Closing date: Thursday 22 October 2026
Te Hautū Kahurangi | Tertiary Education Union (TEU) is the union for people working across tertiary education in Aotearoa. Our purpose is simple: together we make workers’ lives better. We are a strong, democratic organisation that takes collective action on our members’ professional, political and industrial aspirations, and we are committed to Te Tiriti o Waitangi in how we organise, bargain, campaign and govern ourselves.
Mō te tūranga | About the role
Te Pou Tuarā is a critical leadership role. Your job is to support, grow and challenge TEU to realise our Te Tiriti commitments, both inside the union and across the tertiary education sector. You will bring a te ao Māori perspective to all our work, with a particular focus on growing Māori membership and making sure the aspirations of Māori members shape what we do.
Reporting to the National Secretary, you will:
• Be a key source of advice to the National Secretary, National Presidents and senior leaders on upholding Te Tiriti, and on making our co-governed council work well
• Lead the development of TEU tikanga, and work alongside our kaumātua to advise staff on te reo me ōna tikanga.
• Help union leaders and staff build strong, lasting relationships with iwi, hapū, iwi organisations and Māori leaders in the sector.
• Work with TEU leadership in the three wānanga, and help develop our advocacy and membership strategy for the wānanga sector.
• Work with our industrial, campaigns, policy, education and communications teams to improve outcomes for Māori staff and wāhine Māori, from collective agreement claims to campaigns, submissions and member education.
• Represent TEU’s kaupapa Māori work with the CTU, Te Rūnanga and the wider union movement.
Ko wai koe? | About you
You are someone who can walk confidently in te ao Māori and in the union movement, and bring the two together. You will have:
• Fluency in te reo Māori, and a deep understanding of tikanga and te ao Māori
• Knowledge of, and a real passion for, unions and collective action, including how workers build power together
• Strong critical thinking skills. You can work through complex issues, see what they mean for Māori and for Te Tiriti, and give clear, well-reasoned advice, even when it challenges us
• Excellent relationship-building skills, and the ability to earn trust with members, staff, kaumātua, iwi and sector leaders
• Confidence advising senior leaders, and the ability to offer both awhi and challenge.
Experience in tertiary education, wānanga or the union movement would be a bonus.
He aha ngā painga | What we offer
• $102,930- 120,548 dependent on skills and experience
• 26 days of annual leave
• Wellbeing allowance and other benefits
• The chance to shape how a national union lives Te Tiriti, alongside people who care deeply about fairness at work.
Me pēhea te tono | How to apply
Send your application to amanda.hickman@teu.ac.nz
Applications close 5.00pm Thursday 22 October 2026.
For a copy of the position description, or for a confidential kōrero about the role, contact Amy Ross at amy.ross@teu.ac.nz or 0272778126
Contact person: Amanda Hickman