A distinguished luxury retail organisation is searching for an accomplished Human Resources Director to guide its people agenda across Australia and New Zealand. This role sits within a business known for exceptional service standards, a refined customer experience, and a strong commitment to nurturing talent at every level. As the company continues to evolve its footprint and enhance its market presence, the HR Director will play a central role in shaping organisational capability and driving a forward-looking people strategy.
Working across both corporate and retail environments, the position requires a leader who is commercially sharp, culturally intuitive and highly effective in complex, fast-moving settings. The successful candidate will bring depth of HR expertise along with the confidence, composure and credibility to influence senior decision-makers and guide the region through ongoing growth and transformation.
Role Overview
The Human Resources Director will hold full responsibility for the People & Culture function across Oceania, leading a regional HR team and partnering closely with senior executives across corporate, retail and regional markets. This role combines high-level strategic impact with hands-on leadership. The successful candidate will shape organisational capability, elevate employee engagement, strengthen leadership development and ensure the region operates with disciplined governance and commercial clarity.
Core Responsibilities
Regional People Strategy and Executive Advisory
Define the long-term people strategy for the region in alignment with global objectives and commercial ambitions.
Advise senior leaders on organisational design, workforce planning, leadership capability and talent requirements across retail and corporate teams.
Evaluate business priorities and labour market trends to ensure decisions are supported by strong people insight.
Translate strategy into clear action plans that guide the HR team and business leaders.
Culture Leadership and Organisational Health
Promote a culture that reflects the values and expectations of luxury retail: excellence, collaboration, accountability and high performance.
Support senior leaders in strengthening team dynamics, communication and managerial capability.
Develop engagement, wellbeing and recognition initiatives that enhance the employee experience.
Identify emerging cultural challenges and address them early with structured, well-managed interventions.
People Planning, Workforce Architecture and Reward Governance
Lead annual workforce planning cycles, ensuring the organisation has the right structure and capability to support business goals.
Manage headcount planning, budgeting and forecasting across multiple markets and functions.
Oversee reward governance, including salary reviews, incentive frameworks and benchmarking.
Ensure payroll processes, contracts and people-related financial controls meet compliance and accuracy standards.
Talent Attraction, Development and Mobility
Own the end-to-end talent acquisition strategy for the region, ensuring high hiring standards and a strong employer reputation in the luxury sector.
Develop talent pipelines for leadership, corporate and retail roles.
Partner with global and regional teams on learning, development and leadership programmes.
Lead succession planning, internal mobility and career-path strategies for key positions.
HR Operations Excellence and Risk Management
Oversee HR operations including onboarding, data accuracy, HRIS optimisation, visas, contracts and offboarding.
Ensure all processes adhere to local legislation and global compliance requirements.
Lead HR audits, internal reviews and risk assessments.
Drive continuous improvement to increase efficiency, reduce manual work and strengthen the overall employee lifecycle.
Change Leadership and Cross-Functional Partnership
Support organisational change initiatives, including market expansion, structure changes, digital tools and retail transformation projects.
Partner with Finance, Legal, Retail Operations, Marketing and Global HR teams to ensure alignment across people priorities and business objectives.
Translate global initiatives into practical and relevant actions for the Oceania region.
Candidate Profile
Experience
Minimum 12–15 years of progressive HR leadership experience within luxury retail, premium consumer brands or similarly complex multi-market environments.
Experience influencing senior leaders and supporting both corporate and retail populations.
Strong background in employee relations, talent strategy, reward governance, organisational design and HR operations.
Demonstrated experience leading HR teams and managing large-scale people initiatives.