Head of People & Culture

MinterEllison; Melbourne; On-site; AUD 180,000 - 260,000; Full time

Job summary

Minter Ellison is looking for a Head of People and Culture to shape the ICP Line of Business workforce strategy and culture. You will partner with senior leaders to build inclusive, high-performing teams, influence talent strategy, and lead the People & Culture function in a dynamic, AI-enabled environment.

The role emphasizes capability building, workforce analytics, and risk-aware leadership, with a focus on aligning business needs with people initiatives across the firm.

Qualifications

• Significant strategic HR leadership experience in a professional services firm or complex corporate environment.
• Experience delivering organisational design, change management and workforce planning initiatives with measurable outcomes.
• Experience leading and developing a high-performing HR, People & Culture or talent team.
• Strong analytical and commercial capability translating workforce data into actionable recommendations.

Responsibilities

• Develop rolling resource plan linking capability, succession and capacity with ICP strategy.
• Lead and develop the ICP People & Culture team and contribute to Talent Strategic Plan.
• Advise on organisational design, role architecture, and leadership pipelines.
• Oversee partner admissions, lateral hiring and remuneration cycles.
• Coach leaders through difficult people decisions and workplace risks.
• Lead organisational change and responsible AI adoption with clear guardrails and follow-through.

Skills

Strategic HR leadership

Organisational design

Change management

Workforce planning

People analytics

Education

Postgraduate qualification in HR/Business/Psychology

Job description

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MinterEllison is one of Australia’s largest independent law and consulting firms. With a heritage of almost 200 years, we are known for our excellence, and our authentic and enduring relationships with our clients, our people and our communities. Clients seek out MinterEllison to help them solve complex problems every day. We do this by our full-service legal offering and complementary consulting offering.

We offer opportunities to work on industry-leading mandates for top-tier clients, while being part of a high-performing and collaborative team that values excellence, diversity of thought, curiosity, and inclusion. We value our people and empower them to achieve their ambitions - with the support, trust and autonomy to grow their careers in meaningful ways.

At MinterEllison, we're leading the way with AI and other emerging technologies, powering innovation right across our firm. You will have the opportunity to engage with AI tools we've built, and other external AI tools, to enhance efficiencies and excellence internally and with our clients.

Our People & Culture team plays an important role in translating MinterEllison’s firm strategy into the leadership, capability and workforce outcomes that enable our people and practices to thrive.

We are seeking a Head of People and Culture to lead the people and culture strategy for our Infrastructure, Construction and Property (ICP) Line of Business. Working closely with the ICP Managing Partner, Business Unit leaders and other senior stakeholders, you will help ensure the Line of Business has the capability, capacity, culture and ways of working required to respond to a complex and rapidly changing market.

This is a senior strategic partnering role with the opportunity to influence workforce priorities, leadership capability, organisational design, talent pipelines, change adoption and the responsible use of AI. You will also lead and develop the ICP People & Culture team and contribute to broader Talent and firm-wide priorities.

Your Role

As Head of People and Culture, you will turn business strategy into practical, evidence-based people initiatives. You will provide trusted advice to senior leaders, anticipate workforce risks and opportunities, and support leaders to build high-performing, inclusive and psychologically safe teams.

Your key responsibilities will include:

• Developing a rolling resource plan that connects capability, succession and capacity with the ICP strategy and market outlook, using workforce analytics to identify emerging risks and actionable scenarios.
• Leading and developing the ICP People & Culture team, while contributing to the Talent Strategic Plan, ICP priorities and knowledge-sharing across the broader People & Culture function.
• Advising senior stakeholders on organisational design, role architecture, talent pipelines, succession and leadership transitions.
• Supporting partner admissions, lateral hiring and remuneration processes, while overseeing the accurate and timely delivery of performance, remuneration and recruitment cycles.
• Coaching partners and leaders through complex people decisions, workplace risks and difficult conversations, strengthening leadership capability and supporting defensible outcomes.
• Leading organisational change and the responsible adoption of AI by combining clear communication, practical use cases, appropriate guardrails, leader coaching and sustained follow-through.

We welcome applications from experienced People & Culture leaders who can combine commercial judgement, strategic workforce expertise and genuine care for people.

You will bring:

• Significant strategic HR leadership experience in a professional services firm, global partnership or similarly complex corporate environment, together with a track record of influencing senior leaders.
• Demonstrated experience delivering organisational design, change management and workforce planning initiatives that produced measurable business outcomes.
• Experience leading and developing a high-performing HR, People & Culture or talent team.
• Strong analytical and commercial capability, with the ability to translate workforce information, ambiguity and competing priorities into clear recommendations and practical action.
• Sound experience managing employee relations, psychosocial risks and workplace matters fairly, promptly and through defensible processes, alongside a commitment to inclusive and psychologically safe leadership.
• A postgraduate qualification, or equivalent, in Human Resources, Business, Psychology or a related discipline, plus exposure to or a strong interest in the property, infrastructure and construction sectors.

This role will suit someone energised by shaping how leadership groups think and act, building capability that lasts, and helping an organisation navigate change without losing sight of commercial performance or people’s wellbeing.

We encourage applications from people of all ages, abilities, cultural backgrounds, genders (including trans or gender diverse), LGBTQ+ people and those with carer responsibilities. We particularly encourage Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to apply.

If you would like further information, require any adjustments throughout the recruitment process or for a confidential discussion, please contact [e-mail].