People & Performance Advisor

Cardrona Alpine Resort; Wānaka; On-site; NZD 80,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

Cardrona Alpine Resort is seeking an experienced People & Performance Advisor to partner with leaders across Cardrona and Treble Cone, supporting a workforce that grows to over 1,000 during winter. This is a varied generalist HR role combining practical advice with a focus on leadership capability, employee experience and continuous improvement.

You'll provide practical guidance, manage employee relations, support seasonal recruitment and workforce planning, and champion wellbeing and culture

Qualifications

• Strong experience in a generalist HR or advisory role.
• Proven employee relations capability including investigations, disciplinary processes and performance management.
• Sound knowledge of New Zealand employment legislation and ability to apply it practically.
• Experience coaching and influencing leaders, building confidence and capability in people management.
• Collaborative, solutions-focused approach and willingness to be hands-on when needed.

Responsibilities

• Providing practical, trusted people advice and coaching leaders to confidently manage people challenges.
• Managing employee relations processes, including investigations, disciplinary processes and performance management.
• Supporting seasonal recruitment, onboarding and workforce planning across both mountains.
• Championing employee wellbeing, values-led culture and a positive employee experience.
• Identifying opportunities to improve people processes and practices, working with the wider RealNZ People & Performance team.

Skills

Generalist HR

Employee relations

NZ employment law

Leadership coaching

Influencing leaders

Stakeholder management

Job description

Love people. Love the mountains. Make it extraordinary.

At Cardrona and Treble Cone, our maunga are more than a workplace – they're a community. We live and breathe our whānau values, take guardianship of our environment seriously, and believe extraordinary experiences come from empowered, well-supported people.

We're looking for an experienced People & Performance Advisor who brings sound judgement, strong employment relations expertise and the confidence to support leaders through complex people challenges.

This is an opportunity for an HR professional who thrives in a dynamic operational environment, builds trusted relationships and enjoys making a meaningful contribution to both people and business performance.

About the role

As our People & Performance Advisor, you'll be part of a close-knit team partnering with leaders across Cardrona and Treble Cone, supporting a workforce that grows to more than 1,000 people during the winter season.

This is a varied, hands-on generalist role, combining practical people advice with a focus on leadership capability, employee experience and continuous improvement.

Winter is our busiest time. You'll be based on mountain, providing hands-on support to our operational teams, navigating people challenges and helping leaders make confident, fair decisions. The role includes working one or two weekend days during our winter operation. Summer brings a different pace as our bike park operations kick off, offering a different rhythm to mountain life across Monday-Friday.

We've got big aspirations for our mountains and the experience we create for our people. You'll play an important role in bringing these to life, strengthening our people practices and helping deliver an extraordinary employee experience.

You'll play a key role in:

• Providing practical, trusted people advice and coaching leaders to confidently manage people challenges.
• Managing employee relations processes, including investigations, disciplinary processes and performance management.
• Supporting seasonal recruitment, onboarding and workforce planning across both mountains.
• Championing employee wellbeing, values-led culture and a positive employee experience.
• Identifying opportunities to improve people processes and practices, working collaboratively with the wider RealNZ People & Performance team.

What you'll bring

You're an experienced people professional who thrives in fast-moving operational environments. You build trust easily, navigate complexity with confidence and bring a calm, practical approach to challenging situations.

You'll be comfortable working autonomously, constructively challenging leaders and balancing the needs of our people with operational priorities.

You'll bring:

• Strong experience in a generalist HR or advisory role, with the confidence to independently manage a broad range of people challenges.
• Proven employee relations capability, including investigations, disciplinary processes and performance management.
• Sound knowledge of New Zealand employment legislation and the ability to apply it practically.
• Experience coaching and influencing leaders, building confidence and capability in people management.
• Strong judgement, organisational skills and the ability to manage competing priorities.
• A genuine commitment to employee wellbeing, workplace culture and delivering a positive employee experience.
• A collaborative, solutions-focused approach and the willingness to be hands-on when needed.

Experience in seasonal, tourism or operational environments would be highly regarded.

What's in it for you?

• A free Cardrona x Treble Cone season pass.
• RealNZ adventures at unbeatable staff rates, or free on selected experiences – from Milford Sound and Doubtful Sound to Walter Peak.
• Medical insurance cover.
• The opportunity to work across two of New Zealand's most iconic alpine environments.
• A supportive, close-knit People & Performance team that values collaboration, expertise and new ideas.
• A varied role that combines the energy of winter operations with opportunities to focus on projects and improvements over summer.
• The chance to make a genuine impact on the experience of the people who bring our mountains to life.

Real people. Real places. Real experiences. Welcome to RealNZ.

When's the best time to join the Real whānau? Now's good.

We're the conservation business that's enabled by tourism. Through unforgettable experiences, we're helping people fall in love with Aotearoa and inspiring them to leave our places better than they found them.

From secluded islands and scenic fiords to snow-capped maunga, our people and places make working at RealNZ something special.

At RealNZ, we're committed to Equity, Diversity and Inclusion. Guided by our values of Pono (Keep it real) and He waka eke noa (We're all in this together), we embrace and celebrate the unique perspectives and experiences that make our team stronger. Everyone is welcome here.

Ready to bring your experience to RealNZ?

If you're an experienced HR professional who enjoys being close to the operation, building strong relationships and making a genuine difference to our people, we'd love to hear from you.

• We'll be interviewing candidates as applications come in and may close the role early if we find the right person.