Health & Safety Business Partner – Operations

About Ryman Healthcare

Ryman is a leader in retirement living and care, employing over 7,700 people in New Zealand and Australia across a wide range of areas, including nursing, village operations, sales, technology, design, and corporate roles.

At Ryman, exceptional care is thoughtfully delivered every day. From meals and activities to maintenance and support, our teams work together so residents can feel confident everything is taken care of, because behind that promise is the standard we’ve always held ourselves to: it’s got to be good enough for mum and dad.

We’re in a period of real transformation, focussing on stronger commercial outcomes, smarter ways of working, and continuing to set the standard in retirement living and aged care.

If you share those values and you're looking for a career where your work truly makes a difference, we'd love to hear from you.

What will you do?

We have two opportunities for experienced Health & Safety Business Partners to join our team, based at our Ellerslie, Auckland office.

You’ll partner with operational leaders to strengthen how health and safety risks are understood, owned and embedded into everyday decision-making and to build the capability of our leaders to manage it well themselves, bringing practical expertise, evidence-based insight and constructive challenge where it matters most.

Key responsibilities include

Build trusted relationships with senior and frontline leaders, understanding their operational challenges and influencing better H&S outcomes

Coach leaders to build their capability, confidence and ownership of health and safety

Partner on operational planning and change so material risks are understood and considered early

Help leaders turn H&S information, incidents and assurance findings into practical improvements in how work is done

Lead critical risk and field-based assurance activities, testing whether controls are present, understood, used and effective in real operating conditions

Use data, incident trends and assurance findings to identify emerging risks and recommend targeted action

Lead or support incident and near-miss reviews, identifying underlying causes and turning learning into sustainable improvements

Work across operational and specialist teams to address systemic issues and strengthen risk controls

Provide clear, concise insights and recommendations to operational leaders and governance forums

What's in it for you?

This is an opportunity to help shape a different kind of Health & Safety function. You'll join us as we establish a new Business Partner model focused on operational ownership, critical risk and practical improvement. You'll have room to influence how the role works, build strong partnerships with operational leaders and help shape what great looks like across Ryman.

In addition, a career at Ryman offers

The opportunity to influence health and safety across a large and diverse operational environment

Additional wellbeing leave and flexible working arrangements

Access to discounts with well-known brands across health and wellbeing, banking, insurance, retail and more

Career development opportunities within a large and evolving organisation

A supportive team environment where collaboration, challenge and continuous improvement are valued

Who are you?

You’re already operating as a trusted Business Partner, or you’re an experienced H&S professional with strong evidence of influencing operational leaders and building their capability

You know how to coach and challenge leaders without taking ownership away from them

You can point to examples where your influence changed how leaders or teams managed risk, not simply where you introduced a new system or process

You understand critical risk, operational assurance and how to test whether controls actually work in practice

You can move comfortably between frontline teams and senior leaders, adapting your approach without losing the message

You understand that great H&S isn’t measured by how dependent people are on you, but by how capable they become without you

You can use data and operational insight to identify priorities and turn them into practical action

A relevant H&S qualification and sound knowledge of NZ health and safety legislation are important; experience in healthcare, aged care or another complex, people-intensive, multi-site operational environment would be advantageous

* You’re comfortable travelling regularly and spending time where the work actually happens

At Ryman, digital confidence and commercial awareness are expectations we hold across every role. We are looking for people who are comfortable using data, reporting tools, and digital systems to inform decisions, understand how their work contributes to business outcomes, and embrace new ways of working. Curiosity, adaptability, and a willingness to grow your capability are key as our business continues to evolve.

We support an environment where everyone feels welcome to be themselves. We embrace diversity and celebrate individual uniqueness, encouraging anyone wanting to work for Ryman to apply for our vacant positions.

Applications will be reviewed as they are received and interviews may take place prior to the close date. This means a job ad may close before the advertised close date.