A Consultancy Founded on & Guided by Te Ao Māori
Recruitment
Temp, permanent, and executive placements
Personal Brand & Career Coaching
Build visibility and navigate your career pathway
Diversity & Inclusion Consulting
Build inclusive workplaces for diverse talent
Ko Wai Mātou?
Mana Mahi is a tikanga led consultancy comprising Māori and Pacific consultants, specialising in recruitment, personal brand and career pathway coaching, and diversity and inclusion consulting. We bring a culturally-centred approach to our work, grounded in the values of manaaki (care and support), whanaungatanga (building relationships) and pono (integrity) — ensuring that we deliver our services with a heart of service to benefit everyone we work with.
At Mana Mahi we bring over two decades of expertise across HR, organisational development, and recruitment, spanning the full spectrum from graduate programmes and specialist roles through to senior leadership, executive, and governance appointments. Our consultants are Māori and Pacific, and we bring that lived experience and cultural grounding to every engagement — working with all peoples and all organisations.
Our experience extends across sectors including legal, engineering, construction, science, health, education and supporting our people doing the mahi within Māori entities, iwi, hapū, trusts, and Pacific community organisations.
Our Services
Recruitment
Our recruitment services are grounded in Ao Māori values and a commitment to mana-enhancing outcomes.
- •Temporary Placements: Short-term and contract roles
- •Permanent Appointments: Full spectrum from graduate to specialist roles
- •Executive Appointments: Senior leadership, executive, and governance appointments
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Personal Brand & Career Coaching
Your personal brand is how you're seen, remembered, and connected in the market. We help you strengthen your position, build visibility, and navigate your career pathway.
We support individuals to grow their confidence and sense of belonging in professional spaces, while staying connected to who they are and the people around them. Our goal is to help individuals step forward with clarity and courage, enabling meaningful contribution for themselves, their whānau, and their communities.
- •Digital presence audit across all platforms
- •Personal brand strategy aligned with your values and aspirations
- •Career pathway coaching and strategic guidance
- •Professional profile writing and LinkedIn optimization
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Diversity & Inclusion Consulting
We partner with businesses to build inclusive workplaces, providing consultation and support for organisations wanting to strengthen their diversity and inclusion practices.
- •System design audit
- •Organisational readiness assessment for diverse talent
- •Employer Value Proposition (EVP) development
- •Culturally aligned recruitment processes and systems
- •Workforce design and inclusive hiring practices
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Our Clients
Trusted by leading organisations across Aotearoa
Meet the Team
Junelle Kunin
NGĀI TE RANGI | NGĀTI PŪKENGA | NGĀTI TŪWHARETOA | NGĀTI TOA
Kaiwhakahaere Matua | CEO
Junelle Kunin brings two decades of experience across recruitment, workforce planning, personal brand, and career coaching. Her work sits at the intersection of identity, visibility, and opportunity, supporting people to navigate professional pathways with confidence and integrity.
Born and raised in Rotorua and now based in Auckland, Junelle's whakapapa is Ngāi Te Rangi, Ngāti Pūkenga, and Ngāti Tūwharetoa. Her lived experience moving between cultural and professional environments shapes a practice grounded in care, cultural responsibility, and whaka mana.
Alongside her core mahi, Junelle has worked in high trust, high visibility contexts, including supporting international tours and public engagements for The Dalai Lama. She later spearheaded and executive produced Inner World, the Dalai Lama's debut musical work, which reached number one on the Billboard charts. This experience informs her work around personal brand, narrative, and the responsibility that comes with being seen.
Driven by equity and wellbeing, Junelle is committed to creating pathways where people can step forward as themselves and thrive.
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Angela Reddy
WAIKATO TAINUI | FIJIAN INDIAN
Kaitohutohu Mātāmua | Principal Consultant
Angela brings close to two decades of experience across recruitment in both agency and in house settings. Her recent mahi has focused on internal diagnostics and recruitment transformation, supporting organisations to examine how their systems, practices, and environments enable or limit authentic attraction, retention, and progression of Māori talent.
Born and raised in West Auckland, Angela works at the intersection of organisational practice and Te Ao Māori. She specialises in supporting workplaces that are seeking to embark on or deepen their Te Ao Māori journey, weaving cultural integrity into recruitment and workforce practices in ways that are relational, inclusive, and mana enhancing.
Her work is diagnostic, strategic, and transformational. This includes supporting organisations with employer value propositions for Māori talent, culturally aligned role design and advertising, recruitment systems and processes, interview and selection practices, and onboarding approaches such as mihi whakatau. Angela is particularly skilled at navigating complex internal environments, diplomatically bridging worlds to support safer spaces and stronger pathways for Māori kaimahi.
Driven by equity and inclusion, Angela is deeply committed to mahi that creates meaningful opportunity and supports Māori and Pacific people to thrive.
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Aretha Kimitaunga
WAIKATO TAINUI | NGAATI APAKURA | NGAATI NAHO
Kaitaritari Kaimahi Mātāmua | Senior Recruitment Consultant
Aretha brings a deep commitment to tikanga Māori and a strong background in recruitment to her role as Senior Recruitment Consultant at Mana Mahi. Her whakapapa is Waikato Tainui, Ngāati Apakura, and Ngāati Naho, and she brings that cultural grounding into every aspect of her mahi.
A particular strength of Aretha's is her ability to weave tikanga Māori into recruitment practices — helping organisations attract and retain talent in ways that are culturally grounded, authentic, and deeply human. She is skilled at creating spaces where candidates feel seen, valued, and supported throughout the recruitment journey.
Aretha is driven by a genuine desire to see people thrive in roles that align with their values and aspirations, and to support organisations in building workplaces where all people can belong.
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Daphne Bisset
KO HOKU FAMILI MEI VAVA'U TONGA
Personal Brand Coach | Talent Specialist
Born and raised in Auckland, Daphne is a first-generation Kiwi of Tongan and German heritage, with family roots in Vavaʻu, Tonga. Her experience navigating different cultures and environments has shaped an approach grounded in awareness, adaptability, and connection.
Daphne brings a background in technology recruitment, talent operations, and leadership, with experience across complex, high-growth, and regulated environments — including financial services, eCommerce, and engineering. She has supported the delivery of hard-to-fill and business-critical roles, while enhancing the systems and practices that underpin effective hiring.
Her mahi focuses on supporting people to navigate career direction and professional positioning with clarity and intention. This includes personal brand coaching and helping individuals articulate their value and present themselves powerfully across LinkedIn and other professional platforms.
Daphne has a genuine heart for empowering people — especially in aligning their mahi and brand with who they are, their values, and what drives them.
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Our Approach
What sets Mana Mahi apart is our Ao Māori informed approach that centres people, relationships, and wellbeing, benefiting all walks of life. Coming from cultures grounded in connection and collective responsibility, we naturally weave this way of thinking into the mahi we do.
Our way of working is grounded in relationship, care, and shared understanding. Whether supporting individuals through career transitions, helping organisations build inclusive workplaces, or bringing businesses the best talent, we bring nearly two decades of expertise across HR, organisational development, recruitment, and personal brand and career coaching.
We deliver our services with a heart of service to benefit all walks of life, grounded in the values of manaaki (care and support) and whanaungatanga (building relationships).
Our experience extends across sectors including high performance sports, financial services, legal, engineering, construction, science, health, education and supporting our people doing the mahi within Māori entities, iwi, hapū, and trusts.
Our approach is designed to be mana enhancing and future focused. We take into account the environment, the stakeholders involved, and any cultural, organisational, or relational nuance that needs to be held. This includes careful consideration of iwi dynamics, organisational context, and the responsibility that comes with operating in spaces of high trust and high mana.
What Our Clients Say
"I know Junelle's motivation is very sincere and she wants to help people, especially those who have difficulties, so I am always in support of her. I've said many times, I trust her."
The Dalai Lama
"I have been so happy with the ongoing hiring Junelle does for us. What a great sense she has in terms of matching the required skills with the values and culture of our organisation."
Andrea Taimana
Founder & Chief Science Officer
Nooku te honore - I have had the pleasure of working closely with Junelle for several years. Junelle has been a valuable partner to Plant & Food Research in the field of recruitment, demonstrating a staunch commitment towards finding the 'sweet spot' between our organisation and potential candidates.
Tauawhiawhi - What has truly impressed me about Junelle is her unwavering focus on delivering results. With each recruitment project, she has demonstrated a commitment to mutual success and partnership, taking the time to understand our organisation's unique needs and priorities. This has consistently resulted in successful, long-term appointments of staff that have greatly contributed to Plant & Food Research's growth and success in partnering with Māori.
Ngaio Māori - Moreover, we have invited Junelle to look under the hood at our business, and her insights have proven to be invaluable. She has shown herself to be an insightful and a trusted strategic business partner to Plant & Food Research, providing us with expert advice and utilises her networks to attract highly skilled Māori in a highly competitive market.
He Wahine Maaia - It has been my pleasure to work with Junelle she has exceptional skills, experience, and dedication to finding the best possible fit for both the organisation and the candidate. We have fostered a strong relationship with Mana Mahi and I am highly selective about who we welcome in and Junelle has been welcomed into the Plant & Food Research whānau and when we welcome/pōwhiri new recruits she is sitting shoulder to shoulder with us. In turn, we are so fortunate that she has chosen us.
Nui rawa atu tōnāā mānawa ki te tangata, he wahine māhorahora, he wahine atawhai.
Stacey Whitiora
Chief Indigenous Innovation & Partnerships Officer
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"As a candidate Junelle's infectious positivity made all our interactions a great experience which was enhanced by how Te ao Māori was weaved throughout the process. At every step I felt well informed, supported and empowered. Junelle was able to match me with a kaupapa Māori role that aligned with my interest, aspirations with an organisation and industry that is contributing to a smart green future for Aotearoa."
Te Aroha Jana Anderson
Senior Advisor Māori Co-Innovation
"Junelle's interpersonal skills are exceptional. I couldn't be more pleased with her mahi, she has a beautiful nature and understood what I was looking for and paired those with a business that suited my values, work-life balance and supported my career goals. She was highly efficient, and produced a really ideal outcome. Junelle eased a lot of stress for me and I felt well looked after in her more than capable hands."
Waiora Goulton
Accountant
Tautoko - It is my absolute privilege to tautoko the mahi of Junelle Kunin of Mana Mahi for any recruitment role. Junelle's mahi is deeply grounded in Te Ao Māori, guided by tikanga, and enriched by her unwavering commitment to manaakitanga, whanaungatanga, and kotahitanga. Her approach to recruitment is not only meticulous and accountable but also uniquely transformative and mana-enhancing.
Tikanga-led - Junelle's tikanga-led processes ensure inclusivity and respect, creating safe spaces for all involved. Her ability to build meaningful connections through whakawhanaungatanga sets her apart, ensuring her work is not transactional but deeply relational. Her methods are detailed and methodical, yet her ability to tailor them in innovative and culturally relevant ways makes her mahi unique and impactful.
Tūāpono - I wholeheartedly recommend Junelle for any recruitment mahi. Her expertise, values, and distinctive approach will enrich and elevate any kaupapa she is part of.
Andrew Te Whaiti
General Manager Māori Strategy & Engagement
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