Head of People Partnering

Phocas Software; Sydney; On-site; AUD 180,000 - 260,000; Full time

Job summary

Phocas Software in Sydney is seeking a Head of People Partnering to lead our global Business Partnering and Talent team, partnering with the business to build leadership capability and scale the people experience across leaders and the full employee lifecycle.

You will report to the Chief People & Sustainability Officer, driving strategic partnerships, reducing transactional work, and advancing self-service and automation through People Enablement, while aligning with senior leaders worldwide.

Qualifications

• Experience leading business partner teams in scaling tech or services.
• Proven ability to drive strategic HR initiatives across regions.
• Strong change management and stakeholder management skills.
• Experience with AI-enabled people programs is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Lead and coach the Business Partnering and Talent teams in Australia.
• Deliver global programs on time and within budget.
• Run workforce planning and lead organisational design with CPSO.
• Set hiring priorities with Global Talent Lead and embed our global talent function.
• Coach functional leaders, review manager effectiveness, lead talent reviews and succession planning.
• Own the full employee lifecycle and budget, and report to the CPSO.

Skills

People leadership

Remote team coaching

Organisational design

Succession planning

Data-driven decision making

AI in people programs

Job description

Phocas Software is a profitable, growing, global SaaS company with a loyal customer base and a category leading product suite. With a clear path toward scaling from $100M to $250M, this is a prime moment to join us and shape the future of how we deliver value to our customers.

We know that fun is different for everyone. So, if you want to try out innovative approaches, lead a project, save the planet, or spend more time with your favourite people outside work, you’ll have our full support.

As long as you’re doing what brings you joy, the rest falls into place. Think less stress, higher performance, more energy and all-round nicer human. Your friends and family will be delighted.

Create your happy place

The Head of People Partnering makes sure Phocas has the leaders, teams and organisation it needs to deliver on its goals. You will lead our global Business Partnering and Talent team to partner with the business, building leadership capability in every function, scaling the people experience through leaders and owning the full employee lifecycle.

We are changing how the People, Culture & Sustainability team works. Less transactional work and firefighting, more strategic, proactive partnering, with our People Enablement function driving self-service and automation. We want to do fewer things, and do them better. This role helps to lead that change. You will report to our Chief People & Sustainability Officer and work directly with senior leaders across the business globally.

What you will do

• Lead and coach our Business Partnering and Talent team, and partner directly in Australia. Indirectly lead our Workplace team, covering the office and remote people experience.
• Lead the team to deliver global programs on time and budget, building side-by-side with our internal customers.
• Run workforce planning and lead organisational design with our CPSO.
• Set hiring priorities with our Global Talent Lead and embed our global talent function.
• Coach functional leaders, review manager effectiveness, lead talent reviews and succession planning with the team.
• Partner on reward and recognition strategy, and run the annual remuneration review alongside People Enablement.
• Resolve escalated employee relations cases with legal counsel and the CPSO, and direct WHS, engagement and people programs through the Workplace team and P&C Leads.
• Own the full employee lifecycle, manage the partnering budget and update and engage with the Executive team on relevant topics.

What success looks like

• Hiring is on plan, sourcing great quality candidates, and it’s sustainable.
• Our partnering team works as one, with a 12 month workforce plan in place.
• Our partners lead with people and financial data, ahead of the business.
• Leaders are measurably stronger, every critical role has a succession plan, and culture is healthy.
• People risks are managed in a way that treats people as humans, meets legal requirements and does not get in the business’s way.
• Senior leaders see you as a strategic partner.

Who we are looking for

• You have led a team of business partners in a senior leadership role, in a scaling tech or services company across multiple regions. SaaS and PE-backed experience is a bonus.
• You have built and developed a remote team and coached functional leaders, creating accountability and driving a high performance culture.
• You have led significant organisational change that drove the business forward.
• You have led a team to deliver user-focused global programs that significantly improved outcomes.
• You have used financial, people and business data to make sound people decisions that help the business achieve its goals.
• You find the root cause of people issues and weigh risk to make clear, pragmatic calls.
• You have used AI with teams to solve problems, move faster and lift productivity.