People & Culture Partner

Location: New Zealand

Caruso is the AI-native fund administration platform for private markets. We replace legacy systems with modern software and integrated services, helping fund managers save time, impress investors, and grow AUM.

Since launching just over two years ago, Caruso has grown rapidly to $80B+ in assets, 900+ funds, and 80,000+ investors on the platform. We just completed our Series A capital raise, and are looking for smart, ambitious people to help us build a global business.

Learn more at getcaruso.com.

Role summary

We’re seeking a People & Culture Lead to own and deliver the day‑to‑day people experience at Caruso as the business scales across New Zealand, Australia, and the United States.

This role is accountable for people operations, recruitment coordination, onboarding, and culture enablement - ensuring our people are well supported, well connected, and set up to do great work - while partnering closely with the leadership team and external advisors on more strategic people initiatives.

You’ll play a key role in building the foundations of Caruso’s people function, establishing practical processes, rhythms, and ways of working that support rapid growth without unnecessary bureaucracy.

What you'll do

1. People Operations & Employee Experience

You will own the core people operations of the business.

• Own end‑to‑end people operations, including offers, contracts, onboarding, and employee lifecycle processes

• Be the first point of contact for day‑to‑day people queries, issues, and support

• Ensure people processes are clear, practical, and consistently applied as the team grows

• Support a positive, inclusive, and high‑trust employee experience across geographies

2. Recruitment Coordination & Hiring Support

You will enable high-quality hiring at pace.

• Partner with hiring managers to draft role briefs and job descriptions

• Coordinate recruitment processes, primarily working with external recruiters

• Vet applications, conduct initial cultural screens, and prepare candidates for hiring managers

• Support direct outreach and adhoc hiring activity where required

• Act as a cultural filter in hiring, ensuring new hires add to Caruso’s culture

3. Onboarding, Connection & Culture Enablement

You will help people feel connected and effective from day one.

• Own and continuously improve the onboarding experience

• Design and deliver simple rituals and practices that help people build relationships

• Support team events and initiatives that enable connection and belonging

• Be the culture enabler, by supporting initiatives that grow culture across multiple locations

4. Offices, Tools & People Systems

You will help keep the operational environment running smoothly.

• Partner closely with the EA on office management across regions

• Ensure people-related tools, systems, and workflows are fit for purpose and well adopted

• Identify opportunities to improve efficiency using modern tools and AI-enabled workflows

• Maintain accurate people data and documentation

5. Partnership & People Function Evolution

You will help shape how the people function grows over time.

• Partner with leadership on people priorities as the organisation scales

• Work alongside external partners (e.g. Humankind) on strategic people initiatives

• Help translate Caruso’s values and expectations into an internal people narrative

• Grow with the business, with the opportunity to take on broader scope as Caruso matures

What we're looking for

Experience & Capability

• Experience in a hands-on people, HR, or people operations role

• Comfortable operating as a generalist in a growing, fast-moving environment

• Experience supporting recruitment, onboarding, and employee lifecycle processes

• Confident working with leaders, external recruiters, and advisors

• Experience supporting distributed or multi-location teams is advantageous

Mindset & Ways of Working

• Thrives in scale-up or high-growth environments

• Highly organised, proactive, and comfortable juggling multiple priorities

• Hands-on by default - happy to do the work, not manage it through others

• Strong judgement around people and culture

• Autonomous, practical, and solutions-focused

• Comfortable using modern tools including AI

This role will suit someone who enjoys building from the ground up, wants real ownership, is a culture builder and has the potential to grow into a broader people leadership role over time.

Why Join Caruso?

• Build the people foundations of a fast-growing, global scale-up

• Take real ownership of people operations, hiring support, and onboarding

• Enable culture through who we hire and how people work together

• Partner closely with founders and leaders in a flat, high-trust environment

• Use modern tools and AI to make People & Culture practical and scalable, not bureaucratic

Benefits

• Comprehensive health insurance with Southern Cross.

• Flexible work from home (WFH) arrangements. When in the office enjoy our premium office space with luxury fit-out and water views all within close proximity to Auckland's best bars and cafes.

• Workstation package including Macbook Pro, dual screens, Apple peripherals, Airpod Pro noise-cancelling headphones.

• 5 weeks annual leave after 2 years tenure, 6 weeks of annual leave after 3 years tenure.

• Unlimited sick leave.

• Extended parental leave.