_{18th July, 2025}

About Ara Education Charitable Trust (AECT)
The Ara Education Charitable Trust (AECT) was founded through a unique and successful partnership between industry, government agencies, and five visionary school principals. Our goal: to create meaningful employment and training opportunities for school leavers in South Auckland.
We are proud of our innovative model and the positive impact we've had in empowering rangatahi in our community to thrive through education, employment, and holistic support.
 
About the Role
We are looking for an Operations Lead to build and maintain the systems, tools, and processes that keep Ara running smoothly—from finance and compliance to HR and internal workflows. This role is vital in supporting our people, enhancing efficiency, and ensuring we meet all operational obligations while enabling our teams to focus on delivery and impact.
 
You’ll work cross-functionally with Ara’s leadership and delivery teams, external partners, and contractors to ensure everything behind the scenes is effective, streamlined, and aligned with our mission.
 
Key Responsibilities
Operational Leadership:

• Develop and maintain operating systems and processes to support the organisation
• Work with Ara leadership team to establish workflows and processes for each area
• Build in operating and compliance guidelines that allow the teams to operate effectively

HR Leadership:

• Oversee all HR processes including managing contracts, onboarding, leave tracking etc.
• Work in partnership with leaders to recruit for new Ara team members.
• Ensure appropriate HR-related policies and processes are in place.
• Develop people reporting metrics as required.

System Management:

• Develop and maintain operating systems and processes.
• Develop and maintain, in partnership with IT specialist, key IT systems.
• Ensure all internal systems (Google Workspace, CRM, monday.com) are up to date and fit for purpose.

Health and Safety:

• Develop, implement and review health and safety policies, systems and processes.
• Conduct and coordinate risk assessments, hazard identification and safety audits.
• Manage accurate health and safety records including near misses, incidents, and safety-related training.
• Provide health and safety training and inductions for new and existing staff.
• Liaise with regulatory authorities as required
• Develop and promote a culture of safety across all team members at Ara.

Reporting:

• Develop and manage reporting for operations area including:
• People-related reporting
• Health and Safety reporting
• Operations reporting
• Financial reporting

Financial Management:

• Manage budgetary aspects of the operations portfolio, ensuring that expenditure aligns with approved budgets and financial policies.

Cultural Responsiveness:

• Demonstrate commitment to culturally responsive practice, with respect for the diverse values, identities, and aspirations of Māori, Pasifika, and South Auckland communities.

What We’re Looking For
Essential Experience & Skills

• 3+ years’ experience in operations, business management, or generalist roles with oversight across HR, finance, IT, and compliance.
• Proven ability to design and implement operational systems and processes in a small or growing organisation.
• Experience managing or coordinating with external providers (e.g. accountants, IT consultants, HR advisors) to deliver high-quality back-office functions.
• Strong organisational and analytical skills, with the ability to build budgets, dashboards, and tracking tools using simple platforms like Excel or Google Sheets.
• Demonstrated knowledge and application of health and safety leadership, particularly within environments involving youth and onsite construction/building activity.
• Excellent communication and leadership skills, with a proactive and problem-solving mindset.
• Health and Safety qualification

Desirable

• Experience working in or supporting start-ups, social enterprises, or charitable trusts, especially during growth or transition phases.
• Understanding of governance and reporting, including support for board-level documentation and accountability.
• Basic familiarity with charitable trust compliance, including financial accountability, employment law, and privacy standards in New Zealand.
• Experience in establishing or managing HR and performance systems (e.g. onboarding, staff development frameworks).
• Commitment to Te Tiriti o Waitangi, and culturally responsive practice, particularly in supporting programmes for Māori and Pasifika youth.

Expected Outcomes / Deliverables

• All core systems are streamlined and consistently adopted.
• Health & Safety and compliance obligations are fully met.
• Staff onboarding and internal processes are smooth and efficient.
• Strong internal controls reduce operational risk.

How to Apply
If this sounds like you, we’d love to hear from you!
Please submit your CV and a cover letter that includes your response to the following question:
 
Give an example of how you’ve implemented and improved internal systems or processes in a previous role. What was the issue, what did you change, and what difference did it make?

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