Youth Co-designer

Want to help co-design a project that makes a difference for young people?

If gambling has touched your life in any way and you understand how it affects young people, that's lived experience. We value this as expertise.

We need you

Bring your unique perspective and lived experience of gambling and digital harm to co-design programme prototypes that will be rolled out in 2026 as part of the Problem Gambling Foundation's Rangatahi toolkit.

Youth Gambling Harm Prevention Project

The Problem Gambling Foundation | Summer | 4 positions

What's this about?

We're not making another pamphlet that gets binned at Uni.

We're building something new and real, designed BY young people, FOR young people who are affected by gambling and digital activities– whether it affects them, their mates, or someone in their whānau.

We're recruiting a small, purpose-driven team working with The Problem Gambling Foundation (PGF) in Tāmaki Makaurau to co-design a youth gambling and digital harm support service(s).

You'll work in-person, online, on-site, WFH and in your neighbourhood to gather insights and feedback from other young people on gambling and digital harm and what support could look like. You'll then co-lab with the PGF team to develop prototypes of what support could look like and check these with your network.

This is real 'doing for good' mahi that will be shaped by young people for young people.

What we mean by 'lived experience'

You don't need to have a gambling addiction or be in recovery.

Lived experience means you've seen or felt the impact of gambling in your world:

• Maybe you've gambled yourself (pokies, online betting, sportsbet, loot boxes, etc.)

• Maybe someone close to you gambles - a mate, family member, or whānau

• Maybe you've witnessed how gambling affects people's money, relationships, mental health, or sense of identity

• Maybe you've watched someone you care about struggle with it, or experienced the losses that come with gambling harm

What this role is NOT: You won't be counselling anyone or in a peer support role. Your job is to listen, understand, and design - running short interviews and mini workshops to gather genuine insights about what young people actually want and need.

Who we're looking for:

You are:

• 18-22 yrs

• Available 25 hrs/wk Nov Mar2026 (summer break)

• Reliable, committed, and genuinely keen to be part of a dynamic team

• Comfortable sharing your perspective and creating safe spaces for others

• Authentic and outgoing - able to connect with all walks of life

• A curious thinker who questions "how it's always been done"

• Ready to learn new skills (design thinking, workshop facilitation, insights generation)

• Comfortable on camera and social media savvy

• Confident with both online and face-to-face work

• Able to work collaboratively while bringing your unique perspective

You've got:

• Energy, empathy, and ability to connect with diverse people

• A curiosity for finding out what young people actually need and want (not what 'experts' assume they need)

• The confidence to share your story and facilitate conversations

• A genuine drive to make a change

What we offer you

• Living Wage remuneration (25hrs/wk) - your time and expertise matter
• Tech Pack - proper tools to do the mahi
• Real-world experience in co-design, service design, workshop facilitation, insights research, project collaboration, and youth engagement
• A supportive team who gets it - PGF staff, clinical advisors, and fellow youth peers
• Professional references
• Real work experience that looks great on your CV
• The chance to create something that genuinely helps people like you

If you would like the opportunity to apply for this role, please go to our website at Calling Young Co-designers for a Youth Gambling Harm…
• PGF Services to apply and download the job description.Our website outlines the step-by-step to make an application as we do not require a CV for this role.