Job Description

At Busy Bees Aotearoa, people are at the heart of everything we do. As one of New Zealand's largest private early childcare education (ECE) providers, we’re committed to creating safe, nurturing environments where tamariki, whānau, and our people can thrive.

With 85+ centres and more than 1,700 kaimahi across Aotearoa, our People & Culture team plays a critical role in supporting our leaders to create safe, compliant and respectful places to work where everyone can thrive.

About the role

This is a specialist Employment Relations role supporting leaders across our ECE centres and Support Office. The role provides practical, timely advice which helps leaders navigate employment matters with confidence and ensures compliance with New Zealand employment legislation. This is a hands-on role where no two days are the same.

If you enjoy supporting business leaders to navigate the world of employment relations and you thrive on solving complex people challenges, ensuring fair and legally sound outcomes, this could be an ideal role for you. You'll be based at our Support Office in Orewa.

Key responsibilities include

• Providing expert ER advice and coaching to leaders across our national network of centres

• Managing complex employment matters, including investigations, disciplinary processes, restructures and performance management

• Supporting leaders to address issues early and constructively, building capability and confidence

• Drafting high-quality employment documentation and correspondence

• Supporting the organisation to manage risk and reduce personal grievance exposure

• Contributing to improvements in ER processes, documentation and leader guidance

• Working closely with the wider People & Culture team to ensure a consistent, fair and values-led approach to people matters.

About you

You’re an experienced ER practitioner who enjoys partnering with leaders to navigate challenging situations while keeping people and culture front of mind. You will likely bring:

• 5+ years Employment Relations experience, with skill in managing complex ER casework

• Excellent knowledge and application of New Zealand employment legislation and best practice

• Proven experience managing investigations, disciplinary processes and restructures

• Confidence in coaching leaders and building capability

• Sound judgement, discretion and the ability to balance care and collaboration with commercial outcomes

• Excellent written communication skills, including creation of ER documentation

• The ability to manage multiple matters across a large and geographically dispersed organisation.

• Experience in multi-site organisations such as education, healthcare or hospitality would be highly beneficial.

If you’re passionate about people and thrive in a true partnering role, we’d love to hear from you. Apply now and help us grow great people, great leaders, and great learning environments.

Applications are invited from candidates who have the legal right to work in NZ.

Why Work for Busy Bees?
If you’re passionate about early learning, Busy Bees is the place to be. Although we are part of a global organisation, our company was founded by three families looking for better, more enriching childcare. Three decades later, we still keep the same values at heart.

We know that we couldn’t do what we do without the important people in our teams. We invest in our people and work with them to build career pathways that inspire.