Communications / Digital storyteller

Role: Communications / Digital storyteller 

Rate: $50 per hour

Commitment: PT Fixed Term Contract (25h p/week)

Length: 6-month contract and then a rate and JD review for a permanent contract

Location: Hybrid / remote

AI do’s and don’t’s: We do not use LLM’s or Generative AI and where ever possible choose software that allows us to disengage or turn these features off. You will need to be comfortable with completing tasks using traditional methods. We do utilise technology to allow us to work flexibly and remotely, so computer literacy is a requirement of the role.

Te Kaupapa:

Tāhono Trust (formerly Inclusive Aotearoa Collective) is an organisation working to connect and empower communities across Aotearoa me Te Waipounamu.

We support and deliver social cohesion efforts across the country through facilitation, education, connection, administration, partnerships, and our Belonging Conversations research project.

Our work is centred on honouring and upholding Te Tiriti o Waitangi, which is essential in forging an authentically inclusive future for our country.

Te Taiao:

Our vision is of an Aotearoa me Te Waipouamu where everyone has a place to belong, leaving discrimination, racism, and prejudice in the past. It is a vision where everybody’s mana is recognised and respected, regardless of one’s background. It is a vision of upholding Te Tiriti, recognising tino rangatiratanga and supporting the rights and tikanga of tangata whenua.

Our mission is to build a social movement of people, organisations, and communities nationwide to achieve this vision.

Our values:

• Support others to grow and thrive: we work together with others and place community aspirations for their futures front and centre.

• Support Tino rangatiratanga: we work in ways that support Tino rangatiratanga and Māori self-determination, and normalise Te Reo Māori and tikanga Māori.

• Act with integrity: we do the right thing, we deliver on our promises. We are open about our decisions and actions, and own them. We learn from our mistakes with curiosity and humility.

What you can expect from us:

• We make decisions by consensus, while prioritising lived experience

• We flatten hierarchy or are clear on its parametres where kawanatanga requires it

• We ask who traditionally holds power, and who traditionally gets silenced when navigating decisions and allocating resource

• We are committed to digital data sovereignty and do not engage with LLM or Generative A.I where ever possible

• We don’t go into spaces alone (there will be a tangata whenua and a tauiwi voice with rare exceptions when culturally appropriate)

• We support each others learning journeys

• We prioritise family over mahi

• We communicate often, and are committed to communicating well 

• We respond to the needs of our kaimahi and their communities 

• We protect each others mana, and the mana of the stories we hold 

• We encourage adaptive and accessible ways of working 

• We pay people for their time and don’t expect them to volunteer their expertise 

• We prioritise doing the mahi well and sustainably

• We consider it good to be a moving target and continuously ask what we can do better

• We are careful with our capacity to avoid over commitment

• We know we will make mistakes and are committed to owning them with humility

The Opportunity:

Our small tīma delivers a varied body of work across several projects nationwide. Because we work with communities across the motu, it is crucial for us to have a strong external presence so that our diverse audiences, networks and stakeholders can easily engage with the resources, ideas, stories, and opportunities that we share. 

This is an opportunity to become the mouthpiece of our mahi: rallying hope, promoting local causes, advocating for belonging, sharing wins, and developing strong relationships with organisations and people across the motu and the web. A desire to connect through clear, accessible, creative communication is key to ensuring that the niche role that we play in uplifting communities maintains visibility.

Through our work we are gifted with a rich depository of stories which are trusted to our project, and these stories deserve to breathe on an active, encouraging forum. We are seeking someone passionate about storytelling, specifically in the art of weaving diverse personal experiences into the broader narrative of events, affairs, and discourse within Aotearoa. The aim of this storytelling is to help people understand why belonging and inclusion matters, and how it can be strengthened locally and nationwide.

The role is part time, and is an independent contractor role based on an hourly rate assuming 25 hours per week at $50 per hour (+GST if applicable). The contract has an anticipated start date of mid April.

This role will include:

• Developing a communications strategy to effectively externalise our work and the importance of belonging and inclusion to social cohesion

• Delivering on that strategy through social media content plans, email newsletters, our website, and any other platforms agreed upon in the strategy

• Designing visual collateral for the organisation (powerpoints, fliers, infographics, etc.)

• General copywriting

• Developing press releases and engagement with media

• Amplifying projects/initiatives/opportunities taking place in communities across the motu that support an inclusive Aotearoa

• Organising and running webinars

• Campaign development

This role could include:

• Securing opportunities for team members or board members to speak at conferences, participate in panels, and appear on media platforms.

• Accountability reports

• Funding applications

• Developing submissions

• Coordinating audio/visual content like podcasts and short videos for different projects

• Maintaining relationships and bodies of work with partner organisations and groups  

The other tasks we’re recruiting for:  

• Financial data entry

• Payment scheduling

• Secretarial contact and outreach

• General and event specific project administration 

We encourage you to let your CV speak to your work experience, and share with us in your cover letter why the work of belonging and inclusion is important to you.