Head of People & Culture - Geelong

The Next Step Recruitment; Melbourne; On-site; AUD 180,000 - 280,000; Full time

Job summary

The Next Step Recruitment is seeking an experienced, commercially minded People & Culture leader for a high-growth, purpose-led organisation with ~600 staff and contractors. Based in Geelong, the role combines strategic leadership with hands-on execution to scale people infrastructure for rapid growth and acquisitions.

You will shape the people strategy, build scalable systems, and lead a P&C team across multiple sites, including offshore operations, while reporting to the executive leadership

Qualifications

• Proven success leading People & Culture initiatives in high-growth, multi-site organisations.
• Entrepreneurial mindset with ability to build scalable solutions in evolving environments.
• Experience supporting acquisitions, integration programs or major change initiatives.
• Strong systems capability in HR tech, processes and data-driven decision making.

Responsibilities

• Develop and drive the first year of a three-year P&C strategy for a rapidly growing organisation.
• Partner with senior leaders to set strategic workforce priorities across sites.
• Design scalable onboarding and integration models for acquisitions.
• Lead transformation initiatives aligned with rapid growth and acquisitions.
• Embed performance management across multiple business units and offshore teams.

Skills

Leadership

Change management

Acquisitions

HR technology

Data analytics

Stakeholder engagement

Offshore teams

Workforce planning

Strategic thinking

Job description

A unique opportunity has arisen for an experienced and commercially minded People & Culture leader to join a purpose-led organisation experiencing significant growth across multiple sectors. With a workforce of approximately 600 employees and contractors across Australia and offshore locations, the business is on an exciting path of expansion through acquisition, with a long-term vision to scale substantially over the coming years.

This is a rare opportunity to shape and execute the people strategy within a complex, entrepreneurial environment where growth, transformation and innovation are front and centre. We're looking for a People & Culture leader who thinks like a founder, acts like a builder, and can create the people infrastructure required to support rapid organisational growth.

The Opportunity

Reporting directly to the executive leadership team, this role carries a dual mandate: providing strategic leadership across People & Culture while ensuring operational excellence across a geographically dispersed workforce. Initially offered as a 12-month fixed-term contract with a completion bonus, the role is expected to evolve into a permanent executive-level position, with a clear pathway toward a future Chief People Officer appointment. Based in Geelong, you will play a pivotal role in building people frameworks, integrating acquired businesses, developing offshore capability, and creating scalable systems that support rapid organisational growth.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and execute the first year of a broader three-year People & Culture strategy
• Partner with senior leaders to establish strategic workforce and people priorities
• Design and implement a scalable acquisition onboarding and integration model
• Lead organisational change initiatives associated with rapid growth and business acquisitions
• Implement and embed performance management frameworks across multiple business units
• Establish and optimise offshore workforce models and international team structures
• Develop and manage the People & Culture budget and operating plan
• Provide leadership, coaching and support to an established P&C team
• Drive continuous improvement across systems, processes, reporting and workforce data
• Build the people foundations, capability and workforce plans required to support future growth and scalability

About You

You are a hands-on People & Culture leader who thrives in fast-paced, founder-led environments. You bring an entrepreneurial mindset, enjoy building from the ground up, and have the foresight to create people strategies, systems and structures that support growth before the business outgrows them. Comfortable navigating ambiguity, you can think strategically, make decisions at pace and quickly translate ideas into action. You are equally comfortable in the boardroom discussing strategy as you are rolling up your sleeves to deliver outcomes.

You may already be operating at Head of People & Culture level, or be a high-performing senior P&C leader who has successfully delivered many of the responsibilities associated with a Head of People role and is ready to take the next step in your career. Experience within for-purpose, community services or other mission-driven organisations will be highly regarded, however we are equally interested in leaders who have built scalable people functions in other complex, growth-oriented sectors.

You Will Bring

• Demonstrated success leading People & Culture initiatives within high-growth, complex, multi-site or multi-entity organisations
• An entrepreneurial, founder-style mindset with the ability to identify opportunities, solve problems proactively and build scalable solutions in rapidly evolving environments
• Strong project management and execution capability, with the ability to develop strategy and rapidly translate it into practical outcomes
• Experience supporting acquisitions, integration programs, organisational transformation or significant change initiatives
• Exposure to complex industrial relations environments, including experience interpreting and managing multiple modern awards and enterprise agreements
• Experience establishing, leading or scaling offshore and international teams
• A commercial, data-led approach to workforce planning, reporting and decision-making
• Strong systems capability, with experience implementing or optimising HR technology, processes and frameworks to support organisational growth
• The ability to think ahead, anticipate future workforce and capability requirements, and build the foundations required for long-term scale
• Experience gained within for-purpose, community services, healthcare, disability, aged care, retail, hospitality or other complex workforce environments
• The confidence to challenge thinking, influence stakeholders and build capability across the organisation
• The ambition and capability to step into your first formal Head of People & Culture role, or leverage existing executive-level people leadership experience to make a broader organisational impact

What's on Offer

• Opportunity to shape the people strategy of a rapidly growing organisation
• Significant exposure to acquisitions, transformation and organisational design
• Executive visibility and influence across the business
• Strong career progression with a pathway to a future Chief People Officer role
• Flexible benefits including salary packaging options
• Attractive remuneration package, including completion bonus