We loved the past couple of days gathering with youth workers from all over the country for the bi-annual youth workers conference, @Involve and this year it was at the amazing Te Pae Christchurch Convention Centre. Challenging speakers, conversations, connections and encouragement. We even got to host part of the pre-Involve tour, showcasing young people from Amplify School of Music, gave them and good feed with Empire Chicken and then down to He Puna Taimoana. Special week!
Youth Development Team Lead – Make a Lasting Impact! Location: Grace Vineyard Beach Campus, New Brighton, Christchurch Hours: Permanent, 30–35 hours/week (includes some evenings & weekends) Salary: $60,249 – $72,537 FTE (pro rata)
Do you have a heart for young people and a passion for leadership? Are you looking to lead a dynamic team making a real difference in the lives of tamariki and rangatahi in our local community? If so, this is the opportunity for you!
About the Role:
Youth Alive Trust is on the lookout for a highly motivated and experienced Youth Development Team Lead to oversee our youth development programmes. You’ll be guiding a passionate team of youth workers, designing high-quality, evidence-informed programmes, and fostering strong relationships with community partners.
Your leadership will ensure our mahi continues to reflect our Christian values, uphold Te Tiriti o Waitangi, and follow best practice youth development work principles.
Why Join Us?
Faith-aligned mission: We’re a Christian trust with a deep commitment to transforming young lives.
Community rooted: Based in beautiful New Brighton, serving the east of Christchurch since 1989.
Culturally grounded: We embrace te ao Māori and foster inclusive and respectful engagement.
Team culture: A fun, relational environment that values trust, servant leadership, and professional growth.
Sector aligned pay and monthly external supervision provided.
You’ll Be Responsible For:
Leading, supervising, and mentoring a team of youth workers and interns
Overseeing and developing high-quality youth development programmes and events
Building trusted relationships with rangatahi, whānau, schools, and community partners
Managing programme administration, compliance, and reporting
Promoting a culture of excellence, inclusion, and cultural safety
We’re Looking For:
A minimum of 3 years’ experience in youth development or a related field
Proven experience leading a team
A commitment to the Christian faith and values
Strong interpersonal skills and understanding of youth development principles
Cultural competence and a willingness to learn te reo Māori and tikanga Māori
A relevant Level 6+ qualification (preferred) and a full NZ driver’s license
It’s the beginning of Week 3, and it’s still not too late to sign up to one of our many clubs, for all age groups! Abnormally, but this term there is space at Kitchen Klub, where young people in School Years 5-8 make and bake delicious food, that they then get to eat! Every Tuesday from 4:00pm – 5:30pm. Check it out:
Everyone is invited to join us to support our awesome students performing their hearts out on the big stage in a wide variety of Amplify Bands! Saturday 2nd August from 2pm- 4pm at A Rolling Stone, 579 Colombo Street, Christchurch Central City. Free Entry!
Registrations for all our programmes are LIVE for Term 3!! (& Term 4 if keen). Weekly clubs begin on Week 1, starting Monday 14th July. All club plans, brochures and online registration links for Term 3 are on our website.
Free Tickets will be advertised via our social media and website too.
Feedback
We appreciate any feedback on our programmes and have a short general parents feedback survey you can complete anytime. As positive comments made are also really helpful for us when applying for funding:
It begins! Five action packed days of Holiday Programmes over 3 different age groups led by an amazing group of staff and volunteers! There are still spots available in every age, so find out more at: www.yat.org.nz
Amplify School of Music in New Brighton is hosting a series of Music Workshops – keyboard, guitar, electric guitar, stage performance and more!
The workshops for youth (school year 3 and up) – first week of the school holidays.
Something for everyone so head over to our website and book in for some crazy musical fun! Here is the line-up:
Monday – Electric Guitar Workshops – bring your guitar and your pedals (don’t worry if you haven’t got any yet!) and let’s explore the world or electric guitar (workshops for both beginners and intermediate/advanced)
Tuesday – Beginner Keyboard Workshops – get some handy tips from our tutors on how to get started on the keys (keyboards provided – bring your own headphones)
Wednesday – Singer/Songwriter workshops – whether you need help with something you are already working on, or you would like help with how to get started, or you just love singing, let’s explore our voices!
Thursday – Beginner Guitar Workshops – get some handy tips on how to get started on the acoustic guitar (guitars provided)
Friday – RISE and RISEJr. – combine singing and dancing to create a performance piece and then perform it for our in-house holiday programme and your nearest and dearest!
It’s going to be an action-packed week full of beautiful music – don’t miss out!!
We were so inspired by this video from last nights Neurodiversity Seminar – we hope you are too!
“Across history there has been a tendency for human beings to fear our differences. To equate difference with defectiveness, or even label our differences as disorders. We think that it is time for us to rethink the way we view our differences. We think that it is time for us to recognise that difference represents diversity, and this diversity is vital to our collective wellbeing. The more genetic diversity there is among us, the better we are able to continually adapt to our environment, as it changes and evolves…
Humans think, feel, perceive, process, and experience the world in vastly different ways. This beautiful diversity of human minds with infinite variations, traits, and abilities is known as neurodiversity.
There are minds that sense the most subtle changes in the environment. Minds that have a determined sense of social justice and minds that can create stories in worlds that most of us can only read about. There are minds that seek patterns to process and synthesise. There are minds that crave words, or numbers, or images. There are busy minds, and quiet minds, highly focused minds, and distractable minds. There are minds that think deeply, and feel intensely.
When we value neurodiversity as a form of genetic diversity as part of the biodiversity of planet earth, we start to value our differences, and see that they do not require curing, treating or masking. We see that our differences can be accepted, appreciated and respected. We start to support each other to find a place in this world, and flourish as individuals, while increasing the resilience of humanity as a whole!”
