HR Business Partner - Remote

Effective HR; Brisbane; Remote; AUD 60,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

100% remote

Flexible hours (24–32 hours/week)

Supportive team

Job summary

Effective HR is seeking an HR Consultant to join our national practice. The role focuses on solving complex people problems with a technical, compliance-oriented approach, working remotely 24–32 hours weekly.

You'll handle employee relations matters, interpret legislation, advise on performance issues, restructures, and provide practical, commercially sensible guidance to diverse clients in the not-for-profit and private sectors.

Qualifications

• Strong generalist HR experience and confidence managing employee relations matters.
• Passion for helping businesses navigate workplace challenges.
• Experience in advising on performance management, misconduct and employee relations.

Responsibilities

• Advise clients on employee performance concerns and develop performance improvement plans.
• Support misconduct allegations, disciplinary meetings, grievances and terminations.
• Guide managers through difficult conversations balancing fairness and business needs.
• Provide clear, commercially sensible advice on HR and employee relations matters.
• Support restructures, consultation requirements and redundancy processes.
• Interpret modern awards, employment legislation and workplace policies.

Skills

Generalist HR

Employee relations

Legislation interpretation

HR advisory

Job description

Love solving complex people problems? Ready to take your HR career into more challenging, technical and compliance-focused territory?

A role shaped around you

Effective HR is a national HR and workplace relations consultancy made up of talented, driven professionals who put people at the heart of what we do, and that includes how we grow our own team.

We're looking for an HR Consultant who brings strong generalist HR experience, confidence managing employee relations matters and a genuine passion for helping businesses navigate workplace challenges.

You might currently be working as an HR Business Partner or HR Advisor and be looking for something a little different. Perhaps you've built a solid foundation in generalist HR but find yourself increasingly drawn to the more technical, challenging and compliance-driven aspects of the profession.

You enjoy navigating complex employee matters, interpreting legislation and finding practical solutions to difficult workplace situations. You're ready to move beyond traditional generalist HR responsibilities and further develop your expertise in employee relations and workplace compliance.

We're particularly interested in someone who enjoys getting into the detail of complex performance management, misconduct and employee relations matters, and can balance legislative obligations with practical, commercially sensible advice.

You don't need to know everything. We're looking for someone with a strong HR foundation, good judgement, a willingness to learn and the confidence to take ownership of your work, knowing there's an experienced team alongside them for support.

What we do

We support businesses across a broad range of industries, with particular expertise in NDIS and community-focused organisations.

Our clients rely on us for everything from everyday HR questions through to tricky employee matters and complex workplace challenges. We're their trusted HR partners, providing clear, practical and commercially realistic advice that helps them make confident decisions.

Across our team, our work includes:

• Employee relations: Supporting clients through complex performance management, misconduct, grievances, disciplinary processes, terminations and other challenging workplace situations.
• Generalist HR advice: Providing practical guidance across the employment lifecycle, including employment contracts, policies, leave entitlements and workplace obligations.
• Industrial relations: Interpreting modern awards, enterprise agreements and workplace legislation, advising on employment obligations and supporting clients with unfair dismissal claims, general protections claims and Fair Work Commission matters.
• Restructures and redundancies: Advising clients through organisational change, workforce restructures, consultation obligations and redundancy processes, including managing associated compliance risks.

At our heart, we're a team of self-confessed HR, IR and ER nerds who enjoy untangling tricky workplace problems and turning them into clear, actionable advice.

You won't be expected to be an expert in every area. You'll have opportunities to learn from experienced colleagues. We pride ourselves on developing our team’s technical knowledge and broadening their exposure to different HR challenges.

Why we're special

We're built differently, by leaders who genuinely care. We live our values with empathy and integrity, and when we say this job is flexible, we actually mean it.

Here's what makes working with us different:

• Choose your hours: We're looking for approximately 24–32 hours per week, on a permanent ongoing basis. You can choose the days and hours that work for you.
• Manage your own schedule: Take ownership of your diary and work around the things that matter — school drop-offs and pick-ups, gym classes, appointments or lunch with friends.
• No unpaid additional hours: Get paid for every minute you're working. We value your time.
• 100% remote: Work from home, with no office attendance, client site visits or travel required.
• Not a call centre: Our HR on-demand service doesn't require you to sit in a phone queue waiting for calls.
• No sales targets: You're not expected to bring in new business, and your employment isn't tied to securing or retaining individual clients or projects.
• A genuinely supportive team: Work alongside experienced HR and IR professionals who share knowledge, bounce ideas around and back each other when things get tricky.

We believe great HR professionals do their best work when they're trusted, supported and given the flexibility to manage their lives outside of work.

What you'd be doing

You'll work directly with a variety of clients, helping them navigate everyday HR questions and more complex employee relations challenges.

A significant part of your role will involve managing complex and escalated performance matters, misconduct concerns, disciplinary processes and challenging employee situations, including more complex matters, such as unfair dismissal claims, general protections claims, organisational restructures and redundancy processes.

If you've already managed unfair dismissal or general protections claims, or handled escalated and particularly complex performance management matters, we'd love to hear about this in your cover letter.

Your day-to-day responsibilities will include:

• Advising clients on employee performance concerns, including developing and managing performance improvement processes.
• Supporting clients through misconduct allegations, disciplinary meetings, grievances and employment terminations.
• Guiding managers through difficult employee conversations, balancing procedural fairness, legislative requirements and practical business outcomes.
• Providing clear, accurate and commercially sensible advice on general HR and employee relations matters.
• Supporting clients with organisational restructures, consultation requirements and redundancy processes.
• Interpreting modern awards, employment legislation and workplace policies to support compliant decision‑making.
• Preparing professional HR documentation, including letters, employment contracts, policies and performance management correspondence.
• Building trusted relationships with clients and becoming a reliable point of contact for their HR needs.
• Working collaboratively with our wider team, seeking guidance where needed and contributing your own ideas and experience.

There's plenty of variety, and no two days are quite the same - that is the joy of consulting!

Who you are

You're a driven HR professional who’s ready to take your career beyond traditional generalist HR and into the more challenging, technical and compliance-focused side of the profession.

You’ve developed a strong foundation in HR business partnering or advisory work, but it’s the complex employee matters, legislative interpretation and workplace challenges that really capture your interest.

You enjoy solving problems that don’t always have straightforward answers. You’re interested in understanding the finer details of employment legislation, managing risk and helping businesses make difficult but defensible decisions.

You’re ambitious about developing your technical expertise and excited by the opportunity to learn from experienced HR and industrial relations professionals.

We’re not expecting you to know everything. We are looking for someone who is curious, proactive, comfortable navigating difficult conversations and genuinely motivated to become an exceptional ER and IR professional.

Ideally, you’ll bring:

• At least 3 years of Australian HR experience, ideally in an HR Business Partner, HR Advisor or similar generalist advisory role.
• Demonstrated hands‑on experience managing complex and escalated employee performance matters, including performance improvement plans, disciplinary processes and difficult employee conversations.
• Practical experience advising and coaching managers through employee relations issues, with a sound understanding of procedural fairness and employment obligations.
• Sound working knowledge of Australian employment legislation, including the Fair Work Act and modern awards.
• A genuine interest in developing expertise across workplace relations, employment law, employee disputes and HR compliance.
• The ability to assess workplace issues, identify risks and recommend practical, balanced solutions.
• Strong written communication skills, excellent attention to detail and confidence preparing professional HR correspondence.
• The confidence to work independently, manage competing priorities and know when to ask questions or seek a second opinion.
• A client‑focused mindset, sound judgement and a genuine commitment to delivering high‑quality advice.

Experience managing unfair dismissal claims, general protections claims, restructures or redundancy processes would be highly regarded.

Experience in HR consulting would also be an advantage, but we’re equally interested in HR professionals who have worked internally in a business partnering or advisory capacity and are ready to develop their skills across a broader range of clients and more complex workplace matters.