Manager, Workplace Relations

Private Advertiser; City of Melbourne; Hybrid; AUD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Private Advertiser in Melbourne seeks a Manager, Workplace Relations to lead the day‑to‑day delivery of workplace relations consulting services. The role oversees the Workplace Relations Advisory team and personally delivers billable consulting work, ensuring high-quality client outcomes and strong commercial performance.

The role requires significant experience across workplace relations, employment law and HR consulting, with a proven ability to manage client relationships and lead a team.

Qualifications

• Significant experience in workplace relations, employee relations, HR consulting or a related discipline.
• Experience advising across diverse industries.
• Experience leading or supervising workplace relations professionals.
• Strong knowledge of Australian employment legislation and obligations.
• Experience managing employee relations, disciplinary and grievance matters.
• Excellent report writing and written communication skills.
• A strong client relationship management capability.
• Commercial awareness and experience working within billable consulting environments.
• Practical and solutions-focused approach.
• Strong people leader and coach who takes a collaborative and supportive approach.

Responsibilities

• Personally deliver workplace relations consulting services to clients, including complex case management and performance matters.
• Maintain an active portfolio of billable client engagements and achieve utilisation targets.
• Prepare clear, practical, commercially-focused written advice and reports.
• Develop trusted adviser relationships with client leaders and stakeholders.
• Lead and manage the Workplace Relations Advisory team and provide coaching.

Skills

Workplace relations

HR consulting

Employment law

Leadership

Client mgmt

Job description

Join an organisation making a genuine difference to workplaces across Australia.

The organisation is an established and growing professional services organisation with more than 25 years’ experience helping organisations navigate complex workplace challenges, strengthen compliance and build better-performing workplaces.

They partner with businesses, government and not-for-profit organisations across Australia and New Zealand, delivering practical advice, specialist expertise and high-quality learning and development solutions.

With a strong reputation, a collaborative team and an exciting period of growth ahead, this is an opportunity to join an organisation where your work has impact, relationships matter and there is genuine opportunity to grow.

About the role

The Manager, Workplace Relations leads the day-to-day delivery of the organisation's workplace relations consulting and advisory services. The role is responsible for managing the Workplace Relations Advisory team, ensuring high-quality client outcomes, developing consultant capability and maintaining strong commercial performance across the advisory function. The Manager provides practical and strategic workplace relations advice to clients across a broad range of employment and employee relations matters while maintaining an active portfolio of billable consulting work. The role is accountable for operational leadership of the Workplace Relations Advisory team, consultant utilisation, workflow management, client service delivery and quality assurance. This is a practising leadership role. The role holder is expected to personally deliver billable workplace relations consulting while leading and developing the Workplace Relations Advisory team.

Location: Melbourne or Brisbane

Hybrid: Three days per week working from the office or at client sites as required.

Key responsibilities

Personally deliver workplace relations consulting services to clients, including complex case management, performance management advice, misconduct and disciplinary matters, employee complaints and grievances, workplace conflict and interpersonal issues, employment contract interpretation and compliance, policy development and implementation, workplace investigations of low to moderate complexity, termination and separation matters, restructuring and organisational change support, award and National Employment Standards advice, and industrial relations and employee relations guidance

Maintain an active portfolio of billable client engagements and achieve agreed utilisation and revenue targets

Prepare clear, practical and commercially focused written advice, correspondence, recommendations and reports

Develop trusted adviser relationships with client leaders and stakeholders

Lead and manage the Workplace Relations Advisory team

Provide coaching, mentoring and technical guidance to Workplace Relations Consultants and Senior Consultants

Oversee workflow management, workload allocation, utilisation and service delivery performance

Monitor consultant productivity, quality standards and client outcomes

Support recruitment, onboarding, performance management and professional development activities

Create a collaborative, high-performance and client-focused team culture

About you

Significant experience in workplace relations, employee relations, HR consulting, employment law or a related discipline

Demonstrated experience providing workplace relations advice across diverse industries

Experience leading, mentoring or supervising workplace relations or HR professionals

Strong understanding of Australian employment legislation and workplace obligations

Experience managing employee relations, disciplinary, performance and grievance matters

Excellent report writing and written communication skills

A strong client relationship management capability

Commercial awareness and experience working within billable consulting environments

Practical and solutions-focused approach

Strong people leader and coach who takes a collaborative and supportive approach

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