The People & Culture Business Partner is part of the Talent & Culture team and is responsible for developing our greatest asset – our people – by attracting, supporting and developing talent throughout the company. This role aims to position AKQA as a genuine employer of choice, by fostering a supportive, collaborative and ultimately rewarding environment. You'll be inspired to push boundaries, break from tradition, and recommend bold and innovative ways to improve our employee experience.
The People & Culture Business Partner proactively leads a range of HR related initiatives and activity for the recruitment, retention and development of our talent across our New Zealand studios, located in Auckland & Wellington. Partnering with managers across all disciplines, you’ll provide guidance on employee experience opportunities and challenges, identify specific development needs, and support succession planning.
At AKQA, you’ll work in an innovative and inclusive culture surrounded by some of the brightest minds in their fields. You’ll also have the opportunity to learn and grow within a creative and technically advanced team, and have access to ongoing personal and professional development. At AKQA, we are committed to both your career growth and your work/life balance, working in a hybrid in-studio/WFH model.
ROLE REQUIREMENTS
- Serve as an influential voice for People strategies and initiatives within AKQA.
- Assist with general queries regarding policies and procedures, and other areas related to People & HR.
- Advise and coach leaders and employees on a range of workplace practices. Monitor discussions to identify trends and call attention to themes and opportunities for improvement.
- Recommend and implement procedures to improve quality and efficiency in People department best practices.
- Work with Talent Acquisition to deliver on NZ’s recruitment needs.
- Lead and act as an AKQA Wellness Ambassador & Culture Ambassador, driving and executing on key programs.
- Facilitate and execute an exceptional onboarding and offboarding experience for employees, including contracts, inductions, visas and compliance. Monitor program to ensure all activities are carried out effectively.
- Advise performance management processes, including training employees and managers on the appraisal process, coaching managers on delivering feedback, and helping managers create development plans to address performance issues.
- Work with the Payroll team for monthly payroll processing and checking.
- Work with managers to facilitate professional development programs and assist with the execution of individual development plans.
- Act as an AKQA Culture & Wellbeing Ambassador, driving and executing key programs.
- Conduct reporting, identifying trends and areas of opportunity to improve the employee experience.
- With a HRIS implementation in 2025, lead the implementation and adoption of the tool to enable efficiencies of people processes across the company.
- Assist the T&C Director with other duties and projects, including recruiting and employee retention efforts. Plan and oversee the implementation of new initiatives, tools, policies and processes.
QUALITIES AND CHARACTERISTICS
- Demonstrated understanding of NZ employee relations knowledge, with practical experience of managing issues to resolution.
- Exceptional interpersonal, relationship building and collaboration skills, with the ability to inspire confidence and build trust across all levels in the company.
- Strong business acumen and ability to provide HR advice in a commercially sensitive and appropriate way.
- Ability to work independently, multi-task and prioritise workload with strong follow through on assignments and projects.
- Exceptional communicator; able to communicate effectively within the company’s diverse culture.
- Ability to mobilise transformation and change within AKQA.
- Ability to adapt to frequently changing schedules and priorities.
- Versatile and able to succeed in a high-paced, broad and creative environment.
- Line management and mentoring experience is desired.
We believe great work happens when we're together, fostering creativity, collaboration, and connection. That's why we’ve adopted a hybrid approach including required in-office days. If you require accommodations or flexibility, please discuss this with the hiring team during the interview process.
AKQA is an equal opportunity employer and considers applicants for all positions without discrimination or regard to particular characteristics. We are committed to fostering a culture of respect in which everyone feels they belong and has the same opportunities to progress in their careers.
AKQA Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about AKQA and has not been reviewed or approved by AKQA.
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Parental & Family Support — Policies include fully paid parental leave for all parents, adoption support, and family leave for caregiving needs. Additional supports such as subsidized backup childcare and regional enhancements reinforce family care.
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Healthcare Strength — Health coverage offers multiple plan options with full preventive care, mental‑health resources, and dental and vision coverage. Some regions provide 24/7 virtual doctor access and supplementary healthcare budgets for services not covered by insurance.
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Leave & Time Off Breadth — Time‑away provisions include generous paid holidays with increases over tenure and a companywide year‑end closure. Special, study, and event‑based leave (e.g., weddings, moving) broaden the range of available time off.
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What We Do
AKQA is the frontier agency, uniting imagination, design, craft and technology to create new forms of value. For more than three decades, we've helped brands imagine what’s next and make what matters, from pioneering digital to defining the next era of AI. Operating across 19 countries and 30 locations, we work with organisations to build intelligent systems, digital products, connected ecosystems and immersive experiences that shape culture, deepen brand relevance and unlock growth. AKQA is a WPP agency.
