People, Quality & Culture Manager

Direct Care Australia; Adelaide; On-site; AUD 130,000 - 140,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Employee Assistance Program

Direct access to the CEO

Leadership Group collaboration

Job summary

Direct Care Australia is seeking a senior People, Quality & Culture Manager to lead organisation-wide People & Culture, Quality, Practice & Compliance functions. Reporting to the CEO, you will guide a small specialist team and strengthen workforce capability, culture, quality systems and regulatory compliance across SA and QLD.

You will balance strategic thinking with operational delivery, translating policies into everyday practice while partnering with clinical and operational

Qualifications

• Five years' experience in a senior People & Culture, HR, quality or compliance role.
• Strong knowledge of Australian employment law, industrial relations and modern awards.
• Experience in quality assurance, internal audit, compliance or practice governance.
• Experience with NDIS Practice Standards and Aged Care Quality Standards.

Responsibilities

• Develop and implement people strategies, workforce plans and policies.
• Lead recruitment, onboarding, succession planning and talent development.
• Oversee employee relations, performance management and complex workplace matters.
• Maintain oversight of employment legislation, classifications and conditions.
• Lead learning, wellbeing and engagement initiatives to strengthen culture.
• Lead policy governance and development of supporting frameworks.
• Coordinate audits, quality assurance programs and continuous improvement.
• Ensure regulatory audits and reviews are properly addressed and closed.

Skills

Leadership

Stakeholder management

Analytical thinking

Communication

Education

Tertiary qualifications in HR/related

Job description

Direct Care Australia is a health and community services provider delivering aged care, disability, nursing and allied health services across South Australia and Queensland.

We are continuing to strengthen our workforce, organisational systems, quality and governance as our services evolve and regulatory expectations across the sectors in which we operate continue to change.

We are seeking an experienced People, Quality & Culture Manager to lead our organisation-wide People & Culture and Quality, Practice & Compliance functions.

About the role

This is a broad senior management role spanning People & Culture, Quality, Practice and Compliance.

Reporting directly to the CEO and working closely with the Leadership Group, you will lead a small specialist team and have responsibility for strengthening workforce capability, organisational culture, quality systems, compliance and consistency of practice across the organisation.

This is not a purely strategic or corporate HR role. We need someone who can think strategically while remaining close enough to operations to understand how policies, systems and regulatory requirements translate into everyday practice.

Key responsibilities

Develop and implement people strategies, workforce plans and policies that attract, engage and retain a capable and high-performing workforce.

Lead recruitment, onboarding, succession planning and talent development across frontline, clinical, operational and corporate roles.

Oversee employee relations, performance management, probation, investigations and complex workplace matters.

Maintain oversight of employment legislation, modern awards, classifications, employment conditions and workforce compliance.

Lead learning, professional development, employee wellbeing and engagement initiatives that strengthen workforce capability and organisational culture.

Lead the development, review and governance of organisational policies, procedures and supporting frameworks.

Implement and monitor quality assurance frameworks, internal audit programs, practice reviews and continuous improvement processes.

Lead and coordinate internal and external audits, accreditation activities and regulatory reviews, ensuring findings and corrective actions are implemented and evidenced through to completion.

Maintain oversight of compliance with relevant regulatory frameworks, including the NDIS Practice Standards, Aged Care Quality Standards, safeguarding requirements and Work Health and Safety obligations.

Provide oversight of incident management, complaints, investigations and corrective actions, ensuring organisational learning and improvement occurs.

Work closely with operational and clinical leaders to identify workforce, practice, quality and compliance risks and implement sustainable improvements.

Ensure policies, procedures and regulatory requirements translate into consistent frontline and business practice.

Develop meaningful workforce, quality and compliance metrics and provide regular reporting to the CEO, Leadership Group and Board on risks, trends, audit outcomes and continuous improvement priorities.

Contribute to organisational risk management, strategic planning and business improvement initiatives.

Use contemporary systems, technology and emerging tools, including AI where appropriate, to improve efficiency, governance, reporting and organisational capability.

What we're looking for

You will ideally bring:

Tertiary qualifications in Human Resources, Employee Relations, Business, Quality or a related discipline, or equivalent professional experience.

At least five years' experience in a senior People & Culture, HR, quality or compliance role, preferably within a regulated service environment.

Strong contemporary knowledge of Australian employment law, industrial relations and modern award interpretation.

Demonstrated experience managing complex employee relations and performance matters.

Experience in quality assurance, internal audit, compliance or practice governance.

Sound knowledge of the NDIS Practice Standards and/or Aged Care Quality Standards, together with relevant regulatory and safeguarding requirements.

Experience developing and implementing workforce strategies, recruitment and onboarding initiatives.

Strong policy development and governance capability.

Experience leading specialist or multidisciplinary teams.

Strong analytical, systems-thinking and problem-solving capability.

Excellent written and verbal communication skills and the confidence to advise and influence at senior leadership level.

The ability to move comfortably between strategic work and practical operational problem-solving.

Experience across aged care, disability, health or community services will be highly regarded.

The person

You will be commercially and operationally minded, highly accountable and comfortable taking ownership.

You will be willing to challenge existing practices where improvement is required, while building trusted relationships across the organisation. You will be visible and connected to operational and frontline teams and comfortable working directly with the CEO and senior leaders.

We are not looking for someone to simply maintain existing HR or compliance processes.

We are looking for someone who can strengthen the foundations, improve consistency and connect people, quality and practice across DCA.

What we offer

This is an opportunity to take genuine ownership of two important organisational functions and influence how DCA continues to develop.

The role offers:

Competitive salary of $130,000–$140,000 + superannuation

Full-time senior management role with organisation-wide influence

Direct access to the CEO and close collaboration with the Leadership Group

Genuine opportunity to shape workforce, culture, quality and organisational systems

Broad remit across People & Culture, Quality, Practice and Compliance

Professional development and ongoing capability-building opportunities

Employee Assistance Program and a supportive, values-led workplace