Collective Agreement Implementation Lead

• Corporate Building, Oxford Terrace, Christchurch
• Permanent, full-time role (40 hours per week)
• Join a great team environment

Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora is firmly grounded in the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and is committed to building a health system that serves all New Zealanders.

Are you an experienced payroll, HR or employment relations professional with strong project leadership and problem-solving skills?

We are seeking a Collective Agreement Implementation Lead to provide end-to-end leadership of employment agreement implementations across a large and complex organisation. This is a key role responsible for ensuring changes to employment terms and conditions are accurately translated into payroll, HR and related systems and processes.

About the role

As the Collective Agreement Implementation Lead, you will lead the planning, coordination, implementation and monitoring of collective, individual and derived employment agreement rules.

You will work across payroll, HR, employment relations, unions and other key stakeholders to ensure implementations are delivered accurately on time and with a strong focus on quality and employee outcomes.

Your responsibilities will include:

• leading employment agreement implementations from planning through to post-implementation support
• developing implementation plans, coordinating delivery teams and ensuring roles and responsibilities are clearly defined
• coordinating key implementation activities, meetings, communications and stakeholder engagement
• ensuring payroll and related systems accurately reflect employment agreement entitlements
• identifying and coordinating required data, systems and tools, including hands-on processing where required
• establishing quality assurance, monitoring and reporting processes to support accurate payroll and employee data
• building effective relationships with unions and key internal stakeholders
• providing clear and timely advice and resolving escalated payroll, employment agreement and entitlement enquiries
• leading post-implementation reviews and identifying opportunities for continuous improvement
• maintaining risk and issues registers and using implementation insights to improve future processes.

About you

You will be an experienced and confident professional who can successfully navigate complex employment agreement implementations and build strong relationships across a diverse organisation.

You will bring:

• proven experience leading employment agreement implementations, payroll, HR or employment relations teams within a large, complex and service-driven organisation
• hands-on payroll or HRIS processing experience
• strong practical understanding of employment law, regulations and HR practices
• a sound understanding of the Holidays Act 2003 and its application
• excellent diplomacy, discretion and interpersonal skills, with the ability to facilitate collaborative discussions and manage sensitive issues
• strong problem-solving and critical-thinking skills, with the ability to identify underlying issues and develop sustainable solutions
• a relevant tertiary qualification in Business, Human Resources or a related discipline
• strong data analysis and reporting skills, including proficiency with Microsoft Excel, Word, Visio, Power BI or similar applications.

It would be an advantage if you have:

• experience working within the health sector or a large Government organisation
• experience working with multiple collective agreements
• knowledge of the Parental Leave Act, KiwiSaver Act and Wages Protection Act
• project management and/or business analysis experience.

Join our team

This is an opportunity to play a key role in delivering complex employment agreement changes and ensuring our people are paid accurately and in accordance with their employment conditions.

If you are a highly organised and analytical professional who enjoys leading complex implementations, solving problems and working collaboratively with a wide range of stakeholders, we would love to hear from you.

Working at Health New Zealand

Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora is dedicated to ensuring excellent healthcare for the people of New Zealand. We embrace a workforce that is diverse and inclusive so that we are better positioned to understand and service our community**.** We welcome applications from our diverse Māori, Pacific, disabled, and rainbow communities.

How to apply

To apply please click 'apply now'. All applications must be submitted through our online careers portal by Sunday, 13 September 2026. If you have any questions about the role, please contact Kerri McCarthy [email protected]

We will review applications as received and may proceed with the recruitment process before the closing date of this advert.