Employment Relations Specialist

Healthcarenz Limited; Auckland; Hybride; NZD 110 000 - 140 000; Plein temps

Avantages offerts par ce poste

Hybrid work arrangement

Professional development

Collaborative People & Culture team

Career growth opportunities

Résumé du poste

New Zealand Health Group is seeking an experienced Employment Relations Specialist to join our People & Culture team. You will lead complex ER matters, provide pragmatic legal-compliant advice to leaders, and balance operational needs with positive people outcomes.

You'll work closely with unions and leaders, support collective bargaining, and help build leadership capability while navigating high-risk cases across our diverse healthcare workforce.

Qualifications

• Significant experience in Employment Relations and Industrial Relations.
• Extensive knowledge of NZ employment legislation.
• Proven ability to handle high-risk investigations and grievances.
• Experience supporting change, restructures, and union engagement.

Responsabilités

• Lead high-risk employment relations matters, investigations, and grievances.
• Provide pragmatic, compliant advice to leaders on NZ employment law.
• Partner with leaders to ensure legally sound people decisions.
• Support union engagement and collective bargaining activities.
• Contribute to change programs, restructures, and consultations.
• Develop leadership capability in managing employee relations.
• Build positive relationships with unions and employee representatives.
• Identify workforce risks and provide insights for proactive decisions.
• Contribute to continuous improvement of ER policies and processes.

Connaissances

Employment Relations

Industrial Relations

NZ Employment Law

Stakeholder Management

Advisory Experience

Formation

Relevant HR/IR/Law qualification

Description du poste

Who we are | Ko wai mātou

At New Zealand Health Group, our people are at the heart of everything we do.

As New Zealand's largest provider of home and community health, disability, rehabilitation and wellbeing services, we support more than 30,000 New Zealanders and employ over 12,000 dedicated healthcare professionals across Geneva Healthcare, HealthCare New Zealand, NZCL, Solora and Explore.

Guided by our values of Kai Whakaute (Care, Respect and Empathy), Kai Huhuatanga (Excellence and Quality), and Kai Whanaungatanga (Partnership), we are committed to delivering culturally safe services and advancing health equity for all.

We're looking for an experienced HR Business Partner to join our People & Culture team. This is an opportunity to work closely with leaders, influence business outcomes and play a key role in supporting one of New Zealand's largest and most diverse healthcare organisations.

Why Us | He aha ai mātou?

Join us, as we are serious about our purpose of Pae Ora mō Tātau Katoa (Achieving Equitable Wellbeing for Everyone). We do this by delivering high-quality, accessible and culturally safe services across Aotearoa. Jump on board our waka as we journey towards Pae Ora.

Joining our team means becoming part of an organisation that genuinely makes a difference every day.

We offer:

• A strategic HR Business Partner role with variety and autonomy.
• The opportunity to influence leaders and organisational outcomes.
• Working with New Zealand's largest Healthcare Providers
• Flexible work arrangements - hybrid!
• A supportive and collaborative People & Culture team.
• Professional development and career growth opportunities.
• The chance to contribute to improving health and wellbeing outcomes for thousands of New Zealanders.
• A values-led culture where people, partnership and purpose are at the centre of everything we do.

About the role | He kōrero whakamārama mō tēnei tūranga

We're seeking an experienced Employment Relations Specialist to join our People & Culture team and provide trusted expertise across a broad range of complex employment and industrial relations matters. This role is responsible for leading high-risk and sensitive casework.

Working closely with leaders across the business, you'll provide pragmatic, solutions-focused advice that balances legal compliance, operational requirements and positive people outcomes. You'll also play a key role in supporting union engagement, collective bargaining activities and developing leadership capability in managing employee relations matters confidently and effectively.

This is an exciting opportunity for an experienced ER professional who thrives on solving complex workplace challenges, mitigating organisational risk and influencing fair and consistent employment practices across a large, diverse workforce.

Key Responsibilities

In this role you will:

• Lead and manage complex employment relations matters, including investigations, disciplinary processes, personal grievances, mediation preparation, performance management and workplace conflict resolution.
• Provide expert advice on New Zealand employment legislation, employment agreements, policies and organisational risk.
• Partner with leaders to ensure people decisions are legally sound, commercially practical and aligned with organisational values.
• Support organisational change programmes, restructures and consultation processes, managing employment risks throughout.
• Build leader capability through coaching and guidance on employee relations best practice and effective people management.
• Develop and maintain positive relationships with unions and employee representatives.
• Support collective bargaining activities and industrial relations initiatives across the business.
• Identify emerging workforce risks and trends, providing insights and recommendations to support proactive decision-making.
• Contribute to the continuous improvement of employment relations frameworks, policies and processes.

What you will bring | Ngā tohungatanga mō tēnei tūranga

To be successful, you'll bring:

• Significant experience in Employment Relations, Industrial Relations and/or a senior ER-focused advisory role.
• Extensive knowledge of New Zealand employment legislation and employment relations best practice.
• Proven experience managing complex investigations, disciplinary processes, grievances, mediation matters and workplace disputes.
• Experience supporting organisational change, restructures and consultation processes.
• Confident working in unionised environments and collective bargaining activities.
• Exceptional stakeholder management, influencing, negotiation and conflict resolution skills.
• A calm, pragmatic approach and the confidence to manage sensitive and high-risk employment matters.
• A relevant tertiary qualification in Human Resources, Employment Relations, Law, or a related discipline.

Applications close | Te katinga o tēnei whai tūranga: 20th November 2026 at 5pm.

Only suitable candidates will be contacted for interview and applications will be reviewed as they are received, therefore resulting in the role closing early if the right applicant is found.