Associate Director, People Operations

• Are you a strategic and relational leader who can connect the dots between people, purpose, and performance?
• Can you lead transformational change that shifts culture, improves capability, and strengthens engagement through operational excellence? 
• Do you have deep experience in employment matters, payroll outcomes, and service design oriented around the customer in a complex organisation?

The Opportunity

Te Herenga Waka - Victoria University of Wellington is currently recruiting for an Associate Director, People Operations to join Te Pūmanawa Tāngata - Human Resources on a permanent, full-time basis.

Join us to reimagine how HR services can enable a thriving university culture grounded in connection, collaboration, and community. We’re looking for a strategic and courageous leader to shape a future where HR services are focused on our customer outcomes creating an environment where leaders can make informed decisions about their people daily.

This is an exciting opportunity to partner with your HR colleagues, and our customers lead transformational work across all HR services including payroll. While People Policy and Employment obligations will guide manager decisions, solutions will be practical and responsive exploring options and risks.

You’ll play a critical role as part of Te Pūmanawa Tāngata - Human Resources Group, championing a modern, mana-enhancing employee experience across the University.

Kōrero mō te tūranga - About the role

As Associate Director, People Operations, you will drive operational excellence across all core HR services including payroll. Your team will be the service face of Te Pūmanawa Tāngata - Human Resources that support our people and leaders to succeed in delivering strategic outcomes through collaborations, connection, and community. You will shape services and play a key role in implementation of systems, frameworks and programmes that lift organisational capability, enable inclusive leadership, support succession, and retention. Your team will invite other team members across HR functions to contribute to initiatives and outcomes across the University. We are stronger together with our customer at the centre of our solutions.

This role leads core services such as remuneration reviews, performance review cycles and outcomes, recruitment services and support, payroll services, and support for employment matters. 

You will join Te Pūmanawa Tāngata Leadership Team and work closely with academic services and professional leaders, iwi and Māori partners, and stakeholders across the University.

Key responsibilities:

• Develop and lead core HR services across the University.
• Design and embed operational excellence in all that we do with the customer at the heart of our delivery.
• Integration and ongoing focus on payroll delivery in a complex environment that will need ongoing care and modernisation.
• Apply co-design service design, change and culture development within the team and the service we offer.
• Partner with Finance, Health, Safety and Wellbeing, Unions, and other key functions to ensure operational delivery aligns with systems, structures, and workforce planning.
• Lead a team of HR professionals, fostering collaboration, cultural confidence, and innovation in everything you deliver.

Ō pūmanawa - About you

You will be looking for a challenge that will bring your solutions focused approach into everything that you do. We are looking for a strategic and relational leader who can connect the dots between people, purpose, and performance. 

You will bring:

• Deep experience in employment matters, payroll outcomes including complex projects and service design oriented around the customer, ideally in a complex organisation.
• Proven ability to lead transformational change that shifts culture, improves capability, and strengthens engagement with customers through operational excellence.
• The ability to look for opportunities to enhance service through current resources by service design, self-service, and automation. Freeing up team capacity to focus on valued adding support is high on our customer expectations.
• Cultural confidence and a genuine commitment to Te Tiriti o Waitangi, embedding equitable and mana-enhancing practices in your leadership.
• Confidence working across diverse groups, with the ability to influence at all levels.
• Strong delivery skills – you can move from strategy to action, turning ideas into impact.
• Courage, empathy, and a belief in the power of inclusive leadership and shared growth.

Role Description: Click here to see further information. 

If this link is not available, click 'apply' to view this on the University careers page.

Close date for vacancy: 9 am, Monday 24 November 2025. 

It is intended to interview in the week starting 1 December for a 2026 start.

Contact details for vacancy: If you have any questions regarding this role please get in touch with Kate Tibbitts, Chief People Officer (022 014 2630, kate.tibbitts@vuw.ac.nz).

How to apply: Please ensure you are applying for this role directly on our careers page and not via email. Candidates must submit supporting documents along with their resume, such as a cover letter. Applicants who do not have residency or citizenship and require a visa to work at the University must clearly indicate their visa status in their application and understand that if they do not have a current, relevant visa, they will need to secure this independently.

Ētahi kōrero hai āwhina i a koe - Why you should join our team

At Te Herenga Waka - Victoria University of Wellington, you will be part of a dynamic and forward-thinking people team helping shape the future of Aotearoa’s capital city university. In Te Pūmanawa Tāngata, we are on a journey to redesign how we support, grow, and care for our people. This is a rare opportunity to lead with purpose, contribute to system-wide transformation, and work alongside others who are committed to equity, learning, and innovation.