Senior People & Culture Operations Manager

Senior People & Culture Operations Manager Make paydays seamless. Turn people data into insight. Build smarter ways of working. APPLY NOW Some roles keep the wheels turning. This one gets to redesign the engine. We’re looking for a Senior People & Culture Operations Manager to lead the operational heartbeat of our People & Culture function – bringing together payroll, workforce data, remuneration processes, risk and continuous improvement. This is a senior, hands-on leadership role for someone who loves getting the fundamentals right while constantly asking: How could we make this simpler, smarter and better? The opportunity Reporting to our Chief People Officer, you’ll lead Payroll, Position Management and People & Culture Operations. You’ll own the systems, processes and controls that our people rely on – from accurate, pay and workforce reporting to remuneration cycles, payroll and people technology and operational risk. Just as importantly, you’ll have the scope to improve employee experiences and turn reliable data into meaningful organisational insight. If you can move confidently between strategy and detail – shaping a roadmap one moment and resolving a complex payroll issue the next, you’ll thrive here. What you’ll make happen Lead an accurate, timely and compliant end-to-end payroll service. Strengthen payroll governance, controls, audit readiness and risk management. Own payroll technology, system enhancements, testing and vendor relationships. Deliver annual salary review and bonus processes with precision and sound governance. Maintain trusted establishment, position and FTE data for planning, budgeting and reporting. Turn People & Culture metrics into clear dashboards and useful workforce insights. Lead, coach and grow a capable, customer-focused operations team. Champion automation, digital workflows and AI-enabled solutions that reduce effort and improve service. Oversee first-line People & Culture risk, controls, incidents and corrective actions. Partner across People & Culture, Finance, Technology and the wider business to deliver practical outcomes. What you’ll bring You’re an experienced payroll or People Operations leader who combines technical depth with curiosity, commercial judgement and a genuine service mindset. You’ll bring: Significant experience leading payroll operations in a medium-to-large organisation. Strong knowledge of New Zealand payroll and employment obligations, including the Holidays Act, PAYE and KiwiSaver. Proven people leadership and a track record of building accountable, high-performing teams. Experience managing payroll systems, upgrades, testing, configuration and vendors. Confidence delivering remuneration reviews and bonus processes. Strong workforce establishment, position-management and reporting capability. Experience developing useful metrics, dashboards and workforce analytics. Sharp analytical, problem-solving and stakeholder-management skills. Evidence of improving processes through automation and technology. A relevant tertiary qualification in Human Resources, Business, Commerce, Finance or a related discipline. You don’t need to tick every box. If your experience is close and you believe you can make a strong contribution, we’d still like to hear from you. Why Partners Life? We’re one of New Zealand’s leading life and health insurers: proudly Kiwi, purpose-led and part of the global Daiichi Life Group. We’re here to help build a brighter and more secure future for New Zealanders and we’re known for being willing to challenge the status quo. Here, your voice matters. Your ideas can become real improvements, and you’ll be supported to grow personally and professionally. Depending on eligibility, our benefits include: Competitive remuneration and a discretionary bonus. Hybrid and flexible ways of working. Group life and income protection cover. Access to discounted private medical cover. Birthday leave and a volunteer day. Employee recognition and long-service rewards. Parental-leave support and an Employee Assistance Programme. Learning, development and career-growth opportunities. Bring your whole self We celebrate individuality and are committed to a fair, inclusive and accessible recruitment experience. If you need a reasonable adjustment at any stage of the process, please let us know. Ready to shape the future of People & Culture operations? If trusted payroll, smart systems, meaningful data and better employee experiences sound like your kind of challenge, we’d love to hear from you. Apply now and help us build People & Culture operations that are accurate, insightful and ready for what’s next. Department People & Culture (HUMRES) Locations Auckland Office Remote status Hybrid