Senior People and Capability Advisor

Perpetual Guardian; Auckland; On-site; NZD 110,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

Perpetual Guardian in Auckland Head Office is seeking a Senior People and Capability Advisor for a 12-month fixed term maternity cover. The role provides end-to-end generalist HR support across recruitment, onboarding, performance and employment relations.

You will work with people leaders across New Zealand and 16 branches, delivering HR solutions and advising on strategic initiatives with autonomy from day one.

Qualifications

• 4+ years in a generalist HR/advisory role.
• Essential employment relations experience with NZ legislation.
• Proven recruitment, onboarding and induction experience.
• Ability to advise and influence leadership levels.

Responsibilities

• Act as trusted advisor to people leaders across the employee lifecycle; work with Head of People & Capability to implement HR solutions.
• Support performance, remuneration and engagement processes including reviews.
• Contribute to capability and L&D initiatives to build skills and capabilities.
• Own recruitment end-to-end for your portfolio including onboarding and induction; ATS experience beneficial.
• Take charge of employment relations cases and provide guidance to managers.

Skills

HR generalist

Employment relations

Recruitment

Leadership influence

Remuneration knowledge

L&D exposure

Tools

ATS

Job description

Senior People and Capability Advisor

Application Deadline: 7 December 2026

Department: People and Capability

Employment Type: Fixed Term - Full Time

Location: Auckland Head Office

Reporting To: Parul Arora

Description

Want to work for a company that takes pride in being the leader in its industry? Perpetual Guardian is looking for an experienced Senior People and Capability Advisor to join our tight-knit team on a 12-month fixed term basis (maternity cover).

The Senior People and Capability Advisor will provide high quality, end-to-end generalist advice across the whole employee lifecycle, from recruitment and onboarding to performance and employment relations. You will work closely with people leaders across New Zealand and our 16 branches, building relationships with key stakeholders and assisting with a range of projects. The role will work alongside the Head of People and Capability on strategic initiatives and a variety of employment relations cases.

Based in a modern Auckland city centre office, you will step into a varied role covering a 12-month maternity leave, with a high degree of autonomy from day one. Experience in recruitment, remuneration, performance and L&D will be highly regarded.

Key Responsibilities

Generalist People and Capability:

• Act as a trusted advisor to people leaders across the whole employee lifecycle, working closely with the Head of People and Capability to research and implement HR solutions that resolve business needs.
• Support performance, remuneration and engagement processes, including performance reviews, remuneration reviews and engagement initiatives.
• Contribute to capability and L&D initiatives that build skills and support employee development.
• Support HR projects to ensure alignment with business strategies and compliance with legislation.

Recruitment:

• Own recruitment end-to-end for your portfolio, partnering with hiring managers from role scoping and advertising through to selection, offer and appointment. Having experience using Applicant Tracking System (ATS) is beneficial.
• Provide effective advice and assistance for hiring, onboarding and inducting new employees, ensuring a positive and consistent experience.
• Develop, maintain and continuously improve recruitment, onboarding and induction processes and procedures.

Employment Relations

• Take charge of a variety of employment relations cases, providing guidance and assistance to people managers and employees on a range of employment relations issues.
• Effectively manage and address performance management concerns and employment relations issues, including disciplinary matters, through to resolution.
• Provide people managers with advice and assistance when dealing with organisational change.
• Use sound judgement to seek specialist advice on employment relations issues as and when required, and seek appropriate escalation.

Skills, Knowledge & Expertise

We are looking for a senior, experienced generalist People and Capability professional, ideally in the professional services industry, who can step in, take full ownership of this role and hit the ground running. A down-to-earth, driven and self-motivated individual will excel in this business and grow with the company. We require:

• 4+ years’ experience in a generalist HR / HR advisory role
• Employment relations experience (essential): hands‑on experience managing ER matters such as performance, disciplinary, grievances and organisational change, with sound knowledge of New Zealand employment legislation
• Recruitment experience (essential): proven experience managing recruitment, including onboarding and induction
• The confidence and credibility to advise and influence all leadership levels and internal staff members
• Someone who is down to earth, professional, driven and self‑motivated with a can‑do attitude
• Experience with remuneration and performance review processes is beneficial
• Exposure to learning and development (L&D), HR projects and engagement initiatives is beneficial

Job Benefits

What’s in it for you?

You will step into a senior, high‑impact role covering the whole employee lifecycle, and continue developing yourself and your career with a vast range of on-the-job experience to grow your knowledge and technical skills in the HR and ER field.

Applications are open until 7 December 2026, however we will conduct interviews as and when we see suitable applications come through.

Please note that we will not be providing feedback to candidates who are declined before the first interview stage.

Note: Only candidates who are legally entitled to work in New Zealand will be considered. Previous applicants need not apply