura Whetū Trust empowers people to reach their full potential through personal growth, positive mental health, and wellbeing. As a kaupapa Māori provider, we combine clinical, cultural and community support into services that embrace the Māori view of wellbeing. By connecting tangata whaiora to the culture, traditions, and values of our tupuna, we help them achieve mental, physical, and spiritual health.

Our dedicated team of counsellors, community support workers and registered nurses work with tamariki (children), taiohi (teenagers), pakeke (adults) and whānau. We are here to inspire you to get well, stay well, live well, and reach for the stars and beyond.

We provide ongoing training opportunities, and relocation support is available.

Please apply via Seek . Any pātai, contact Janine Morris on

Request the position description by emailing

Applications close 5pm Friday 19th December and will be processed as they are received.

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