Head of People & Culture

Fantastic opportunity to be the first HR Professional within a growing Australian business.

The Opportunity

Join a well-respected, multidisciplinary consultancy that’s reached a major milestone of 100 employees and is preparing for significant national growth. With offices in Melbourne, Geelong, Sydney, Brisbane, and Hobart, the business provides urban planning and development services that help shape sustainable, livable communities across Australia.

This is a newly created role forming part of the leadership team, offering the rare opportunity to build the People & Culture function from the ground up, while influencing the future direction of the business during a period of exciting growth.

The Role

As the Head of People & Culture, you will be the first dedicated HR leader in the business, reporting directly to the Managing Director and working closely with the Executive and Board. You’ll bring a hands-on, pragmatic approach to delivering across the full employee lifecycle, from operational HR through to strategic leadership.

Key responsibilities include:

• Leading performance and capability initiatives, including the introduction of KPIs and performance frameworks.
• Coaching leaders through complex people matters and driving consistency in leadership development.
• Designing and embedding programs across recruitment, learning, compliance, and engagement.
• Playing an active role in executive and board-level conversations, offering strategic people insights.
• Ensuring the organisation retains its strong internal culture as it scales across multiple locations.
• Overseeing internal HR processes and systems (currently using Employment Hero).
• Supporting DEI and wellbeing initiatives, and managing ER/IR matters with confidence and care.

• Senior HR experience within consulting, professional services, or a similarly people-focused environment.
• A strong track record in performance management and leadership coaching.
• Confidence in navigating ER issues, including investigations and compliance training.
• Experience implementing or improving structured programs (e.g. graduate intake, L&D, mentoring).
• A collaborative and personable approach with excellent communication skills.
• The ability to travel interstate on occasion to support and connect with satellite teams.