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HR Business Partner – Assistant Director

Hei Oranga Iwi | The opportunity

As a HR Business Partner within the Oceania Consulting business, you will partner closely with senior business leaders to provide and influence across both strategic and practical HR decisions that enables high performance, leadership capability, and supports an engaged workforce.

This role brings deep HR expertise across the employee lifecycle, including workforce planning, employee relations, performance, development, and organisational change. You will influence senior leaders on best-practice HR approaches, ensuring decisions are aligned to local policies, employment legislation, and business priorities, while bringing an empathetic and people-centred approach. The role requires strong judgement, credibility, and the ability to balance business and talent priorities.

This is a 12 month position, offered as a hybrid role based in our Tāmaki Makaurau (Auckland) office.

Ko Tō Rourou | Your key responsibilities

• Act as a trusted advisor to senior leaders across the Consulting business, providing strategic HR guidance aligned to business priorities and people outcomes.
• Influence and coach leaders on best-practice HR approaches across performance, capability, workforce planning, talent, and organisational change.
• Provide advice on employee relations and people matters in consultation with the CoE, ensuring all recommendations and actions align with local policies, employment legislation, and risk requirements.
• Proactively partner with business stakeholders to understand current and emerging people needs. Identify and implement initiatives that balance both business and talent priorities
• Use people data, insights, and trends to shape recommendations, influence decision-making, and improve employee experience.
• Collaborate closely with Talent colleagues and Centres of Excellence to deliver consistent, high-quality people initiatives and programs.
• Lead sensitive conversations with empathy, sound judgement, and professionalism, supporting both leaders and employees through complex or challenging matters.
• Champion an inclusive, high-performing culture where our people feel supported, respected, and engaged
• Execute operational activities effectively by monitoring services, providing feedback for continuous improvement, and serving as the first escalation point for high-risk employee relations matters.

Ngā Pūkenga | Skills and attributes for success

• Significant experience as a HR Business Partner, ideally within professional services, or complex corporate environment.
• Prior experience of employee relations, performance management, talent, organisational change, and workforce planning.
• Demonstrated ability to influence and challenge senior leaders with confidence, credibility, and sound judgement.
• Working knowledge of local employment legislation, policy interpretation, and risk-aware HR practice.
• Strong commercial acumen with the ability to balance people outcomes and business priorities.
• Excellent stakeholder management skills and the ability to build trusted relationships across all levels of the organisation.

Ideally, you’ll also have the skills and attributes below but don’t worry if you don’t tick all the boxes. We’re interested in your aptitude, attitude and willingness to learn.

• Confidence to challenge, share your perspective, and think creatively.
• Experience working in a complex matrix environment and thriving in an agile setting.

Ko Taku Rourou | What we offer you

At EY, we’ll fuel you and your extraordinary talents in a diverse and inclusive culture of globally connected teams. Learn more.

• Career development: At EY, your career is yours to shape! We’ll develop you with future-focused skills and equip you with world-class experiences www.ey.com/nz/careerdevelopment
• Flexible work arrangements: Our flexible work policies empower you to balance your professional and personal life, fostering a culture of trust and autonomy.
• A comprehensive benefits package: From a yearly wellness incentive, to access to additional 8 weeks of flex leave per year, and family-friendly policies, including up to 26 weeks of gender-neutral paid parental leave, we cater to your diverse needs to help you thrive both personally and professionally www.ey.com/nz/benefits
• Salary: We offer a competitive salary which is open to negotiation pending on skills and experience.

Inclusiveness is core to who we are and how we work together, driving value for our people and for our business. We encourage applications from people of all ages, nationalities, abilities, cultures, sexual orientations, and gender identities and are committed to providing an equitable and barrier free recruitment experience for all. We encourage you to share any support and adjustments you need to be your best and participate equitably in our recruitment process. We understand sharing your needs with us can be daunting, so if you have questions before or during your application, we welcome you to get in touch at contactrecruitment@au.ey.com or +64 9 300 7044 (option 2). Anything you tell us will be kept completely confidential.

He rourou kai kei ō ringa hei tākoha? Tēnā haria mai!

Are you ready to shape your future with confidence? Apply today.

EY | Building a better working world

Our preferred applicant will be required to undertake employment screening by EY or our external third-party provider.

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