We want to design the best first job in New Zealand

Your first job teaches you a lot about what to expect from work. What a good manager feels like, whether asking questions is encouraged, how much support you get, and whether you are trusted to have a go.

At Humankind, we have spent 14 years championing employee experience and what helps people do great work. So when we decided to create a new entry-level AI Builder role, we wanted to treat it as more than just another vacancy.

We want to design The Best First Job in New Zealand, and do it out in the open.

That feels especially important right now, when young people are finding it harder to get the experience they need to start building a career and entry-level work is changing quickly.

One role is a very small contribution to that problem, but we can make one first job as good as we know how to make it, share how we have designed it, and be open about what we learn along the way.

The starting point was the same one we use with clients: asking ourselves, “what does the business need to be able to do next?”.

For us, AI is part of that answer. Over the past couple of years we have been experimenting, running workshops, building confidence across the team and putting some clear guardrails in place. We see AI as a people change as much as a technology change because it changes how work happens, what capability people need and where their time is best spent.

We have a great foundation, but are now at an inflection point and the next step is having someone who can accelerate our momentum and turbocharge the way Humankind works.

Our AI Builder will work across our business from delivery in P&C and recruitment, to internal operations, growth, and finance, getting close to the work before building anything. They will get hands-on, working with the people who will actually use what they build.

Our model is simple: build, teach, and monitor. Build things, help the capability spread across the team, and keep an eye on what is actually being used and creating value.

We want the role to have real ownership, while still feeling like a great first job. That means hands-on support, plenty of learning, exposure across the business, and room to make decisions, drive innovation, and try things.

That balance matters to us. We have always believed that great employee experiences and high performance go together. The best work creates value for the person and the business, so we want this role to do both. The Best First Job in New Zealand!

As the role goes live, we will share more about how we have designed it, including what the first 90 days will look like. Once they are here, we will keep sharing what they build, what works, and what we learn.

If we believe employee experience can be designed deliberately, The Best First Job feels like a pretty good place to prove it. Follow along over the next few weeks to see how we do and learn more about this exciting new role!

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