Head of People & Culture

O M; Sydney; On-site; AUD 150,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

O&M, an Australian-born haircare brand, seeks a Senior People & Culture leader to drive people strategy. You will report to the Managing Director, sit on the Executive Team and work with the Founder & CEO on confidential people matters.

Most weeks are hands-on: coaching leaders, managing recruitment and employee relations, and building culture across Australia and the US. Outsourced partners are managed with clear scopes and budgets.

Qualifications

• Senior HR generalist experience, including time as a sole P&C lead or P&C of one in a business of similar size.
• Track record of setting people strategy and delivering it.
• Strong, practical employee relations and investigation experience.

Responsibilities

• Build and own the People & Culture plan, budget and reporting to MD & Board on people data, trends and risk.
• Oversee employee relations end-to-end with external legal input where needed.
• Run in-house recruitment for roles; use agencies only for senior or specialist roles.
• Manage onboarding, performance, contracts, parental leave and the employee handbook.
• Lead performance and reward cycles with MD & CFO and drive benchmarking.

Skills

Senior HR generalist

P&C lead

Recruitment

Employee relations

Coaching leaders

HR analytics

L&D planning

Confidentiality

US employment

Education

Bachelor's degree in HR

Tools

Employment Hero

HRIS

Job description

You'll set the people strategy with the Managing Director and leadership team, then deliver it yourself: coaching our leaders, running recruitment and employee relations, and building a culture that keeps pace with a fast-growing, founder-led brand.

About O&M

O&M is an Australian-born professional haircare brand. For almost 20 years we've made Clean Colour and kind haircare for hairdressers and their clients, without compromising on colour performance or on how the brand looks and feels.

We're in salons across Australia and more than 20 other countries, including the US, the UK and all across Europe, and we're growing quickly in all of them. It all runs from our global HQ in Sydney: the brand, the product, the strategy and the people building it. Still founder-led. Still moving fast.

The role

O&M doesn't have a People & Culture team. This role is the function. You'll report to the Managing Director, sit on the Executive Team and work closely with our Founder & CEO, including direct access on confidential people matters.

Most of your week will be hands-on: coaching leaders, running recruitment, handling employee relations and building culture across our teams in Australia and the US. Specialist work like legal compliance, WHS advice and structured training programs is outsourced, and you'll choose those partners and hold them to account.

What you'll be accountable for

• The People & Culture plan: building it, owning the budget and reporting to the Managing Director and Board on people data, trends and risk
• Employee relations: performance, disciplinary, grievance and investigation matters handled end to end, with external legal advice only where it's needed
• Recruitment: run in-house from role brief to signed contract, with agencies only for senior or specialist roles
• The employee lifecycle: onboarding, probation, contract changes, parental leave, flexible work and exits, plus our policies, contracts and employee handbook
• Performance and reward: the performance review cycle, remuneration review and benchmarking, with the Managing Director and CFO
• Leadership coaching: coaching the leadership team and people leaders one on one and as a group, with a development plan for every leader
• Learning and development: a business-wide L&D plan, development plans and career conversations for every employee, and succession plans for critical roles
• Culture and engagement: bringing Clean, Kind, Original to life in how we hire, review and recognise people, and running the team calendar, engagement pulse checks and internal communications
• Our US team: the full P&C service for employees of O&M's US entity, and keeping Australia and the US connected as one O&M
• Outsourced partners: employment lawyers, IR and WHS advisers, training providers and EAP, each with a clear scope and budget, and their value reviewed regularly
• Employment Hero: our HRIS, employee records and people reporting

What the first 12 months look like

• A People & Culture plan agreed with the Managing Director, Founder and leadership team
• Compliance, IR and WHS partners in place with clear scopes and costs
• Every leadership team member in a regular coaching rhythm with a personal development plan
• A business-wide L&D plan, and every employee with a development plan
• Contracts, policies and the handbook up to date for everyone
• A full performance review and remuneration cycle completed
• A team calendar of cultural events running, with engagement measured and improving
• Time to hire and agency spend down because recruitment is done in-house

What we're looking for

• Senior HR generalist experience, including time as a sole P&C lead or "P&C of one" in a business of similar size, and you enjoy doing the work yourself
• A track record of setting people strategy and personally delivering it
• Strong, practical employee relations and investigation experience
• End-to-end recruitment experience without leaning on agencies
• Experience coaching senior leaders and building L&D plans; a coaching accreditation is highly regarded
• Experience choosing and managing outsourced HR, legal, WHS and L&D providers
• Working knowledge of the Fair Work Act, Modern Awards and office WHS obligations for office and field-based staff.
• Exposure to US employment practices, or the confidence to manage US advisers and learn quickly.
• Comfortable moving between strategy and detail in a fast-paced, founder-led business
• High levels of confidentiality, organization and judgement
• FMCG, beauty or consumer brand experience is highly regarded, as is Employment Hero
• Relevant tertiary qualifications