Senior Lead – People M&A Service Owner

About the role

As Senior Lead – People M&A Service Owner you will lead the delivery of complex people‑focused transactions such as mergers, acquisitions, divestments and outsourcing, ensuring seamless workforce transitions from mobilisation through to business‑as‑usual.

Key responsibilities

• Lead end‑to‑end delivery of complex People M&A and transactional projects, including due diligence, integration, separation and workforce transition.
• Mobilise the People workstream, define scope, governance, resourcing and interfaces with the broader transaction programme.
• Create and manage integrated delivery plans, critical paths, milestones, RAID logs, budgets and status reporting.
• Conduct people due diligence, coordinate specialist inputs and translate findings into risks, cost implications and recommendations.
• Drive Day 1 readiness, cut‑over and integration or separation activities across employee data, structures, payroll, HR systems and communications.
• Act as integrator across business, Talent & Culture, Group M&A, legal, finance, risk and external advisers to align delivery and resolve inter‑dependencies.
• Provide timely advice and escalation to senior stakeholders, structuring ambiguity into clear decisions that protect value and risk.
• Lead cross‑functional project teams, establish clear accountabilities and maintain pace and quality throughout each transaction phase.
• Define and continuously improve the People M&A service offering, including methodologies, standards, playbooks, tools and governance.
• Build People M&A capability across the organisation through coaching, guidance and reusable transaction knowledge.
• Represent OD&I on People M&A matters and shape the service in response to ANZ priorities and demand.

Required profile

• Demonstrated experience leading complex, large‑scale transactions such as mergers, acquisitions, integrations and outsourcing.
• Proven ability to lead end‑to‑end delivery across mobilisation, due diligence, negotiation support, Day 1 readiness, integration or separation and transition to BAU.
• Deep knowledge of people considerations – workforce perimeter, employee data, employment obligations, reward, retention, structures, payroll, HR systems and change.
• Extensive project and programme delivery experience in complex environments, including governance, critical‑path and risk management.
• Experience leading multidisciplinary, cross‑functional teams with clear accountability and momentum under compressed timelines.
• Strong commercial and risk judgement to assess due‑diligence findings, identify material people risks and develop mitigation strategies.
• Confidence engaging, influencing and constructively challenging senior leaders, legal advisers and external parties.
• Strong consulting, facilitation, problem‑solving and communication skills, including preparation of executive papers and stakeholder communications.
• Demonstrated experience as a service owner or in developing enterprise methodologies, standards, playbooks, tools and governance.
• Experience supporting professional development and capability uplift of teams.
• Good to have: experience delivering transactions in banking, financial services or other regulated environments.
• Generalist HR or Talent & Culture background with depth in People M&A or workforce transformation.
• Relevant qualifications in project, change, process improvement or transaction management.
• Tertiary qualifications in human resources, business, law, finance, project management or related discipline.