HR Business Partner

Lactalis-Mainland Dairy; Papakura; On-site; NZD 90,000 - 110,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive pay and benefits

Career development and progression

Collaborative workplace culture

Safety, quality, sustainability

Job summary

Lactalis New Zealand is seeking a passionate HR Business Partner to lead HR delivery at our Takaanini site in Auckland. Embedded with site leadership, you’ll build relationships and deliver practical, commercially focused HR solutions aligned to business strategy.

Reporting to the Site Manager with a dotted line to Head of Industrial & Supply Chain HR, you’ll lead ER, recruitment, workforce planning, performance, engagement, and change initiatives while ensuring safety and compliance.

Qualifications

• Pragmatic, influential HR professional with site-based operations experience.
• Strong understanding of employment legislation and industrial relations.
• Experience delivering cyclical HR processes such as performance and remuneration reviews.
• Ability to coach and support leaders across levels and translate data into action.

Responsibilities

• Deliver end-to-end HR support across workforce planning, recruitment, onboarding, performance management, talent, engagement and change management.
• Partner with site leadership to drive capability, culture and change initiatives.
• Lead ER matters including investigations, disciplinary processes, grievances and resolution pathways.
• Collaborate on health and safety to support safety leadership and compliance.

Skills

Generalist HR

Employee relations

Workforce planning

Recruitment

Performance management

Talent development

Business partnering

Education

Bachelor-level qualification in HR/IR/Business

Job description

About Lactalis

Lactalis New Zealand, formerly known as Fonterra Brands NZ, is now proudly part of the Lactalis Group.

Lactalis is a French family-owned business and the world’s largest dairy company. With a presence in 50 countries, employing around 90,000 people and a range of 2,000 dairy products, Lactalis is committed to contributing to the health and well-being of consumers around the world every day.

Here in New Zealand, Lactalis New Zealand employs more than 1,000 people across three manufacturing sites, two distribution centres and our corporate head office. We produce some of the country’s dairy brands that have been loved for generations, including Anchor, Fresh ‘n’ Fruity and Mainland.

Our passionate and talented team is dedicated to nurturing the future of dairy, unlocking new opportunities, and fostering innovation in nutrition and food.

The Opportunity

We are looking for a passionate and experienced HR Business Partner to lead HR delivery at our Takaanini site. This is a key role partnering closely with site leadership to build a safe, engaged and high-performing workforce.

Known internally as a HR Manager, you’ll be embedded on-site, developing strong relationships with leaders and employees while delivering practical, commercially focused HR solutions aligned to business strategy.

Reporting to the Site Manager, with a dotted line to the Head of Industrial & Supply Chain HR, your key responsibilities include:

• Deliver end-to-end HR support across workforce planning, recruitment, onboarding, performance management, talent, engagement, culture, change management and employee relations.
• Partner with site and business leaders to drive capability building, engagement, culture and change initiatives.
• Lead management of ER matters, including investigations, disciplinary processes, grievances and resolution pathways.
• Manage compliance obligations, workforce risk management and support local industrial relations activity (e.g., consultation, union engagement as required).
• Coach and upskill leaders on people management, performance conversations, organisational effectiveness and change leadership.
• Monitor and analyse people metrics to identify trends and implement actions to improve workforce outcomes.
• Collaborate with Health and Safety to support safety leadership and compliance.

Based at our Takaanini site in Auckland, we operate three manufacturing plants - Beverages, Food and UHT, producing approximately 240,000 metric tonnes annually. Our product portfolio includes Fresh and UHT milk & creams, yoghurt, custard, cottage cheese, sour cream and cream cheese, manufactured for iconic brands such as Anchor, Fresh’n Fruity, De Winkel, Country Goodness and Kāpiti.

You’ll be part of a team that’s passionate, resilient and supportive, with a strong sense of ownership and pride in the products we create.

About You

You’re a pragmatic and influential HR professional who thrives in a site-based operational environment and enjoys being close to the business.

• Proven generalist HR experience in manufacturing, logistics, FMCG or similar environments, with strong employee relations expertise.
• Sound understanding of employment legislation and industrial relations, with the ability to manage complex ER matters end-to-end.
• Demonstrated capability across recruitment, workforce planning, performance, and talent development.
• Experience delivering cyclical HR processes such as performance and remuneration reviews.
• Strong business partnering skills, with the ability to coach, influence and support leaders at all levels.
• Analytical and solutions-focused, able to interpret workforce data and translate insights into action.
• Resilient and adaptable, with the ability to manage competing priorities.
• Tertiary qualification in Human Resources, Industrial Relations, Business or related discipline (or equivalent experience).

We are looking for someone who is passionate, ambitious, and eager to grow. Whether you’re ready for your next challenge or looking to deepen your expertise, we’d love to hear from you.

What We Offer

• Competitive pay and benefits
• Career development and progression opportunities within a global organisation
• A collaborative and supportive workplace culture where your contribution makes a real impact
• A strong commitment to safety, quality, innovation and sustainability