Director, People

KBR, Inc.; Adelaide; On-site; AUD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Great Place To Work

Flexible working

Competitive salary

Parental leave

Income protection

Employee stock purchase plans

Job summary

KBR, Inc. is seeking a Director, People to lead the strategic and operational people agenda across the business, ensuring workforce capability, culture and leadership effectiveness support business objectives.

You will partner with executives to drive performance and sustainable growth in a large, globally distributed organisation. The role requires a Baseline Defence security clearance or higher, and offers a permanent full-time opportunity across multiple Australian cities including Adelaide

Qualifications

• Senior People leadership experience in a complex, geographically dispersed organisation.
• Proven ability to translate business priorities into workforce strategy.
• Strong knowledge of Australian employment legislation and industrial relations.

Responsibilities

• Lead the People strategy across a large, dispersed business.
• Partner with executive leaders to deliver workforce and organisational strategies.
• Oversee workforce planning, design, talent management, and change initiatives.
• Drive leadership capability, culture and employee engagement across the organisation.
• Ensure compliance with employment laws and governance frameworks.

Skills

People leadership

Strategic planning

Organisational design

Employee relations

Stakeholder engagement

Change management

Education

Bachelor/Master in HR, Business, Law

Postgraduate HR/People certifications

Job description

Title

At KBR – We do things that matter.

We deliver science, technology and engineering solutions to governments and companies around the world. KBR employs approximately 38,000 people worldwide with customers in more than 80 countries and operations in over 29 countries. KBR is proud to work with its customers across the globe to provide technology, value-added services, and long-term operations and maintenance services to ensure consistent delivery with predictable results. At KBR, We Deliver.

KBR in Australia

With over 65 years working on some of Australia’s largest and most complex projects, KBR has unmatched experience supporting the nation’s critical infrastructure, energy transition and national security priorities. KBR has around 2,000 employees throughout Australia, who are focused on delivering innovative technology and engineering solutions for a safer, more secure and sustainable future.

Belong, Connect and Grow at KBR

At KBR, we are passionate about our people and our Zero Harm culture. These inform all that we do and are at the heart of our commitment to, and ongoing journey toward being a People First company. That commitment is central to our team’s philosophy and fosters an environment where everyone can Belong, Connect and Grow. We Deliver – Together.

The Opportunity

As Director, People, you will lead the strategic and operational people agenda across the business, ensuring workforce capability, culture, leadership effectiveness and employee experience support the achievement of business objectives. Reporting to the Chief People Officer and serving as a key member of the People Leadership Team, you will partner closely with executive leaders to drive organisational performance, strengthen capability and enable sustainable growth.

This is a rare opportunity to influence the future direction of the People function within a complex and evolving organisation at a pivotal point in its journey. You will lead the development and execution of a contemporary, high-performing people strategy that supports business success while fostering a strong, inclusive culture, playing a critical role during a significant period of transformation.

Following the September 2025, KBR announced the planned separation of its Mission Technology Solutions (MTS) business into a standalone public company. This role will ultimately transition into the new company, providing a unique opportunity to help shape the future workforce, culture and people strategy of an emerging organisation serving government and defence, intelligence, space, aviation and critical infrastructure customers.

This is a permanent full-time opportunity and can be based in Canberra, Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney or Adelaide.

The successful candidate must hold a Baseline security clearance or higher.

In This Role, You Will

• Lead the People strategy and delivery across the business, aligning workforce capability, culture and employee experience with business objectives.
• Partner with executive and senior leaders to translate business priorities into workforce and organisational strategies.
• Lead workforce planning, organisational design, talent management and succession planning initiatives.
• Provide strategic advice on organisational effectiveness, leadership capability, culture and people risk.
• Drive organisational change, transformation and workforce transition initiatives.
• Lead employee and industrial relations strategy, including Enterprise Agreements, workplace relations matters and compliance obligations.
• Champion leadership capability, employee engagement, diversity, inclusion and belonging.
• Ensure compliance with employment legislation, governance frameworks and workforce risk requirements.
• Collaborate with global People leaders to deliver consistent and scalable people solutions.
• Lead, coach and develop a high-performing People team.
• Influence enterprise-wide decision making and build strong partnerships across senior stakeholder groups.
• Champion KBR's Zero Harm culture, promoting a safe, secure and respectful workplace

About You

You are an experienced People executive with a proven track record leading strategic and operational people functions within complex and geographically dispersed organisations. You are a trusted advisor to executive leaders, recognised for your ability to align people strategy with business priorities and deliver sustainable organisational outcomes.

You bring deep expertise across workforce planning, organisational design, employee and industrial relations, organisational change and leadership capability. Commercially astute and outcome focused, you balance business priorities, workforce considerations and risk while providing pragmatic and influential advice on complex people matters.

You are an authentic and collaborative leader who excels in periods of transformation, builds high-performing teams and influences effectively across all levels of an organisation.

To be successful in this role, you will bring:

• Tertiary qualifications in Human Resources, Employment Relations, Business, Law or a related discipline.
• Significant senior People leadership experience within a complex, geographically dispersed organisation.
• Demonstrated success partnering with executive and senior leadership teams to influence strategic and operational outcomes.
• Proven expertise in workforce planning, organisational design, employee and industrial relations and organisational change.
• Strong knowledge of Australian employment legislation, industrial relations frameworks and compliance requirements.
• Experience developing and implementing People strategies that deliver measurable business outcomes.
• Strong commercial acumen and the ability to balance business priorities, workforce considerations and organisational risk.
• Exceptional stakeholder engagement, influencing and communication skills.
• Demonstrated experience leading and developing high-performing teams.
• Ability to obtain and maintain an Australian Government security clearance

Highly Regarded

• Experience within Defence, Defence Industry, Government or other highly regulated environments.
• Experience supporting large-scale organisational transitions, transformations or restructures.
• Experience leading People functions through significant organisational change.
• Postgraduate qualifications in Human Resources, Business Administration or a related discipline.
• AHRI accreditation or equivalent professional certification.

All candidates will be required to hold and maintain an active Baseline Defence Security Clearance.

What We Will Offer You

• A workplace culture certified as a Great Place To Work
• Flexible working
• Competitive salary (including annual reviews)
• Paid parental leave
• Income protection
• Corporate rewards
• Salary packaging/Novated leasing
• Employee stock purchase plans
• Flu shots, skin checks and discounted private health insurance
• Career development: Online learning, mentorship and career pathways

Please note. Shortlisting will take place as applications are received, therefore the advertisement may close early if a suitable candidate is identified.

As a Major Service Provider of the Australian Defence Force, an AGSVA security clearance will be required and compliance to International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR). As such, our hiring decisions are based on the key requirements of each role and candidates are selected based on their unique strengths and experiences.