People and Culture Manager - Lattey Group

Populous People Limited; Hawke's Bay; On-site; NZD 120,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

Lattey Group in Hawke's Bay, New Zealand, seeks an accomplished HR leader to shape the people function from the ground up. This is a high-impact role with a strong platform to influence culture, leadership development, and organisational capability across the business.

You will partner closely with the CEO and senior teams to design practical people practices, drive engagement, and deliver a high-performing workplace aligned to business growth and objectives.

Job description

Great businesses are built by great people, and this newly created HR leadership role presents a unique opportunity to help shape the next chapter of Lattey Group's people journey. There is a strong platform here - you will be a key appointment, with a clear focus on influencing and further enhancing culture, growing organisational capability, and partnering closely with leadership to support long-term success. For someone seeking a role with genuine and meaningful impact, this is an opportunity worth exploring.

Lattey Group, with a 100 plus strong team, is a proudly New Zealand-owned infrastructure business with deep roots in Hawke's Bay and Levin, and a reputation built over generations. From civil construction and precast concrete manufacturing through to crane hire and specialist infrastructure solutions, their people play a critical role in delivering projects that help connect communities and support growth across New Zealand.

Reporting directly to the recently appointed CEO, you will be shaping the HR function from the ground up and partnering closely with all teams across the business as they enter a new chapter of growth and enhancement. Your scope includes fostering a high-performing culture, strengthening leadership and team and organisational capability, and ensuring the people structures and systems are in place for Lattey Group's continued growth and success. You'll be across the full employee lifecycle; providing trusted guidance to the CEO and wider business teams on organisational and leadership development, recruitment, performance, ER, engagement and wellbeing. This is a role for someone who thrives on variety, enjoys balancing strategy with hands-on delivery, and wants to build capability while creating people practices that are practical, fit-for-purpose, and aligned to business objectives. You will have the opportunity to influence decision-making at the highest level while also remaining connected to day-to-day operations and the people who make the business successful.

This is suited to a nimble, forward facing and savvy HR leaders that hold a relevant tertiary qualification and are technically sound in senior HR and people leadership practices. You have an approach that is authentic, contemporary, and empathetic and a passion for collaboration and driving a culture of learning, continuous improvement, and service delivery. You may currently be in a similar HR leadership role, or you are possibly looking for your next growth step to the executive level. Relatability to construction and manufacturing based workforces will be highly regarded, although not essential. Either way, Lattey Group will be a great place for the right person to really have a hugely positive people impact for the future.