Head of People Services

Heritage Lifecare; Wellington; On-site; AUD 145,000 - 185,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Shape People Services model

Career development opportunities

Collaborative leadership team

Systems automation focus

Values-led environment

Job summary

Heritage Lifecare is seeking a Head of People Services to build a contemporary, customer-focused and high-performing function in Wellington. You will lead a hands-on, player-coach team delivering responsive, accurate services across the employee lifecycle and ensuring timely, compliant employment transactions.

You will own service channels, standards and workflows, partner with payroll and operations, and drive automation and self-service to simplify work while maintaining quality.

Qualifications

• Experience leading People Services in large, complex organisations.
• Ability to establish service standards, SLAs, workflows and channels.
• Demonstrated focus on employee experience and compliant processes.

Responsibilities

• Lead from the front to build a high-performing People Services team.
• Own the People Services experience across employee lifecycle processes.
• Strengthen interfaces between P&C, payroll and operational teams.
• Simplify processes, enable manager self-service and automation.
• Collaborate with Technology, Finance and broader P&C to improve systems.

Skills

Leadership experience

People Services

HR Operations

Process improvement

Automation & self-service

Team development

Tools

HR systems

Job description

• Full Time


• Application Closes 30 Oct 2026


• Wellington - Wellington City


• Human Resources Manager

Great People & Culture functions make it easy for people to get the support they need, deliver consistently excellent service, and create space for leaders and P&C professionals to focus on work that adds the greatest value.

Heritage is one of New Zealand's largest providers of Residential Aged Care services, providing a warm and welcoming home to over 2,200 people. Our 2,700 employees undertake critical work every day to help our residents experience a better every day in their later years.

We are evolving our People & Culture operating model and have an exciting opportunity for an experienced Head of People Services to build a contemporary, customer-focused and high-performing People Services function.

About this role | Mō tēnei tūranga mahi

This is not a role for someone who wants to lead People Operations from a distance.

As our Head of People Services, you will be a hands-on player-coach, leading from the front while building a high-performing team that delivers responsive, accurate and consistent services across Heritage.

You will own the People Services experience, establishing clear service channels and standards, strengthening employee lifecycle processes and ensuring work is delivered at the right level, by the right people, at the right time.

You will lead services spanning employee lifecycle processing, recruitment support, employment documentation, remuneration review administration, People systems and the critical interfaces between P&C, payroll and our operational teams.

You will bring a modern People Services mindset, simplifying processes, reducing administration, building manager self-service, using workflow and automation effectively and continually looking for better ways to serve our customers.

Working closely with Technology, Finance and our broader P&C team, you will also help strengthen our systems, processes and digital capability.

Most importantly, you'll build a team known across Heritage for great service, accountability, responsiveness and getting things done.

This role is ideally based in Wellington, where our People & Culture Leadership Team is based. For the right candidate, we may also consider Christchurch.

Skills & Experience | He pūkenga tou

You Will

• Possess genuine respect, empathy and interest in others.


• Bring significant leadership experience within People Services, HR Operations, Shared Services or a similarly complex environment.


• Be a genuine player-coach who enjoys developing people while remaining close to the work.


• Have experience establishing service standards, SLAs, workflows, service channels and operational performance measures.


• Be passionate about delivering an exceptional experience for employees and leaders.


• Bring strong knowledge of employee lifecycle processes and the controls required for accurate, timely and compliant employment transactions.


• Work effectively across P&C, payroll, Finance, Technology and operational teams.


• Demonstrate strong process improvement capability and an ability to identify and address root causes.


• Be comfortable using technology, automation and self-service to simplify work and improve service.


• Bring strong operational judgement, attention to detail and a commitment to quality and compliance.


• Be confident establishing clear ownership between People Services, leaders and specialist P&C teams.


• Have the courage to challenge existing ways of working while bringing people with you.


• Experience in a large, geographically dispersed or highly regulated organisation would be advantageous.

If you love building great services, developing capable teams and turning complexity into simple, effective ways of working, we'd love to hear from you.

What we offer our employees | Ngā mea e tukuna ana e tātau

• The opportunity to shape and lead the future People Services model within one of New Zealand's largest aged care providers.


• Genuine scope to build, improve and influence how P&C services are delivered.


• A collaborative P&C leadership team with an ambitious agenda.


• The opportunity to work across systems, automation, customer experience and operational transformation.


• A values-led environment where great ideas, constructive challenge and continuous learning are encouraged.


• Ongoing opportunities for professional development and growth.

Welcome to Heritage Lifecare | Nau mai haere mai ki Heritage Lifecare

We recognise the Treaty of Waitangi and its importance to Māori and how it applies to our work at Heritage Lifecare. This includes the concepts of whanaungatanga, whakapapa and manaakitanga, fostering an environment where people can work together with ease and understanding.