Senior Advisor, Industrial Relations

Ampersand Ltd; Sydney; Hybrid; AUD 138,000 - 166,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Superannuation

WFH flexibility

Job summary

NSW Government agency, People and Culture, Clerk Grade 9/10, is looking for a Senior Advisor, Industrial Relations to provide technically accurate, strategic IR advice to the business. Reporting to the Principal Manager, Industrial Relations, you will help the department stay compliant and manage risk in a complex regulatory environment.

The role has real autonomy; you will deliver advice, reports and business cases with minimal input from your manager, and you may lead one to two direct reports.

Qualifications

• Extensive knowledge of employment law and industrial relations frameworks.
• Ability to interpret legislation and provide strategic advice to government.
• Strong negotiation and stakeholder management skills.
• Experience in conducting workplace investigations and leading discreet matters.

Responsibilities

• Provide accurate, timely IR advice to the business and specialist teams, consistent with NSW Government guidelines and legislation
• Contribute to the case management of employee matters, ensuring compliance with industrial instruments, policies, procedures and statutory provisions
• Help develop and implement an organisation-wide industrial strategy, including variations to industrial instruments, agreements and guidance materials
• Prepare and deliver advocacy for, and oversight of, the briefing of external counsel
• Represent the organisation in negotiations and consultations with unions, and appear before tribunals including the NSW Industrial Relations Commission
• Provide expert advice and research on emerging case law and legislative reforms affecting government sector employment
• Coordinate and conduct investigations into misconduct, performance and other employee relations matters, ensuring fair, transparent and defensible outcomes
• Maintain networks with government agencies and the NSW Public Service Commission to stay across trends, policy and legislation in IR

Skills

IR advice

Employment law

Negotiation

Workplace investigations

External counsel

Team leadership

Job description

Senior Advisor, Industrial Relations

NSW Government agency | People and Culture | Clerk Grade 9/10

Contract details: 2-month contract with high likelihood of extension $750 - $900 p/d p/d. +super

Location: CBD | WFH

About the role

Our client, a NSW Government agency, is looking for a Senior Advisor, Industrial Relations to provide technically accurate, strategic and commercially sensitive IR advice to the business. Reporting to the Principal Manager, Industrial Relations, you will help the department stay compliant and manage risk in a complex and changing regulatory environment.

The role has real autonomy. You will deliver advice, reports and business cases with minimal input from your manager, and you may lead one to two direct reports.

Key accountabilities

• Provide accurate, timely IR advice to the business and specialist teams, consistent with NSW Government guidelines and legislation
• Contribute to the case management of employee matters, ensuring compliance with industrial instruments, policies, procedures and statutory provisions
• Help develop and implement an organisation-wide industrial strategy, including variations to industrial instruments, agreements and guidance materials
• Prepare and deliver advocacy for, and oversight of, the briefing of external counsel
• Represent the organisation in negotiations and consultations with unions, and appear before tribunals including the NSW Industrial Relations Commission
• Provide expert advice and research on emerging case law and legislative reforms affecting government sector employment
• Coordinate and conduct investigations into misconduct, performance and other employee relations matters, ensuring fair, transparent and defensible outcomes
• Maintain networks with government agencies and the NSW Public Service Commission to stay across trends, policy and legislation in IR

About you

You have comprehensive knowledge of employment law, legislation and the industrial framework, and how it has evolved. You are a confident negotiator who can hold a clear position, anticipate the arguments, and still find common ground with unions and stakeholders.

You will bring

• Demonstrated experience providing specialist IR advice, ideally in the NSW public sector
• Experience representing an organisation in union negotiations and consultations, and appearing before tribunals such as the NSW IRC
• Experience conducting workplace investigations, including misconduct matters
• Experience instructing and working with external counsel
• Strong written and verbal communication, with the ability to explain complex ideas clearly to diverse audiences
• Sound judgement, integrity and a pragmatic, commercially astute approach to risk
• Experience coaching or supervising team members (desirable)