Head of People & Culture

Location: Melbourne

Contract Type: Permanent

MinterEllison is one of Australia’s largest independent law and consulting firms. With a heritage of almost 200 years, we are known for our excellence, and our authentic and enduring relationships with our clients, our people and our communities. Clients seek out MinterEllison to help them solve complex problems every day. We do this by our full-service legal offering and complementary consulting offering.

We offer opportunities to work on industry-leading mandates for top-tier clients, while being part of a high-performing and collaborative team that values excellence, diversity of thought, curiosity, and inclusion. We value our people and empower them to achieve their ambitions - with the support, trust and autonomy to grow their careers in meaningful ways.

At MinterEllison, we're leading the way with AI and other emerging technologies, powering innovation right across our firm. You will have the opportunity to engage with AI tools we've built, and other external AI tools, to enhance efficiencies and excellence internally and with our clients.

We support sustainable ways of working regarding how, when and where you work and offer a wide range of social, financial and health benefits (see https://www.minterellison.com/-/media/Minter-Ellison/Files/Careers/MinterEllison-Employee-Benefits-Dec_2025.pdf)

The Team

Our People & Culture team plays an important role in translating MinterEllison’s firm strategy into the leadership, capability and workforce outcomes that enable our people and practices to thrive.

We are seeking a Head of People and Culture to lead the people and culture strategy for our Infrastructure, Construction and Property (ICP) Line of Business. Working closely with the ICP Managing Partner, Business Unit leaders and other senior stakeholders, you will help ensure the Line of Business has the capability, capacity, culture and ways of working required to respond to a complex and rapidly changing market.

This is a senior strategic partnering role with the opportunity to influence workforce priorities, leadership capability, organisational design, talent pipelines, change adoption and the responsible use of AI. You will also lead and develop the ICP People & Culture team and contribute to broader Talent and firm-wide priorities.

Your Role

As Head of People and Culture, you will turn business strategy into practical, evidence-based people initiatives. You will provide trusted advice to senior leaders, anticipate workforce risks and opportunities, and support leaders to build high-performing, inclusive and psychologically safe teams.

Your key responsibilities will include:

• Developing a rolling resource plan that connects capability, succession and capacity with the ICP strategy and market outlook, using workforce analytics to identify emerging risks and actionable scenarios.
• Leading and developing the ICP People & Culture team, while contributing to the Talent Strategic Plan, ICP priorities and knowledge-sharing across the broader People & Culture function.
• Advising senior stakeholders on organisational design, role architecture, talent pipelines, succession and leadership transitions.
• Supporting partner admissions, lateral hiring and remuneration processes, while overseeing the accurate and timely delivery of performance, remuneration and recruitment cycles.
• Coaching partners and leaders through complex people decisions, workplace risks and difficult conversations, strengthening leadership capability and supporting defensible outcomes.
• Leading organisational change and the responsible adoption of AI by combining clear communication, practical use cases, appropriate guardrails, leader coaching and sustained follow-through.

We welcome applications from experienced People & Culture leaders who can combine commercial judgement, strategic workforce expertise and genuine care for people.

You will bring:

• Significant strategic HR leadership experience in a professional services firm, global partnership or similarly complex corporate environment, together with a track record of influencing senior leaders.
• Demonstrated experience delivering organisational design, change management and workforce planning initiatives that produced measurable business outcomes.
• Experience leading and developing a high-performing HR, People & Culture or talent team.
• Strong analytical and commercial capability, with the ability to translate workforce information, ambiguity and competing priorities into clear recommendations and practical action.
• Sound experience managing employee relations, psychosocial risks and workplace matters fairly, promptly and through defensible processes, alongside a commitment to inclusive and psychologically safe leadership.
• A postgraduate qualification, or equivalent, in Human Resources, Business, Psychology or a related discipline, plus exposure to or a strong interest in the property, infrastructure and construction sectors.

This role will suit someone energised by shaping how leadership groups think and act, building capability that lasts, and helping an organisation navigate change without losing sight of commercial performance or people’s wellbeing.

How to apply

We encourage applications from people of all ages, abilities, cultural backgrounds, genders (including trans or gender diverse), LGBTQ+ people and those with carer responsibilities. We particularly encourage Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to apply.

We prefer to connect with people directly, so please submit your CV by clicking on the 'Apply' button. We encourage all applications, including if you do not meet all the criteria listed for the role. Your application will also enable us to consider you for other opportunities that may be available at MinterEllison.

If you are currently a MinterEllison employee, please apply through the internal careers page.

If you would like further information, require any adjustments throughout the recruitment process or for a confidential discussion, please contact Simon.Gillin@minterellison.com.