Occupational Therapist - Military Style Academy

• Palmerston North Location
• 12 Month Fixed Term Contract

Build life skills. Strengthen independence. Help rangatahi create positive futures.

Oranga Tamariki is seeking a passionate and experienced Occupational Therapist to join the Military Style Academy (MSA) Programme in Palmerston North. As part of a multidisciplinary team, you'll play a vital role in supporting rangatahi to develop the practical skills, confidence, and resilience needed to succeed both within the programme and beyond.

The Military Style Academy is an intensive therapeutic intervention for serious and persistent youth offenders. The programme combines educational, vocational, cultural, therapeutic, and physical activities designed to support sustainable behavioural change and positive long-term outcomes for rangatahi. Through a strengths-based, trauma-informed, and mana-enhancing approach, the programme seeks to address the underlying drivers of offending behaviour and support young people to build positive futures for themselves, their whānau, and their communities.

As an Occupational Therapist, you'll provide specialist assessment, intervention, and rehabilitation support, helping rangatahi strengthen their independence, emotional regulation, sensory wellbeing, and readiness for successful participation in everyday life.

Mō te tūnga | About the role

Reporting to the Te Ara Hou Programme Manager, you'll work closely with rangatahi and the wider MSA team to assess functional capability, identify barriers to participation, and deliver targeted interventions that support rehabilitation and reintegration.

Key responsibilities include:

• Conducting comprehensive assessments of life skills, independence, and functional capability.
• Developing individualised intervention plans based on strengths, needs, and rehabilitation goals.
• Providing sensory assessments and developing practical sensory regulation strategies.
• Delivering individual and group-based life skills programmes focused on independence, self-management, and community participation.
• Supporting rangatahi to develop skills in communication, problem-solving, emotional regulation, goal setting, and daily living.
• Providing specialist advice to Youth Workers, Social Workers, educators, and other team members.
• Participating in multidisciplinary case reviews, intervention planning, and rehabilitation discussions.
• Supporting continuous improvement through evidence-informed practice and professional development.

This role may require occasional weekend and public holiday work to support programme delivery and the needs of rangatahi.

He kōrero mōu | About you

We're looking for someone who is passionate about empowering young people to achieve greater independence and positive life outcomes.

You will bring:

• A qualification in Occupational Therapy and current registration with the Occupational Therapy Board of New Zealand.
• Experience working with young people who have complex behavioural, developmental, emotional, or psychosocial needs.
• Experience assessing functional capability and developing individualised intervention plans.
• Experience delivering life skills, emotional regulation, or rehabilitation-focused interventions.
• Knowledge of adolescent development, occupational performance, and independent living skills.
• An understanding of sensory processing and sensory regulation approaches.
• Strong facilitation, communication, and relationship-building skills.
• The ability to work effectively within multidisciplinary environments.
• A commitment to Te Tiriti o Waitangi and culturally responsive practice.
• A current full New Zealand Driver Licence.

Experience working in Youth Justice, mental health, disability services, or with high-needs young people will be highly regarded.

Why join the Military Style Academy?

This is an opportunity to be part of a unique programme that helps rangatahi develop the practical skills, self-belief, and resilience needed to achieve lasting positive change.

You'll be part of a team committed to:

• Supporting independence and personal growth.
• Delivering evidence-informed rehabilitation services.
• Strengthening emotional regulation and life skills.
• Supporting successful reintegration into whānau and community life.
• Making a meaningful difference in the lives of rangatahi every day.

About Oranga Tamariki

Oranga Tamariki works to ensure tamariki and rangatahi are safe, strong, connected, and able to flourish within loving whānau and communities. We are committed to improving outcomes for tamariki and rangatahi, particularly Māori, through culturally responsive and evidence-informed practice.

Me pēhea te tuku tono | How to Apply

If you're an Occupational Therapist who is passionate about youth development, rehabilitation, and helping young people achieve their potential, we'd love to hear from you. Apply online with a cover letter and copy of your CV.

If you have any questions about role, please contact

Remuneration for this position starts between $95,224 - $104,814 depending on experience.

Applications close at midnight on 23rd of October 2026.

We’ll be reviewing applications and scheduling interviews as they come in — so don’t wait, apply now!

If you are interested, please ensure that you make yourself familiar with our code of conduct as it sets out our expectations for our kaimahi and requires you to present at work free from the influences of both drugs and alcohol.