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People Optimisation & Change Manager

Job Name
People Optimisation & Change Manager

General Information

Date Published
23-Feb-2026
Advertising Ends
09-Mar-2026
ID#
14686
Role Type
HR
Work Type
Permanent Full-Time
Workplace Type
Hybrid
Country
New Zealand
Location
Auckland

Position Description

Our Co-operative

Ata whakaarohia tō āpōpō | Imagine Tomorrow with Us
At Te Mātāpuna Fonterra, we want everyone to feel they can be themselves. 

Whether you're early in your career or ready for your next step, Fonterra offers a unique opportunity to grow with a global dairy co-operative that values care, collaboration, and contribution. 

Owned by New Zealand dairy farmers and supported by a dedicated team, we are all working together to create a better future. Imagine tomorrow with us, where your career can grow, and you can create positive change.

Mō tēnei tūranga | About the Opportunity
 
We’re looking for an experienced People Optimisation & Change Manager to play a pivotal role in shaping the future of our operations. Sitting at the intersection of strategy and delivery, you’ll lead the people workstreams across complex, cross functional programmes within our Operations Office (COO).

You’ll help create and translate Strategic workforce planning (SWP), operating model and organisational shifts into practical solutions, guide workforce evolution, and ensure we build the capability needed for the next three years and beyond. As part of our P&C Change & Optimisation Team for Operations, you’ll support the success of major transformation programmes and drive meaningful change for our people across New Zealand and the wider Co operative.

Working closely with leaders across our footprint, you’ll help accelerate progress toward our long term business objectives, ensuring SWP and change is delivered with care, clarity, and impact, and that our people are set up to thrive through what’s ahead.

Key responsibilities include:

  • Shaping future fit organisational design, ensuring structures, roles, and ways of working align with Fonterra’s values, collective agreements, and risk settings. 
  • Embedding people focused practices and insights into programme delivery, ensuring all advice supports effective decision making across COO. 
  • Help drive the SWP cycle and implement the plan for Operations structure, capability, and talent development.
  • Support the people aspects of Operations Strategy by building a unified change narrative, aligning leaders, and tracking progress across shifts and locations.
  • Coaching and enabling leaders to lift capability, build confidence, and successfully guide their teams through evolving operating environments.
           
Mōu | About You

You’re a strategic, people centred HR professional who thrives in complex environments and knows how to deliver transformation with both care and commercial impact. With strong judgment and a calm approach to ambiguity, you influence senior leaders and help them navigate change confidently. Passionate about improving how change happens for our people, you bring a blend of organisational design thinking, workforce insight, and practical delivery experience to shape a stronger future for the Co op.

To make an impact in this role you will have:

  • Strong HR background, with experience partnering across senior levels in large or complex environments. 
  • Excellent stakeholder management, with the ability to influence and build alignment.
  • Comfort working with risk, ambiguity, and complexity, using sound judgment to guide decisions. 
  • Proven experience delivering people components of major change or transformation, from design through to execution. 
  • Ability to build and leverage data and insights to solve workforce problems, identifying trends and informing evidence-based decisions that drive positive outcomes
  • Demonstrated expertise in supporting strategic workforce planning cycles that define organisational size, structure, skillsets, and talent pipelines.  
  • Experience in operations, manufacturing, and/or unionised environments (desirable), bringing an understanding of scale, complexity, and cross functional delivery.

Ngā Aura | Our Values 
At Fonterra, our values of Good Together, Better Every Day, and Every Drop Counts, are for everyone – no matter your background, identify or experience. These values guide us in delivering exceptional outcomes for our farmers, customers, communities, and each other. Discover how your values align with ours by taking our Values Quiz

Tā mātou oati | Our Commitment to You 
We care for our people globally. Our comprehensive benefits support your well-being, development, and work-life balance:

  • Fair and equitable pay
  • Health and well-being programs (medical, mental health support)
  • Professional development opportunities
  • Career growth support
  • Work-life balance options (flexible/hybrid working where possible)
  • Employee recognition
  • Support for community involvement and cultural connection

To learn more, visit Fonterra Careers

Ngā Mahi | A Career of Opportunities
At Te Mātāpuna Fonterra, we are inspired by purpose and guided by our principles and values. Together, we create goodness for generations and make a global impact at a local level. As part of our Co-operative, you are an everyday creator, imagining what Fonterra, dairy, and you can be here.

Tātou Tātou | Join Us
Does this sound good to you? Come join our whānau - bring your whole self, and let's solve for better together. 

You, me, us together, Tātou, tātou.

He Wāhi mō te Katoa | Together, we're shaping a future of inclusion.
Inclusion is key to our Co-operative. We're building a team that reflects the diverse world we live in, believing it drives better decisions and innovation. 

We welcome applications from all backgrounds (ethnicities, genders, identities, orientations, ages, abilities, neurotypes, cultures, religions). 

Even if you don't meet every requirement listed, we encourage you to apply; we value your potential and growth. 

If you face accessibility issues or need accommodations during the process, please contact your recruiter. We ensure fair participation, allowing you to be at your best. Tātou, tātou. 

Applications close at midnight on Monday 9th March