Senior HR Advisor

E ngā iwi, e ngā karangatanga huri noa i te motu, tēnei te mihi atu ki a koutou katoa. He īnoi tēnei ki a koe. Tono mai ki tētahi tūnga ki te Kaunihera o Ōtautahi

At the Christchurch City Council, we're committed to making our City a great place to live, work and play. As one of the largest employers in the region, we deliver a diverse range of essential services that support our communities every day, from water and transport infrastructure through to parks, recreation, regulatory services, and community facilities.

We're looking for an experienced and pragmatic Senior HR Advisor to join our People & Capability team. This is an opportunity to partner with leaders across a large and diverse organisation, providing expert people advice and helping shape positive outcomes for our people, teams, and city.

About the role | Ko te mahi nei

As a Senior HR Advisor, you'll act as a trusted advisor to leaders and employees across a broad range of people matters. You'll be a key contributor to building leadership capability, managing complex employee relations matters, supporting organisational change, and driving people initiatives that enhance workplace culture and performance.

Reporting to the HR Advisory Manager and working closely with HR Business Partners and HR Advisors, you will:

• Coach and influence leaders to build their leadership capability, fostering a culture of accountability, engagement, and high performance.
• Partner with leaders to navigate a variety of people matters with confidence and sound judgement.
• Provide technical expertise to support leaders to effectively resolve employee relations matters, including performance management, disciplinary processes, grievances, and workplace investigations, ensuring outcomes are legally sound and aligned with organisational values.
• Support the HR Advisory Manager to strengthen capability across the HR Advisory team through coaching, mentoring and sharing expertise with HR Advisors.
• Contribute to organisational change initiatives, including restructures, transitions, and workforce planning activities.
• Deliver training and guidance on people-related topics to support leaders and employees.
• Work collaboratively across the People & Capability team to implement HR strategies and initiatives that support organisational goals.

About you | Ko Koe Tēnei

You'll be an experienced HR professional who thrives in a complex environment and enjoys building strong relationships across a large organisation. You're comfortable balancing competing priorities, navigating ambiguity, and finding practical solutions that work for both people and the business.

Ideally, you'll bring:

• Significant generalist HR experience within a large, complex organisation.
• Strong knowledge of New Zealand employment law and HR best practice.
• Proven experience in complex employee relations matters and supporting organisational change.
• The ability to influence, coach and challenge leaders constructively.
• Excellent communication and relationship-building skills.
• Sound judgement, resilience and a calm approach when dealing with sensitive issues.
• A proactive, solutions-focused mindset and an ability to work effectively within evolving systems, processes, and ways of working.
• Experience within local government would be highly regarded.

What's in it for you? He aha ngā hua ki a koe?

Want to be involved in shaping your City? Here at the Christchurch City Council we know our strength comes from our people, working together as one team to create results. When you join us, you're getting involved first hand, and contributing to crafting the Christchurch community. You will also benefit from:

• Access to training programmes, workshops, and development opportunities
• Flexible working arrangements - WFH, adjustable start and finish times, option to purchase extra leave.
• Collaboration - exposure to wider areas of the organisation
• Benefits - a variety of benefits for Council staff from health schemes to retail discounts.

If this sounds like an interesting opportunity, you think you have what it takes and want to get involved in shaping our City then please apply today.

Additional Information | Ko ētahi atu kōrero:

At the Christchurch City Council, we are dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive and authentic workplace, so if you're excited about this role but your past experience doesn't align perfectly with the job description, we encourage you to apply anyways.

We understand that recruitment processes can be challenging. If you require any accessibility support to apply for this role, please reach out to us at [email protected]

• Hours of work - Full time
• Position - Permanent
• Location - This position is primarily based at Te Hononga, Christchurch City Council Civic Offices - 53 Hereford Street
• Salary - The salary band for this position goes from $96,465 to $107,183 per annum based on a 40 hour week. Starting salaries will be based on knowledge, skills and experience the successful candidate brings to the role, and relativities both, within the immediate team and in the broader organisation for the same or similar roles.
• Closing Date - Sunday 6th September 2026

Applications will be reviewed as they are received, and interviews may take place prior to the close date. This means we reserve the right to close a job ad before the advertised close date.

To view the full position description, click here