Head of People and Culture
- Location:
- South Yarra, Victoria, Australia
- Posted:
- 4th August 2026
- Advertiser:
- Hays - ANZ - 3011264
- Lead an established people function
- Influence business-wide decisions
- Drive capability and performance
Your new company
This well-established and highly successful Australian business operates across multiple states and has built a strong reputation within its sector. With a clear vision, experienced leadership team and a proven track record of success, the organisation continues to perform strongly and is focused on maintaining its positive trajectory. As part of an ongoing investment in leadership capability, organisational effectiveness and people practices, an opportunity now exists for an experienced Head of People & Culture to lead the function and ensure the business has the capability, structure and leadership required for continued success.
Your new role
Reporting to the Managing Director, you will lead the People & Culture function and provide commercial, pragmatic advice across a broad range of people and organisational matters. Importantly, this is not a greenfield HR opportunity. The people function is established, the business strategy is clear, and the foundations are already in place. The focus of this role is execution. You will be responsible for embedding initiatives, coaching leaders, strengthening capability, managing organisational risk and ensuring the People & Culture function consistently delivers outcomes that support business performance.
-
Leading the People & Culture function across the business
-
Executing and embedding people initiatives aligned to business objectives
-
Driving workforce planning and organisational capability outcomes
-
Coaching leaders to build confidence, capability and accountability
-
Leading complex employee and industrial relations matters
-
Managing people-related risk, compliance and governance
-
Overseeing payroll governance and compliance frameworks
-
Developing and refining people policies, processes and frameworks
-
Using workforce insights and data to support business decision-making
-
Leading and developing the HR Manager while setting standards and expectations across the function
This role will suit a commercially minded HR leader who enjoys driving outcomes, influencing stakeholders, building capability and turning plans into action.
What you'll need to succeed
-
Significant experience leading a People & Culture or Human Resources function
-
Experience within construction, property, infrastructure, manufacturing or a similarly operational environment is essential
-
Strong employee relations, industrial relations and employment law expertise
-
Experience partnering with senior leaders in operational environments
-
Demonstrated success coaching and developing leaders
-
Experience driving workforce planning, organisational capability and people performance outcomes
-
Strong commercial acumen and sound business judgement
-
Exceptional stakeholder management and influencing skills
-
The ability to navigate complex people matters with confidence and pragmatism
-
A hands-on, solutions-focused approach with a strong bias for action
Most importantly, you will be someone who takes ownership, follows through and delivers. You are comfortable operating autonomously, focus on practical outcomes over theory and enjoy helping leaders and businesses perform at their best.
What you'll get in return
-
Opportunity to lead a business-critical function
-
Significant influence across workforce and organisational decisions
-
High levels of autonomy, ownership and visibility
-
A broad role covering leadership, capability, governance and business partnering
-
The opportunity to strengthen and mature an already established function
-
A collaborative leadership team that values practical thinking and execution
-
Exposure to complex and commercially significant people challenges
-
Attractive executive-level remuneration package
What you need to do now
If you're interested in this role, click 'apply now' to forward an up-to-date copy of your CV to nicola.jones@hays.com.au, or call us now.
If this job isn't quite right for you, but you are looking for a new position, please contact us for a confidential discussion about your career.
