Principal Advisor Industrial Relations

Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action; City of Melbourne; Hybrid; AUD 120,000 - 150,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid work arrangements

Job summary

The Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA) is seeking an experienced industrial relations specialist to lead a small IR team. You will provide authoritative advice on complex workplace matters and steer enterprise agreement negotiations to support organisational change initiatives.

This fixed-term role spans three years with hybrid work arrangements across Victoria, and requires prior public sector IR leadership and strong employment-law knowledge.

Qualifications

• Extensive industrial relations experience across public sector entities.
• Experience negotiating multi-enterprise agreements and providing manager guidance on complex workplace matters.
• Knowledge of Fair Work Act 2009 and Victorian Public Administration Act 2004.

Responsibilities

• Lead a small team of industrial relations professionals delivering expert advice to departmental stakeholders.
• Guide organisational change programs, entity reforms and transitions to support government commitments.

Skills

Industrial relations leadership

Public sector experience

Employment law knowledge

Stakeholder management

People management

Education

Tertiary qualifications in industrial relations or HR

Job description

19h ago , from Victorian Department of Energy and Climate Action

Are you an experienced industrial relations professional skilled in providing authoritative advice on complex workplace matters and leading enterprise agreement negotiations? Are you passionate about building organisational capability and delivering practical solutions in a complex public sector environment? If so, DEECA is looking for someone like you to lead a small team of industrial relations professionals to provide expert industrial relations advice and guidance to departmental stakeholders on organisational change programs of work, entity reforms and transitions, to ensure delivery of the Victorian Government’s commitments.

Specialist/Technical Expertise/Qualifications

• Relevant industrial relations and/ or human resource management tertiary qualifications, highly desirable.
• Extensive and varied experience across public sector agencies in operational industrial relations, particularly in multi-enterprise agreement negotiations.
• Demonstrated ability to provide specialist advice to managers on industrial relations including detailed operational knowledge of employment law, relevant federal and state legislation (e.g. Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) and Public Administration Act 2004 (Vic)).
• A detailed understanding of the Victorian Government’s Wages Policy and Enterprise Bargaining Agreement Framework in regard to enterprise bargaining processes.
• Extensive experience leading the delivery of high quality, customer-centric industrial relations services.
• Experience in leading a small team of professional to delivery high quality outcomes.

This is a fixed term position available for a period of 3 years. The work location for this position is flexible within Victoria hybrid work arrangements available.

To be considered for this position, applicants are encouraged to submit a resume and cover letter (no longer than 2 pages) summarising their skills and relevant experience.

Please refer to the Key Selection Criteria provided in the Position Description, including the mandatory requirements.

Other relevant information:

Preferred candidates will be required to undertake pre-employment screening, including a Declaration and Consent form and a Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Check.

be eligible for appointment to this role, applicants will possess corresponding work rights for the advertised employment period. Appointment to an ongoing position is only available to an Australian/New Zealand citizen or an Australian Permanent Resident.

An inclusive, culturally safe and flexible workplace

DEECA fosters an inclusive workplace culture and is committed to a fair, accessible, and equitable recruitment process.

We strongly encourage Aboriginal and or Torres Strait Islander people to apply. We recognise the strengths, knowledge and perspectives First Nations people bring and DEECA is committed to a culturally safe and respectful workplace. If you need support to participate, please contact ***************@deeca.vic.gov.au.

We support flexible working arrangements, including hybrid work, varied hours, part-time work and job sharing. For more information about our recruitment processes, visit applying for a role with us.

Applications close 11.59pm on Wednesday, 14 October 2026.

All applications must be submitted through the online portal. We are unable to consider email or manual applications at this time.