Oritain is the global leader in product origin verification, with locations in Auckland, Dunedin, London, Singapore and Washington D.C.

At Oritain, we solve a problem most people don’t think about until it matters. Can you trust where something comes from? Is it truly what it claims to be?

Through forensic science and advanced technology, we bring certainty to those questions, building trust, protecting brands, and strengthening global supply chains.

At the heart of our mission is our people; this is where this role comes in.

About the Role

This is a newly created senior leadership role with responsibility for leading the People and Culture (P&C) function across New Zealand. It combines strategic influence with hands on delivery, shaping both the employee experience and the overall effectiveness of the business.

Partnering closely with local leadership and the global People team, you will take ownership of the full People and Culture remit. From complex employee relations and payroll through to performance, culture, and organisational change, this role plays a central part in how the business operates and grows.

You will act as the trusted advisor to leadership in New Zealand, while also connecting local priorities to global strategy, ensuring alignment, consistency, and impact.

What you'll be doing

Reporting to the Global Head of People and working closely with the P&C team onsite in our Dunedin office, you will lead the full employee lifecycle, ensuring a consistent and high-quality experience from hiring through to development, performance, and exit. Workforce planning, onboarding, engagement, and retention will all sit within your scope.

You will lead complex ER cases, ensuring a balanced approach to risk, compliance, and commercial outcomes. Alongside this, you will build manager capability, enabling leaders to handle people matters with greater confidence and independence.

You will oversee payroll end to end, ensuring accuracy, compliance, and strong governance. Working with Finance and external providers, you will play a key role as the organisation continues to evolve its global payroll model.

Operational excellence is essential. You will ensure that all People processes, systems, and data are accurate, compliant, and continuously improving, creating efficiency and reliability across the function.

You will embed global frameworks locally across performance, engagement, and culture, ensuring they are meaningful and effective within the New Zealand context. You will also support change and transformation initiatives, providing clear, transparent, and compliant people leadership throughout.

A visible, onsite presence will be important in building relationships, credibility, and trust across the business.

What you'll bring

• Significant experience in a senior People and Culture or HR leadership role, ideally within a global or scaling organisation.

• Deep expertise in New Zealand employment law, with a strong track record of managing complex employee relations cases and processes.

• Strong payroll experience is essential, with confidence overseeing complex and evolving payroll environments.

• Proven experience across the full employee lifecycle, with the ability to operate both strategically and operationally.

• Strong stakeholder management skills, with the ability to influence, challenge, and support senior leaders.

• Experience working in matrix or global environments, with the ability to balance local needs and global direction.

• A pragmatic, commercially minded, and solutions focused approach, combined with a hands on leadership style.

The Details

Based in Dunedin, reporting to the Global Head of People, and leading a local People and Culture team.

This role is primarily on site, reflecting the importance of visibility and relationship building, with some flexibility required to collaborate across global time zones.

Travel is limited, with occasional domestic travel and infrequent international trips.

Benefits

• Competitive remuneration package

• Health/ wellbeing allowance and generous leave provisions

• Opportunity to step into a key leadership role with real influence

• Exposure to global projects and senior stakeholders

• Support for ongoing professional development and learning

• A purpose driven, collaborative, and values led culture

To Apply

If you believe this is the right role for you and that Oritian is the place you want to be, we encourage you to express your interest by submitting an application.

While we are passionate about creating a diverse and inclusive organisation, we are only able to consider applications from individuals who currently live in New Zealand and already have the legal right to work here.

Please note that any offer of employment would be conditional upon Oritain obtaining satisfactory references and background checks. These will be undertaken by Oritain, information service providers, and third-party agencies of the Company's choice.