Assistant Director

National Health and Medical Research Council; Melbourne; On-site; AUD 120,000 - 170,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible workplace culture

Wellbeing programs including access to

Professional development opportunities

Job summary

NHMRC in Melbourne seeks a proactive HR leader to oversee HR business partnering, guidance and case management, injury management, wellbeing, employment relations, payroll, workforce planning and analytics. You will lead the People, Property and Security section, shaping strategy, policies, and organisational planning.

You will drive workforce development, inclusion, and wellbeing initiatives while building strong stakeholder relationships and ensuring compliant, high-quality HR services across

Responsibilities

• Lead and manage HR partners to deliver timely, high-quality advice across employment conditions and remuneration.
• Drive continuous improvement across HR services, data, and processes.
• Provide sound HR guidance on complex people issues for staff and managers.
• Oversee pay processing and payroll assurance activities with accuracy and timeliness.
• Develop and monitor HR policies and compliance frameworks.

Job description

National Health and Medical Research Council – Melbourne VIC

The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) is seeking a proactive leader to oversee key HR functions, including:

• HR Business Partnering
• Guidance and case management (performance, conduct, grievance)
• Injury management and return to work
• Employee wellbeing
• Employment relations and policy
• Support for workplace committees
• Payroll and employment conditions
• Workforce planning and analytics

About the Branch

The Corporate Operations Branch comprises four sections that play key strategic leadership and advisory roles and deliver operational support to NHMRC across:

• Communications, Parliamentary and Events
• Finance
• Governance and Legal
• People, Property and Security

About the Section

The People, Property and Security section plays a pivotal role in supporting NHMRC’s strategic objectives by delivering comprehensive human resources, property, facilities, and security services while maintaining NHMRC’s business continuity, the section is responsible for:

• Leading the development and implementation of strategies, policies and organisational planning.
• Promoting workforce performance, culture and wellbeing through wellbeing programs, and effective HR partnering.
• Providing advice on employee relations, industrial relations, remuneration frameworks and workplace conditions that attract, retain, and support a diverse and high performing workforce.
• Driving workforce development, inclusive recruitment, and diversity initiatives to build capability and foster a dynamic, skilled, and representative team.
• Ensuring robust business continuity and proactive emergency management
• Developing and maintaining comprehensive agency security planning.
• Managing property and facilities to provide safe, functional, and sustainable workplaces.

What we offer

What truly makes us a great place to work? It is our people and the culture we have built together. With an 87% response rate in the 2026 APS Employee Census, NHMRC employees reported high levels of pride (90%), commitment (94%) and connection to our purpose (95%). NHMRC scored above the APS average across key employee experience measures, including wellbeing, innovation, communication and speak up culture. At NHMRC, you will find meaningful work, supportive leadership, flexible ways of working, and a collaborative environment where people can thrive and make a difference.

Our roles come with broad responsibilities and minimal hierarchy, making it easier to get things done. You will be part of a small, inclusive, and high performing team with a strong, supportive culture.

We offer:

• A truly flexible workplace culture.
• A dynamic, diverse and supportive team across Melbourne and Canberra.
• Wellbeing programs including up to 6 free counselling sessions per year and a workplace that genuinely cares.
• Generous recreational leave, personal leave, cultural leave, parental leave and paid end-of-year shutdown.
• Study assistance and professional development opportunities that align with your career goals.
• Opportunities to be trusted to lead high value projects with the freedom to innovate and the support to grow.
• Strategic exposure where you can engage directly with senior leaders and contribute to decisions that shape our future direction.

The key duties of the position include:

Job specific duties

This position is ideal for someone who excels in dynamic settings, manages diverse responsibilities, and promotes a positive culture. This role suits a strategic, proactive, and collaborative HR leader who can integrate operational service delivery with strategic workforce priorities. As Assistant Director, you will:

• Lead and manage a team of HR partners to deliver fit for purpose, timely and high quality HR advice and services across employment conditions and remuneration.
• Drive continuous improvement across HR services, data, systems, and processes.
• Provide sound HR advice on complex people issues, ensuring consistent, high-quality support for both staff and managers.
• Oversee pay processing and payroll assurance activities, ensuring accuracy, timeliness, and compliance.
• Provide comprehensive and balanced HR guidance on performance, conduct, and wellbeing matters, proactively identifying and managing risks to ensure fair, holistic, and positive outcomes for all parties involved.
• Design, deliver, and evaluate employee strategies and programs that promote an engaging, healthy and high performing workforce.
• Oversee HR business partnering initiatives including workforce planning to support decision-making, trend analysis, and risk management.
• Develop, implement, and monitor HR policies and compliance frameworks.
• Support formal consultation mechanisms, including committees and stakeholder forums.
• Cultivate influential networks with internal and external stakeholders to optimise HR service delivery, promote knowledge sharing, innovation, and continuous improvement.

Core capabilities

The successful candidate will demonstrate:

• Adaptable Leadership: Ability to inspire and motivate teams to accomplish diverse objectives that achieve successful outcomes, while empowering individuals to utilise their strengths to deliver projects that support the agency's strategic or operational goals.
• Strategic Alignment and Operational Delivery: Ability to work effectively across strategic and operational contexts, understanding broader organisational priorities and translating them into practical actions, plans and solutions. Balances longer-term objectives with immediate operational requirements and maintains a strong focus on implementation and delivery.
• Collaboration & Influence: Establishes and maintains strong working relationships with peers, executives, and external stakeholders to deliver outcomes across the agency.
• People Development: Provides mentorship, coaching, and development opportunities to team members, fostering capability building and a culture of continuous improvement.
• Risk & Compliance: Strong capability in applying governance, assurance, and compliance frameworks across employee relations, payroll, and case management functions, ensuring organisational and legislative obligations are consistently met.
• Communication: Advanced communication skills, including interpersonal, negotiation, influencing, and representation abilities, with a proven ability to engage, build, and sustain effective relationships with diverse stakeholders.
• Technical Proficiency: Expertise in HR legislation, APS employment frameworks, HR systems, and employment conditions, enabling effective interpretation, advice, and application across complex workforce matters.

Eligibility

To be eligible for a position at NHMRC, you must be an Australian citizen and be able to provide evidence of this. If successful, you will be required to undertake a Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Check.

Mandatory requirement

The successful candidate must be able to obtain and maintain a Baseline security clearance.

Notes

NHMRC is an inclusive and diverse employer that supports gender equity and diversity in leadership. We welcome and encourage applications from everyone, including People with Disability, First Nations peoples, LGBTIQA+ people, mature age people and people from Culturally and Linguistically Diverse backgrounds.

Principles for candidate use of AI in recruitment

Candidates should familiarise themselves with the Australian Public Service Principles for candidate use of AI in recruitment as they guide the ethical, responsible and transparent use of AI tools by candidates engaging in APS recruitment processes. These principles are designed to ensure that the use of AI tools by candidates aligns with the expectations outlined in the APS Values and Employment Principles and maintains the integrity of recruitment decisions and outcomes.

Getting to know the National Health and Medical Research Council

The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) is Australia’s leading Government agency for supporting health and medical research for the improvement of individual and population health. It does this through funding high quality research, supporting the translation of research into evidence-based practice and policy, providing guidance on responsible research practices and ethical issues, and administration of legislation governing research using human embryos. In addition, NHMRC has responsibilities in relation to implementation of the Medical Research Future Fund.NHMRC engages closely with a range of stakeholders across the health system and community to ensure that health and medical research meets the needs of the Australian community. This includes governments, researchers, biotech industries and other business leaders, medical, nursing and allied health practitioners, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health and research leaders, teaching and research institutions, health services, community health organisations, consumers and carers.NHMRC’s responsibilities include engagement with the health and medical research sector and broader community to manage NHMRC’s grants system which has up to 57,000 external users and is responsible for coordinating and administering grants processes totalling more than $1.5 billion annually.NHMRC has a workforce of around 250 staff, with most located in the Canberra office, with a smaller number in our Melbourne office. NHMRC offers attractive flexible work arrangements which allow staff to work from home.NHMRC is dedicated to championing gender equity and diversity, ensuring equal opportunities for all staff in our pursuit of excellence in health research.