Head of Employee Relations & Industrial Relations

The Arnott's Group; Sydney; Hybrid; AUD 180,000 - 230,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Product discounts

Employee benefits

Health and wellbeing initiatives

Job summary

The Arnott's Group is seeking a Head of Employee Relations & Industrial Relations to lead our capability across The Arnott's Group, reporting to the Chief People Officer from our North Strathfield Head Office, with occasional time across the manufacturing network.

This high‑impact role will shape enterprise bargaining, governance and practical advice for leaders, balancing workforce engagement, risk and commercial outcomes in a unionised, award‑covered environment.

Qualifications

• Significant Employee Relations and Industrial Relations experience within a complex, multi-site organisation.
• Experience designing and implementing Industrial Relations strategies at an enterprise level.
• Proven experience supporting enterprise bargaining, union engagement and industrial negotiations.
• Experience developing ER/IR frameworks, governance models and operating principles.

Responsibilities

• Support enterprise bargaining strategy and negotiations across manufacturing sites.
• Represent the organisation in external IR forums, managing disputes, conciliations and hearings.
• Build productive relationships with unions including UWU, AMWU, AWU and ETU.
• Provide strategic and practical advice on Employee Relations and Industrial Relations matters.
• Partner with leaders across Corporate, Commercial and Supply Chain on workforce challenges.
• Coach leaders through complex conduct, performance, grievances and workplace investigations.
• Support organisational change, workforce planning and business transformation activities.
• Develop frameworks, governance, templates and tools for consistency across the business.
• Build leader capability through practical coaching, education and guidance.

Skills

Enterprise bargaining

IR strategy

Leadership

Unions engagement

Governance & compliance

Stakeholder management

People & culture partnering

Education

Human Resources / Employment Law / Industrial Relations qualification

Business degree

Job description

At The Arnott's Group, we're building a future focused Employee Relations and Industrial Relations capability that helps our leaders create safe, respectful and high-performing workplaces.

We're looking for a Head of Employee Relations & Industrial Relations to lead our capability across The Arnott's Group.

Reporting to the Chief People Officer, this role is a standalone function within People & Culture, with accountability for Employee Relations and Industrial Relations.

Based at our North Strathfield Head Office, this role will occasionally spend time across our manufacturing network.

This is an opportunity to influence strategic decision-making while helping shape a contemporary Employee Relations and Industrial Relations function that supports the future of our business.

About You

You're an experienced Employee Relations and Industrial Relations leader who has operated at an enterprise level within a complex, unionised organisation.

You bring demonstrated experience designing and executing Industrial Relations strategies, leading enterprise bargaining and developing frameworks, governance and ways of working that support long-term business objectives. You understand how to balance workforce engagement, industrial risk and commercial outcomes while helping leaders navigate complex workplace challenges.

You bring strong experience working with unions, employee representatives and operational leaders, together with a roven track record of driving best-practice employment compliance frameworks and governance in award-covered environments, ensuring operational practicality while effectively managing risk, Enterprise Agreements and Australian employment legislation. You're comfortable with enterprise agreement negotiations, managing disputes and providing practical, commercially focused advice that supports business performance.

You're a credible and collaborative leader who builds strong relationships across all levels of the business. You bring sound judgement, a pragmatic approach and the ability to influence outcomes while balancing the needs of employees, leaders and the organisation.

You're comfortable engaging with leaders across both corporate and operational environments and understand the importance of gaining context and insight into the areas you support.

What Your Days Look Like

• Supporting the enterprise bargaining strategy and negotiations across our manufacturing sites.
• Represent the organisation in external industrial and employment relations forums, including the Fair Work Commission, and other relevant proceedings, managing disputes, applications, conciliations, mediations and hearings to achieve commercially sound and legally compliant outcomes.
• Building productive relationships with unions including the UWU, AMWU, AWU and ETU.
• Providing strategic and practical advice on Employee Relations and Industrial Relations matters.
• Partnering with leaders across Corporate, Commercial and Supply Chain on workforce challenges and organisational initiatives.
• Coaching leaders through complex conduct, performance, grievance and workplace investigations.
• Supporting organisational change, workforce planning and business transformation activities.
• Developing frameworks, governance, templates and tools that create consistency across the business
• Building leader capability and confidence through practical coaching, education and guidance.

The Ingredients For Success

• Significant Employee Relations and Industrial Relations experience within a complex, multi-site organisation.
• Demonstrated experience designing and implementing Industrial Relations strategies at an enterprise level.
• Proven experience supporting enterprise bargaining, union engagement and industrial negotiations.
• Experience developing ER/IR frameworks, governance models and operating principles.
• Experience partnering with operational leaders in manufacturing, FMCG, supply chain, logistics or similarly operational environments
• Relevant tertiary qualifications in Human Resources, Employment Law, Industrial Relations, Business or a related discipline.
• Opportunity to lead and evolve Employee Relations and Industrial Relations across a leading FMCG organisation.
• Exposure to senior leaders across Corporate, Commercial and Supply Chain.
• Flexible and hybrid ways of working.
• Product discounts and employee benefits.
• Health and wellbeing initiatives.
• A collaborative and supportive People & Culture team.

Our Culture

At The Arnott's Group, our purpose is simple: Create Delicious Moments.

We're a business built on trusted brands, strong relationships and great people. This is an opportunity to make a meaningful impact, helping leaders navigate complex workforce challenges while building a contemporary Employee Relations and Industrial Relations function that supports the future of our business.