Head Of Er & Ir

Arnott'S; Sydney; Hybrid; AUD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Product discounts and employee perks

Health and wellbeing initiatives

Flexible and hybrid ways of working

Access to senior leaders

Job summary

The Arnott's Group is building a contemporary Employee Relations and Industrial Relations capability. Based at North Strathfield, this Head of ER & IR role leads the function across the organisation, partnering with leaders and unions to shape strategic ER/IR frameworks and governance.

You will influence decisions, manage complex workplace challenges and provide practical, commercially focused ER/IR advice to enable business performance.

Qualifications

• Significant Employee Relations and Industrial Relations experience in a complex, multi-site organisation.
• Proven ability to design and implement ER/IR strategies at enterprise level.
• Experience with union engagement and industrial negotiations in award-covered environments.

Responsibilities

• Support enterprise bargaining strategy and negotiations across manufacturing sites.
• Represent the organisation in external ER forums and manage disputes to achieve compliant outcomes.
• Build productive relationships with unions (UWU, AMWU, AWU, ETU) and advise on ER/IR matters.
• Partner with corporate, commercial and supply chain leaders on workforce challenges.
• Coach leaders through conduct, performance, grievances and investigations.
• Support organisational change, workforce planning and business transformation.

Skills

Employee relations

Industrial relations

Union engagement

Enterprise bargaining

Governance frameworks

People leadership

Education

HR/IR degree

Employment Law

Job description

About the Job

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.

Perks

• 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.