Job Description

Job Title: Senior Advisor, Development, Monitoring and Investigations

Reports to: Manager Monitoring – Places of DetentionContract: Full Time, PermanentLocation: WellingtonDate: January 2021

Children’s Commissioner’s PurposeThe Children’s Commissioner is an Independent Crown Entity, appointed by the Governor-General, carrying out responsibilities and functions set out in the Children’s Commissioner Act 2003.

The Commissioner has a range of statutory powers to promote the rights, health, welfare, and wellbeing of Aotearoa New Zealand’s 1.12 million children and young people under 18 years old. These functions are undertaken through advocacy, public awareness, consultation, research, undertaking investigations and monitoring.

The role also includes specific functions in respect of monitoring activities completed under the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989, and inspection duties, as a National Preventive Mechanism, under the Crimes of Torture Act 1989 in respect of places of detention for children and young people.

The Commissioner also undertakes systemic advocacy functions and investigates particular issues with potential to threaten the health, safety, or wellbeing of children and young people. The Children’s Commissioner has a particular responsibility to raise awareness and understanding of the United Nations on the Rights of the Child and must also develop means of consulting with children to ensure their views are taken into account.

The Children’s Commissioner’s activities must comply with the relevant provisions of the Public Finance Act 1989, Crown Entities Act 2004 and any other relevant legislation.

Our People and Our ValuesThe Commissioner’s staff bring specialist skills and expertise to the varied and complex challenges facing children today. We have the ability to influence government to ensure children’s needs are respected and progressed. We have the skills to research and evaluate complex information. We understand the power of

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strong stakeholder relationships and so we work hard to develop and maintain them. The way that we think and work is driven by behavioural norms and expectations reflected in the organisational values we collectively hold dear. To be successful, the values that all Commission employees strive to uphold are: Aroha – Children are sacred beings. They are Taonga, born with their own mana.

They are shaped by those that care for them. We always act with compassion and empathy, adapting readily to respond to their needs.

Pono – We believe honesty and integrity are key to doing our job well. We always report things as we see them and never as how others want them to be seen. We stay true to one important thing: we do as we say we will.

Tika – We are always about the best possible results for children. We empower others to bring about the best for them. We are independent and always speak out for their interests. We consider the range of needs we have to meet, and make every attempt to get it right.

Matauranga – Children are our reason for being. They are involved, participate and have input into things we do. We act from a place of knowledge; we work from evidence and advise others based on the things we learn.

These values are supported by a clear performance framework that translates them into clear behaviours that all staff must consistently demonstrate.

Role Purpose

Senior Advisors, Development, Monitoring and Investigations (DMI), work as part of a professional team supporting the Children’s Commissioner to meet the Office’s statutory responsibilities to undertake independent monitoring of residential facilities, policies and practices related to children and young people, in accordance with the Children’s Commissioner’s monitoring mandates under the Crimes of Torture Act 1989 and the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989.

Children’s Commissioner’s Monitoring Mandates The Children’s Commissioner’s monitoring functions are undertaken by the Office’s Development, Monitoring and Investigations (DMI) team, in accordance with the following two statutory mandates:

Monitoring undertaken under the Crimes of Torture Act 1989The Children’s Commissioner is designated by the Minister of Justice as a National Preventive Mechanism (NPM) under New Zealand’s Crimes of Torture Act (COTA) 1989. This Act contains New Zealand’s practical mechanisms under the United Nations Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (OPCAT), which was ratified by New Zealand in 2007.

The Commissioner is designated to monitor the following places of detention for children and young people: Oranga Tamariki care and protection and youth justice residences and

community-based remand homes, including those contracted to community providers

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child and adolescent mental health and youth forensic inpatient units, managed by the Auckland, Capital and Coast and Canterbury District Health Boards.

The Office also monitors the Mother and Baby Units (MBUs) in the three Women’s Prisons. This is by agreement with the Chief Ombudsman, who holds the COTA NPM monitoring designation for Department of Corrections managed prison facilities.

Senior Advisors lead and undertake all aspects of monitoring activity, carried out in accordance with the Commissioner’s COTA mandate.

Monitoring undertaken under the Children’s Commissioner’s Act 2003, Section 13 The Children’s Commissioner Act 2003, s 13 (b) and (c), mandates the Commissioner to monitor Oranga Tamariki services across the Oranga Tamariki statutory care and protection and youth justice system. Currently, the Office uses this s13 mandate to undertake thematic monitoring reviews across Oranga Tamariki sites and/or community-based services.

In March 2019, the Minister of Social Development announced the establishment of a new Independent Children’s Monitor (ICM)1. The Ministry of Social Development (MSD) has been tasked with building the ICM, taking account of an ‘in-principle’ Cabinet decision, that once new ICM legislation is in place, the new ICM monitoring service will shift from MSD to the Office of the Children’s Commissioner.

Currently, the newly established ICM is focused on monitoring the new Oranga Tamariki (National Care Standards and Related Matters) Regulations 2018 (NCS Regulations). The Office of the Children’s Commissioner does not have responsibility for monitoring these National Care Standards.

In 12 to 18 months, when new ICM legislation is in place, the Office’s current s13 mandated responsibility for thematic ‘deep dive’ monitoring reviews across Oranga Tamariki sites will shift from the Children’s Commissioner to the ICM.

The senior advisor appointed to this position, will primarily be involved with COTA monitoring (as described in 1. above), however there may also be opportunities to contribute to the Office’s Section 13 monitoring work, during 2020- 2021.

Key AccountabilitiesThe Senior Advisor will be required to work, with other Senior Advisors, Advisors, and the DMI team’s Principal Advisor/s, to:1. Monitor policies and practices delivered under the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989, in

particular those delivered by Oranga Tamariki, under the Children’s Commissioner’s two monitoring mandates, COTA and the Children’s Commissioner’s Act s13

2. Lead and undertake COTA residential care and custody monitoring activities with Oranga Tamariki and/or Barnardos NZ, DHBs, the Department of Corrections and/or iwi, Maori and NGO care providers contracted by Oranga Tamariki to manage community-based remand homes, to promote and protect the safety, rights, best interests and wellbeing of children and young people

1 https://www.icm.org.nz/Office of the Children’s Commissioner

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3. Lead and contribute to the scoping, planning and design of monitoring visits 4. Lead and undertake residence monitoring visits under the Office’s COTA

mandate5. Lead and undertake analysis of monitoring findings in collaboration with other

team members6. Write clear succinct analytical reports and provide advice based on the team’s

analysis of findings and agreed conclusions 7. Lead and contribute to the provision of feedback to Oranga Tamariki sites,

residences and national office, and/or DHBs, Barnardos NZ, the Department of Corrections and iwi, Maori and NGO care providers contracted by Oranga Tamariki to manage community-based remand homes, presenting a summary of key monitoring findings, including: enablers and barriers to good practice; strengths and areas for development

8. Identify areas for service improvement at the practice, service delivery, structural, policy and strategic levels and work with team colleagues to formulate advice and recommendations

9. Work with a range of stakeholders, communities and agencies and, as part of the wider office team, promote and protect the rights and wellbeing of children and young people, through provision of advice, waananga, seminars, training events and presentations.

10. Represent the Office on inter-departmental and stakeholder advisory groups, showing a high level of competence and professionalism.

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Key Accountability Areas:

Key accountabilities/expectations:

Monitoring Lead and undertake monitoring of residential facilities where children and young people are detained, under the direction of the Manager Monitoring – Places of Detention and in accordance with the focus and design for each monitoring visit

Lead and undertake monitoring of policies and practices as provided for under the Children’s Commissioner’s Act s13, under the direction of the Director, Development, Monitoring and Investigations, in accordance with the scope and design for each monitoring project

Engage purposefully, sensitively and effectively with the children and young people, families and whanau whose views and experiences are the central focus of the Office’s monitoring practice,

Engage purposefully, sensitively and effectively with Oranga Tamariki, Barnardos, DHBs, Department of Corrections and iwi, maori and NGO staff and managers and with other stakeholders, when gathering feedback, experiences and information to inform monitoring assessments

Alongside the Manager Monitoring – Places of detention or the Director Development, Monitoring and Investigations, and/or other senior team members, provide feedback to the agencies and services we monitor, to help inform the continuous improvement of their practice, policies and systems

Write effective clear and succinct analytical monitoring reports and provide peer review for others’ reports within the DMI team

Prepare recommendations on practice and service delivery and briefings to inform policy development and service improvement

Analyse material and information received from monitoring to identify practice and systemic issues that need to be addressed and opportunities for service development and improvement

Lead and contribute to preparation and delivery of presentations on the findings of the monitoring work and issues related to the rights of children and young people in statutory care and/or custody.

Proactively seek to achieve strategic influence, applying monitoring findings to achieve positive systemic change for children and young people, their families and whanau

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Key Accountability Areas:

Key accountabilities/expectations:

Investigations Undertake investigations as provided for under the Children’s Commissioner’s Act s13 (1) (a) under the overall direction of the Director, Monitoring and Investigations

Undertake investigations into individual cases in a manner consistent with the Office’s MOU with Oranga Tamariki, and Oranga Tamariki operational policies and best practice standards

Identify systemic issues that need to be addressed and find opportunities for achieving strategic positive influence for children

Advocacy In the context of the monitoring role, and under the overall direction of the Manager Monitoring – Places of Detention and/or the Director Development, Monitoring and Investigations: Work strategically to provide support for a child-

centred approach within the context of whanau, actively demonstrating a commitment to promoting equity for tamariki and whanau Māori, with a focus on improving services and outcomes for Maori

Work alongside team and office colleagues and government and community stakeholders, to ensure children’s rights and needs are protected, supported, understood and responded to effectively

Engage with tamariki and rangatahi Māori, whanau, hapu and iwi in ways that demonstrate respect, enable them to safely share their service experiences, enhance the Office’s relationships with Maori and strengthen the capacity of the Development, Monitoring and Investigations Team, the Commissioner and the wider office, to promote positive practice, service and system change for Maori throughout our work

Actively support and work with team colleagues to further develop and implement, Mana Mokopuna2, the Office’s Maori principled monitoring approach

Engage effectively and respectfully with Pacific children, young people, families and communities, in ways that inform their service experiences and outcomes

Take opportunities to engage with and listen to children and young people and to promote the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCROC)

2 https://www.occ.org.nz/publications/reports/mana-mokopuna-pdf/Office of the Children’s Commissioner

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Key Accountability Areas:

Key accountabilities/expectations:

General Advisory Services and support

Provide timely and sound advice to the Manager, Monitoring – Places of Detention, the Director Development, Monitoring and Investigations, the Children’s Commissioner and/or the Office’s management team, on issues facing children and young people involved with the statutory care and protection and youth justice systems and the residential adolescent mental health system

Support the Child Rights Line Advisor with specialist child protection, youth justice and/or mental health related advice as required

Strategy And Policy Development

Contribute to the development of long-range policies and strategies for the Office, sharing expertise and knowledge freely

team and individual performance and activities

Lead and contribute to activities supporting the achievement of the overall vision and goals of the Office and the Commissioner’s priorities3

Lead and participate in the development and implementation of activities which develop overall performance of self, colleagues, team and the wider Office

Participate in peer review of own and others work, accepting feedback on own performance

Identify and act on personal development opportunities, including the Office’s Te Reo classes

Project Management and other duties as required

Manage and participate in projects and perform other duties as required

3 https://www.occ.org.nz/publications/corporate-documents/commissioner-priorities/Office of the Children’s Commissioner

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Key Relationships Internal: Director, Development, Monitoring

and Investigations Manager, Monitoring – Places of

Detention Children’s Commissioner Principal Advisor/s, DMI Monitoring team colleagues Assistant Commissioner Maori Director, Strategy, Rights and Advice SRA colleagues Manager, Communications Communications colleagues Corporate Manager Corporate Support colleagues The Office Management Team Te Roopu

External Children, young people, their families

and whanau Oranga Tamariki national office,

residential institutions, community-based care homes and service delivery sites – youth justice and care and protection

Barnardos NZ – national office and special purpose residence in Christchurch

DHBs (for the five adolescent mental health and forensic units)

Hapu, Iwi and Maori organisations Non-Government and community

stakeholders – national and local Department of Corrections – for the

MBUs in Women’s Prisons Human Rights Commission Ombudsman’s Office The new Independent Children’s

Monitor (being established by MSD) Other Government Ministries and

Departments

Qualifications/Experience Successful experience engaging with and interviewing children, young people

and families, particularly tamariki and rangatahi Maori and whanau Excellence in stakeholder engagement and relationship management with

government agencies, including Oranga Tamariki, DHBs, Department of Corrections and/or the Ministries of Health and Education

Demonstrated successful experience engaging with whanau, hapu, iwi and Maori organisations, working effectively to improve outcomes for mokopuna Maori and whanau

and with iwi, Maori and non-government organisations Successful experience with service monitoring, quality assurance and/or

investigative inquiry across the Oranga Tamariki and/or adolescent mental health systems

Strongly demonstrated analytical skills with the ability to synthesise information, draw conclusions and make recommendations. Some experience in the practice of a relevant professional discipline or in research and evaluation would be advantageous.

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Highly developed written skills including experience with succinct, clear, analytical report writing

Highly developed verbal communication skills, including excellent engagement, interview, presentation and facilitation skills.

Experience in monitoring or reviewing the design and/or implementation of policies, practices and/or services in a statutory agency or in undertaking relevant child-centred case-based or investigations, practice reviews or evaluations in a care and protection, youth justice and/or mental health setting

Strong understanding of the provisions of the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989, the Commissioner’s role as a National Preventive Mechanism in accordance with the Crimes of Torture Act 1989 and other legislation relevant to the Children’s Commissioner’s monitoring responsibilities

A strong understanding of: statutory Care and Protection and Youth Justice service provision and practice; the care and protection and youth justice residential care system; and the overall responsibilities of Oranga Tamariki

A strong understanding of: mental health services, including adolescent mental health services and/or mental health and youth forensic inpatient units

Tertiary qualification in social work, mental health or another relevant discipline with a strong professional practice background and/or strong evidence of equivalent experience relating to children’s services, rights, interests and welfare.

Experience and skill in conducting investigations into sensitive matters, analysing findings and writing succinct, clear reports

A well-developed understanding of the range of services and programmes available to vulnerable children and young people and their families and whanau, including social sector and mental health services

Knowledge of statutory and public service processes and experience in the interpretation and application of legislation

Special Requirements Teamwork: able to work independently when required while also thriving in a

collaborative team context where many activities are carried out collectively by members of the team; skill and ability in leading and facilitating discussions and activities within a team context

A commitment to professional learning and development, including engagement with the Office’s Treaty of Waitangi cultural learning and development journey

Enjoys multi-tasking and the stimulation of a varied and busy work programme Willing to travel frequently for several days at a time, including flying between

locations, to fulfil job requirements Welcomes and values diversity, and contributes to an inclusive working

environment where differences are acknowledged and respected Holds current driver’s licence and is prepared to drive vehicles for work purposes

when required

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