People and Culture Manager

• Location: Darwin
• Status: Full-time Ongoing

Lead the people strategy of one of Australias most impactful statutory organisations. As People and Culture Manager at the Northern Land Council you will shape workforce direction influence executive decision-making and drive culturally strong high-performing teamssupporting work that directly impacts Aboriginal communities across the Top End.

About the Role:

This is a pivotal executive leadership opportunity to shape the workforce of one of Australias most influential statutory organisations.

As the People and Culture Manager you will lead a diverse and high-performing portfolio spanning workforce strategy industrial relations recruitment payroll governance and WHS. Reporting to the General Manager Corporate Services you will provide enterprise-level advice and drive integrated people strategies that support the Northern Land Councils mission and operational priorities.

Operating in a complex geographically dispersed and culturally rich environment you will work at both strategic and operational levelsguiding organisational design strengthening workforce capability and ensuring culturally safe fair and compliant employment practices.

This role presents a unique leadership challenge: balancing legislative compliance workforce reform and service delivery across remote contexts while supporting an organisation with significant cultural social and economic impact.

What you will Bring:

You are an experienced senior People and Culture leader who has successfully operated at an enterprise level within complex multi-disciplinary organisations. You bring a strong track record of delivering workforce strategy leading organisational change and navigating industrial relations environments with confidence and credibility.

You are comfortable operating in environments that require both strategic oversight and hands-on leadership and you bring the judgement and influence required to support executive decision-making. Importantly you demonstrate a genuine commitment to culturally safe practice and understand the importance of embedding this into workforce systems leadership approaches and organisational culture.

In addition to this you will have: -

• Demonstrated senior leadership experience across People & Culture / HR functions in complex multi-site or regional organisations
• Proven experience leading workforce reform organisational design or capability uplift initiatives
• Strong expertise in industrial relations within unionised and/or public sector environments
• Demonstrated ability to lead multidisciplinary teams and deliver outcomes through others
• Strong working knowledge of employment industrial and WHS legislative frameworks and their practical application to organisational compliance and risk management

For a full copy of the Position Description refer to the link provided below.

Whats in it for you

This is a career-defining opportunity to influence workforce strategy at scale within a purpose-driven organisation. Your work will directly contribute to strengthening the capability of an organisation that delivers meaningful outcomes for Aboriginal people across the Northern Territory.

You will operate as a trusted advisor at the executive level with the autonomy to shape strategy influence organisational direction and lead a capable and established People and Culture function through its next phase of maturity.

We offer:

• A base salary of $170000 Negotiable dependent on Experience plus 15% superannuation
• Salary sacrificing up to $15900 Meal Entertainment and Holiday Accommodation benefit up to $2650 per year.
• Other benefits include:
  • Generous leave provisions5 weeks annual leave 18 days personal leave;
  • Paid Christmas close down;

Interested applicants should send a copy of their CV along with a cover letter outlining why you are interested in this position and what relevant skills and expertise you will bring to this role

If you have any further enquiries please contact Irfan Baht

Applications Close: Sunday 26 April 2026

NLC reserves the right to interview suitable candidates before the closing date.

Lived experienced is an important part of what we do so suitably qualified Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People are encouraged to apply for this role.

About the NLC

The Northern Land Council (NLC) is an independent statutory authority of the Commonwealth. The NLC is established under the Aboriginal Land Rights Act (NT) 1976 and its purpose is to serve its constituents who are Traditional Owners (TOs) and other Aboriginal people living in their region. Cultural knowledge and lived experience are central to the work that we do here at NLC. We are committed to enhancing Aboriginal peoples social political and economic participation by supporting their aspirations and amplifying their voices on a range of issues impacting on their lands seas culture and communities.