Chief People & Safety Leader

Orange Sky; Brisbane; On-site; AUD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Wellbeing Leave

Flexible Holidays

Leave flexibility

Remuneration package

Dog-friendly office

Career development

Diversity recognition

Job summary

Orange Sky Brisbane seeks a Senior Manager - People & Safety to lead People, Safety, Risk and Facilities, driving a resilient, high-performing workforce and embedding a culture of safety, care and continuous improvement. The role blends strategic HR leadership with operational execution to deliver exceptional employee and volunteer experiences.

You will oversee recruitment, development, compliance, and risk management, guiding employment law and safety standards across all operations while

Qualifications

• Minimum 8 years of HR and People Leadership experience, ideally in a fast-paced not-for-profit with a distributed volunteer workforce.
• Proven ability to build high-performing team cultures and translate strategic ambitions into operational execution.
• Exceptional interpersonal, written and verbal communication skills with ability to influence across diverse teams.
• Sound knowledge of employment law, WHS legislation, National Employment Standards and safety management systems.
• Hands-on experience handling employee relations matters and incident management protocols.

Responsibilities

• Drive strategy and plans across People Experience, Learning & Development, Health, Safety & Risk and Facilities Management.
• Lead and coach a high-performing People & Safety team aligned with Orange Sky’s values.
• Manage functional plans, OKRs, budgets and annual workforce/succession planning.
• Oversee recruitment, onboarding, performance and engagement while evolving a best-practice Employee Value Proposition.
• Design and deliver programs to uplift leadership capabilities across the organisation.
• Provide expert guidance on employment law, Fair Work compliance and Awards, acting as the escalation point for HR issues.
• Drive WHS compliance, proactive risk management and safety standards across all operational environments.

Skills

HR Leadership

Stakeholder Engagement

Employment Law

WHS Knowledge

Education

Tertiary or industry qualifications in HR/WHS

Job description

Orange Sky exists to support Australians who are facing challenges in their lives, including homelessness, financial hardship, limited access to laundry facilities or temporary displacement due to a natural disaster. We are committed to being there when it’s needed most, offering free laundry services, warm showers and friendly chats with our volunteers. Our volunteers and vans hit the road every day across Australia and New Zealand, helping folks feel seen, heard, and supported. Over the past 12 years, we’ve met thousands of amazing people and heard some incredible stories. Now, we’re on the lookout for someone just as passionate to join our team and help keep the wheels turning, literally!

The Role

The Senior Manager - People & Safety provides operational and strategic leadership across the end-to-end people, safety, risk and facilities functions. This role drives a connected, high-performing and resilient workforce, ensuring an exceptional experience for all employees and volunteers at Orange Sky while embedding an overarching culture of safety, care and continuous improvement.

What you’ll be doing (in a nutshell)

• Drive strategy and plans across People Experience, Learning & Development, Health, Safety & Risk and Facilities Management.
• Lead and coach a high-performing People & Safety team aligned with Orange Sky’s values.
• Manage functional plans, OKRs, budgets and annual workforce/succession planning.
• Oversee recruitment, onboarding, performance and engagement while evolving a best-practice Employee Value Proposition.
• Design and deliver programs to uplift leadership capabilities across the organisation.
• Provide expert guidance on employment law, Fair Work compliance and Awards, acting as the escalation point for HR issues.
• Drive WHS compliance, proactive risk management and safety standards across all operational environments.

What you bring to the table

• A minimum of 8 years of relevant HR and People Leadership experience (ideally within a fast-paced environment), alongside relevant tertiary or industry qualifications in HR, WHS or a related discipline. Experience in the not-for-profit sector and working with a distributed volunteer workforce is highly desirable.
• Proven experience building high-performing team cultures and translating strategic ambitions into operational execution.
• Exceptional interpersonal, written and verbal communication skills, with a track record of building trusted relationships and influencing across diverse teams.
• Sound knowledge of employment law, WHS legislation, National Employment Standards and safety management systems.
• Direct hands-on experience handling employee relations matters and incident management protocols.
• A proactive, curious and improvement-focused mindset paired with a genuine, authentic commitment to Orange Sky's mission and values.

Why Join Orange Sky?

At Orange Sky, we want every person to be "Better for Being Orange" that includes our volunteers, friends, supporters, and employees. Joining our team means working alongside a passionate, high-performing group of people dedicated to our mission of Positively Connecting Communities.

We offer an inclusive, modern, and flexible environment where your well-being, life circumstances, and personal growth are genuinely supported through our industry-leading benefits, including:

• Personal & Wellbeing Leave: Wide coverage of leave incorporating reproductive health, mental health, and extended personal care.
• Cultural & Flexible Public Holidays: Option to substitute public holidays for another day that works best for you as well as the ability to swap a cultural or religious public holiday for observance of a day that is more in line with your beliefs.
• Inclusive Compassionate Leave: Includes close family members, family friends, pregnancy-related loss, and pets.
• Community Services Leave: Paid leave for emergency response volunteering and full support for jury duty.
• Annual Leave Flexibility: Options to cash out leave or convert interrupted annual leave to personal/compassionate leave.
• Competitive Remuneration & Perks: Attractive base salary plus non-profit salary packaging (up to $15,900 tax-free per year); paid-out rewards scheme; travel allowance; Orange Sky public holiday and additional gifted leave for high performance.
• Culture, Flexibility & Balance: Flexible working arrangements and dog-friendly offices - bring your furry best mate to work!
• Health & Wellbeing Support: Fitness Passport (discounted gym memberships) for you and your family; dedicated wellness initiatives; and a comprehensive Employee Assistance Program (EAP).
• Growth & Development: Personal and professional growth pathways (My Career Pathway) with dedicated professional development funding.
• Recognised Diversity Leader: Orange Sky Australia is proud to be recognised as an Inclusive Employer by Diversity Council Australia (DCA).
• Purpose: The warm fuzzies that come from doing work that truly matters every single day.

We are committed to facilitating a barrier-free recruitment process and work environment. If you require any accommodations, we welcome you to let us know so we can work with you to participate fully in our recruitment experience.

The successful candidate will be required to undergo a standard background and criminal record check prior to commencement that will be assessed on case by case basis.

Read the Position Description here or using the link below for more information.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1aM3r890nMb_v__cZAbgAp1Uu1d7njD21BFYFViYFk_Q/edit?usp=sharing

Please contact Emma Young if you have any further questions at ****@orangesky.org.au

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