Industrial Relations Strategy Lead

Industrial Relations Strategy Lead

Lead and deliver our IR strategy bringing it to life for our leaders and into our Stores and Sites across NZ

Partner across the broader Woolworths Group, the Retail Industry, Government and with Unions  and grow your network

Join a supportive and close knit team, where you are trusted and given autonomy to manage your work on a day to day basis

Permanent, hybrid role based in Favona, Auckland and other operational sites

Ready to make an impact?

Support and lead our Industrial Relations (IR) strategy across New Zealand as our IR Lead, and take ownership of representing the Group for localised operational Agreements. You will spearhead our strategy influencing outcomes and our broader perspective on Industrial Relations thinking through we create the right balance to drive positive outcomes for our team with balanced commercial outcomes. This position is key to embedding Industrial Relations as a core leadership capability in the NZ business by coaching leaders and proactively mitigating industrial risks.

What you'll do | Hei mahi

Drive the strategic evolution of the NZ IR landscape to support the Group’s long-term ambitions and workforce vision. Develop and execute the specific three-year strategy, shifting the approach from reactive to proactive, ensuring balanced and sustainable commercial and employment outcomes. Deliver outcomes by creating and maintaining strong external stakeholder relationships and empowering frontline leaders by defining required IR capabilities and fostering high team trust.

Develop and execute the three-year "nested" Woolworths New Zealand IR strategy, ensuring alignment with the Group's long-term workforce vision and commercial plan.

Create and execute a robust strategic engagement plan to build strong, consistent relationships with external bodies, including unions and government.

Proactively influence the NZ industrial landscape to enable greater workforce adaptability, moving beyond traditional constraints to support future operational needs.

Define, build, and drive accountability for IR capabilities among frontline leaders while implementing strategies to enhance team trust and address foundational issues swiftly.

Define and promote an active industry-wide voice for Woolworths NZ on key IR issues, influencing legislative drivers in partnership with Government Relations.

What you’ll bring | Hei koha

Bring onboard your IR legislation knowledge across NZ & Australia, combined with IR or employment law experience, ideally within a large-scale organisation. Represent the Group with integrity and sound commercial judgment to guide on escalations with peers and business stakeholders.

To be successful in this role, your experience will likely reflect :

Excellent understanding of relevant NZ & Australian Employment legislation with previous IR or employment law background in a large-scale employer.

Proven ability to work with and influence stakeholders, including Unions, Government bodies, Legal teams and more.

Very strong verbal and written communication skills, including the ability to build rapport and trust to translate complex issues clearly.

Strong experience in data analysis and interpretation, translating complex data into actionable insights, combined with sound commercial awareness and judgment.

Sound experience in coaching and developing employees and line managers in people processes.

This is a fast paced innovative role and one where you will be empowered to make a significant contribution to making Kiwis’ lives a little better everyday! If you’d like to make a key contribution to the growth of our business, apply today!

Our Benefits

Genuine flexibility in how and where you work

Ongoing development within an ANZ team and access to COE / specialist career opportunities

Everyday Rewards team card, providing a range of benefits including discounts and bonus points for groceries and discounted online shopping delivery

Banking and insurance (health, life etc) discounts

Global and local career opportunities

Everyone belongs at Woolworths Group

Diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging are key to realising our purpose of better together for a better tomorrow. We recognise the value our team’s diversity brings to our business, customers, and communities and that teams with diverse experiences and backgrounds enrich our group and are better able to innovate and solve problems. As one of the largest employers in Australia and New Zealand, we aim to create a truly inclusive workplace where everyone feels that they belong, can be their best selves, and reach their full potential.

We encourage all candidates to apply; please let us know in your application if we can support you with any adjustments in the hiring process.