Senior HSW Business Partner

Exciting Opportunities in Health, Safety and Wellbeing

We're expanding our Health, Safety and Wellbeing team, creating a range of new opportunities for passionate professionals who want to make a real difference.

As Auckland Council takes on new responsibilities due to the Transport Reform and continues to evolve, we're investing in additional capability across health, safety, wellbeing, occupational health, injury management, training, contractor safety, and business partnering. These new roles will help shape the future of HSW across one of New Zealand's largest and most diverse organisations.

Whether you're looking for your next career challenge or an opportunity to have a broader impact, this is a chance to join a team committed to creating safe, healthy and thriving workplaces for our people and communities. We have a variety of roles available, offering opportunities for experienced practitioners, specialists and emerging talent alike.

Join us and help shape the future of Health, Safety and Wellbeing at Auckland Council.

He angitūtanga: The opportunity

This is a permanent, full-time as a Senior Health, Safety and Wellbeing Business Partner reporting to the Health, Safety and Wellbeing Operations Manager. You will work alongside business partners, managers, people leaders and kaimahi to strengthen health, safety and wellbeing across Auckland Council.

You will work closely with the Health, Safety and Wellbeing Operations Manager and play an important role to support the effective delivery of the HSW business partnering function, while strengthening risk management, incident learning, assurance, reporting and continuous improvement across council.

You will help leaders understand their risks, improve everyday practices, support incident learning and contribute to assurance, reporting and improvement work across council.

Your ability to lead and embed change and improvement programmes and provide verification and assurance support to the wider organisation will be highly valued.

The remuneration range for these roles are $123,000 – $158,000 depending on experience and skillset. Our employer KiwiSaver contribution is additional to the base salary.

Please review the position description attached here.

Ngā kawenga matua: Key responsibilities

The role influences, coaches, and supports HSW business partners, senior leaders, managers, people leaders, and kaimahi to embed a positive health, safety, and wellbeing culture across the organisation.

As a senior technical leader, you will provide expert guidance, mentoring, and capability development to HSW Business Partners, acting as an escalation point for complex health and safety matters and driving consistent, high-quality HSW practices.

The role leads the implementation of key strategic initiatives, programmes, and improvement priorities, partnering with the wider HSW function and directorate leaders to achieve sustainable and measurable HSW outcomes.

You will confidently challenge existing thinking and established norms, leveraging influence, expertise, and evidence-based insights to drive continuous improvement and identify innovative solutions for kaimahi and teams.

You will provide expert advice on risk management, support strategic initiatives and help ensure compliance with legislative and council requirements. You confidently challenge existing thinking and established norms, using your influence and expertise to drive continuous improvement and identify better solutions for people, teams, and the organisation.

The role champions proactive risk reduction, supports incident investigations and organisational learning, monitors performance and reporting frameworks, and collaborates with stakeholders to deliver best-practice HSW outcomes for kaimahi.

Day to day you can expect to:

• Provide expert advice and guidance across all aspects of HSW, including the identification, assessment, and effective management of risk.
• Influence and build strong relationships teams and people leaders to achieve high-quality HSW outcomes, collaboration, engagement and participation while supporting successful work.
• Promote accountability and ownership of HSW among operational leaders and kaimahi.
• Maintain a strong overall understanding of the operational environment including objectives, challenges, and associated risks that HSW Business Partners are actively working on.
• Support the development, implementation, and monitoring of HSW performance metrics and system improvements to enhance reporting, decision-making, and organisational performance.
• Support the coordination and appropriate action of internal and external audit programmes.

He kōrero mōu: About you 

You are an experienced health, safety and wellbeing professional who can work with complexity, build trust quickly and give advice that is practical, clear and useful. You’re confident working with leaders, asking good questions and challenging thinking in a constructive way.

You can lead, mentor and influence others to achieve outstanding outcomes and improvements in HSW.

You are passionate about achieving positive outcomes through continuous improvement and your expertise in HSW programmes, systems, and processes. You bring strong experience in implementing and enhancing HSW frameworks, including auditing, reporting, and the effective use of HSW information systems.

Some of the specifics we will be looking for:

• A relevant tertiary degree in Health and Safety Management or similar tertiary qualification recognised by NZISM.
• At least 10 years’ operational experience in a similar role, preferably within large, complex, and diverse organisations.
• Registration as an accredited health & safety professional with a HASANZ organisation such as NZISM
• Knowledge of industry best practice and current trends in HSW.
• Knowledge and application of the Health and Safety legislation, case law, processes and principles, including the obligations of the PCBU and translation into practical activities.
• Strong knowledge and experience in applying modern health and safety practices to strengthen health, safety, and wellbeing outcomes.

Ngā āhuatanga kei a mātou: What we offer

At Auckland Council, you will join a dynamic, supportive environment where your mahi (work) will directly impact the lives of over 1.8 million Aucklanders. We offer flexible working conditions, a focus on well-being, and a culture of continuous improvement.

We are proud to be recognised for our commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion. We are accredited by GenderTick, a signatory of the Pride Pledge. These commitments reflect our ongoing efforts to create a workplace where all staff feel valued, respected, and empowered to thrive.

Together, we can create a Tāmaki Makaurau we can all be proud of. As part of our organisation, please view a range of our: benefits.

Tono Mai: Apply Now!

Applications close: Monday 17th August at midnight

Auckland Council is an equal opportunity employer (EOE) and we are committed to providing a working environment that embraces and values diversity and inclusion. If you have any support or access requirements, we encourage you to advise us at the time of application to assist you through the recruitment process.

Auckland Council is committed to protecting your privacy in accordance with the Privacy Act 2020. We collect personal information directly from you and, where relevant for the purpose of assessing you for employment, and employing you as part of the transport reform process, from third parties such as referees, previous employers (including Auckland Transport) recruitment agencies, and background checking providers.

By applying for this role, you consent to Council obtaining a reference from your current employer, including information about any active conduct investigations and current performance management processes, if you are the preferred candidate. Reference checks will only be undertaken at the preferred candidate stage. Any non-active performance or conduct matters may also be discussed with referees as part of the reference checking process.

If you do not consent to this information being provided, Council may be unable to properly assess your application and your application will not progress further. If you wish to withhold your consent, or to access or correct your personal information, please contact the Privacy Officer at privacy@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz .