The Next Step Recruitment Company – Geelong VIC

A unique chance has arisen for an experienced and commercially minded People & Culture leader to join a purpose-led organisation experiencing significant growth across multiple sectors. With a workforce of approximately 600 employees and contractors across Australia and offshore locations, the business is on an exciting path of expansion through acquisition, with a long-term vision to scale substantially over the coming years.

This is a rare opportunity to shape and execute the people strategy within a complex, entrepreneurial environment where growth, transformation and innovation are front and centre. We're looking for a People & Culture leader who thinks like a founder, acts like a builder, and can create the people infrastructure required to support rapid organisational growth.

The Opportunity

Reporting directly to the executive leadership team, this role carries a dual mandate: providing strategic leadership across People & Culture while ensuring operational excellence across a geographically dispersed workforce.

Initially offered as a 12-month fixed-term contract with a completion bonus, the role is expected to evolve into a permanent executive-level position, with a clear pathway toward a future Chief People Officer appointment.

Based in Geelong, you will play a pivotal role in building people frameworks, integrating acquired businesses, developing offshore capability, and creating scalable systems that support rapid organisational growth.

Key Responsibilities

- Develop and execute the first year of a broader three-year People & Culture strategy
- Partner with senior leaders to establish strategic workforce and people priorities




- Design and implement a scalable acquisition onboarding and integration model
- Lead organisational change initiatives associated with rapid growth and business acquisitions
- Implement and embed performance management frameworks across multiple business units
- Establish and optimise offshore workforce models and international team structures
- Develop and manage the People & Culture budget and operating plan
- Provide leadership, coaching and support to an established P&C; team
- Drive continuous improvement across systems, processes, reporting and workforce data
- Build the people foundations, capability and workforce plans required to support future growth and scalability

A unique opportunity has arisen for an experienced and commercially minded People & Culture leader to join a purpose-led organisation experiencing significant growth across multiple sectors. With a workforce of approximately 600 employees and contractors across Australia and offshore locations, the business is on an exciting path of expansion through acquisition, with a long-term vision to scale substantially over the coming years.

This is a rare opportunity to shape and execute the people strategy within a complex, entrepreneurial environment where growth, transformation and innovation are front and centre. We're looking for a People & Culture leader who thinks like a founder,



acts like a builder, and can create the people infrastructure required to support rapid organisational growth.

The Opportunity

Reporting directly to the executive leadership team, this role carries a dual mandate: providing strategic leadership across People & Culture while ensuring operational excellence across a geographically dispersed workforce.

Initially offered as a 12-month fixed-term contract with a completion bonus, the role is expected to evolve into a permanent executive-level position, with a clear pathway toward a future Chief People Officer appointment.

Based in Geelong, you will play a pivotal role in building people frameworks, integrating acquired businesses, developing offshore capability, and creating scalable systems that support rapid organisational growth.

Key Responsibilities

- Develop and execute the first year of a broader three-year People & Culture strategy
- Partner with senior leaders to establish strategic workforce and people priorities
- Design and implement a scalable acquisition onboarding and integration model
- Lead organisational change initiatives associated with rapid growth and business acquisitions
- Implement and embed performance management frameworks across multiple business units
- Establish and optimise offshore workforce models and international team structures
- Develop and manage the People & Culture budget and operating plan
- Provide leadership, coaching and support to an established P&C; team
- Drive continuous improvement across systems, processes, reporting and workforce data
- Build the people foundations, capability and workforce plans required to support future gro

📌 Head of People (Geelong)
🏢 The Next Step Recruitment
📍 Geelong