People & Culture Manager

People & Culture Manager | Recruitment & Payroll | Gold Coast

Permanent, full-time | Northern Gold Coast | Attractive salary package

The Opportunity

We're partnering with a well-established education and care provider that is scaling its network and its head office capability alongside it. As part of that growth, they're bringing on a People & Culture Manager to take ownership of three of the most business-critical functions in the organisation: recruitment, HRIS management and payroll.

This is a hands-on leadership role reporting directly into senior leadership. You'll inherit a capable Recruitment Officer and a tenured payroll team, along with the systems that sit underneath them, and you'll have genuine licence to improve how all of it works.
What you'll be doing

• Leading and developing the recruitment function, lifting both the speed and the quality of hiring across the business
• Overseeing payroll delivery — accuracy, compliance and on-time processing, every cycle
• Owning the HRIS end to end: administration, reporting, data integrity and driving adoption across the wider business
• Working alongside the leadership team on workforce planning, attraction and retention strategy
• Keeping the organisation on the right side of Fair Work, modern award and payroll obligations
• Rebuilding and continuously improving P&C policy, process and reporting
• Acting as escalation point for the more complex ER, payroll and recruitment matters
• Staying close to the detail — this role balances strategy with real operational involvement

What you'll bring

• A track record in a People & Culture Manager, HR Manager or equivalent leadership position
• Demonstrable ownership of both recruitment and payroll functions (this is non-negotiable for the client)
• Strong HRIS capability — system administration, reporting and process design, not just end-user experience
• Exposure to workforce management and payroll platforms (Humanforce, Employment Hero, Deputy or similar) will be well regarded
• Confident interpretation of Australian employment legislation and modern awards
• Genuine people leadership experience — coaching, developing and holding standards
• Credibility with senior stakeholders and the confidence to influence upwards
• A pragmatic, solutions-first approach and real interest in the people side of the business

What's on offer

• Attractive salary package, negotiated on experience
• Office-based role on the northern Gold Coast, easy parking.
• Rare scope to shape a P&C function rather than maintain someone else's
• A values-led leadership group with a clear growth trajectory
• Long-term career progression as the organisation expands