Senior HR Consultant - Turnbull Engineering

Turnbull Engineering; Sydney; Hybrid; AUD 70,000 - 100,000; Part time

Benefits offered by this job

Ownership of HR function

Flexibility on days and location

Competitive market salary

Job summary

Turnbull Engineering is seeking a Senior HR Consultant to own the HR function on a part-time basis (3 days/week) in Brisbane or Sydney, hybrid work. You will manage contracts and compliance, onboarding/offboarding, performance support, graduate recruitment and visa administration, while developing an L&D framework and a high-performing people culture.

You will partner with Directors and Group Leaders, ensuring payroll implications, remuneration reviews, and HR policies stay current in a

Qualifications

• 4+ years in a generalist HR role with end-to-end lifecycle responsibility
• Strong working knowledge of Australian employment law, modern awards and contract compliance
• Hands-on HRIS experience; Employment Hero strongly preferred
• Demonstrated experience supporting managers with performance and ER matters
• Excellent written communication and attention to detail

Responsibilities

• Own end-to-end HR function including contracts, onboarding and offboarding
• Administer Employment Hero, policies, and employee records
• Support performance conversations with leaders; manage underperformance
• Oversee graduate recruitment and early career programs
• Lead visa/immigration processes for Australian staff
• Design and implement L&D initiatives and development pathways
• Oversee remuneration, benefits and benchmarking processes
• Maintain HR policies and ensure legislative compliance
• Provide workforce reporting and planning insights
• Foster engagement and culture alongside leadership

Skills

Proactive & personable

Comfortable with uncertainty

Australian employment law

People management

Education

Tertiary HR/Business degree or equivalent

Tools

Employment Hero

Job description

Senior HR Consultant - Turnbull Engineering

Build the people function of a fast-growing engineering firm - without the bureaucracy.

Turnbull Engineering is one of Australia's fastest-growing consulting engineering firms. We deliver multidisciplinary design and consultancy services across Transport, Power Transmission, Renewable Energy and Water, with teams in NSW, QLD, SA and the United Arab Emirates. Our clients are government agencies, construction contractors and private developers who trust us with complex infrastructure.

We need someone to own the HR function - all of it.

What you'll be doing

You'll be our HR function, end to end. You'll own Employment Hero, our contracts and compliance, onboarding and offboarding, visa administration, and be the first call for our Group Leaders on performance and people matters. You'll run graduate recruitment and help teams find the right people. You'll help us build a structured learning and development system.

This is a three-day-a-week role. As our team grows and demand increases, we expect to add a junior HR team member alongside you.

How we work

People over process, context over control. We don't shy away from a well-thought-out process when one is needed, but we'd rather hire great people, give them the context and training to make good decisions, and get out of their way. You'll have real autonomy and real accountability.

Who you are

• Proactive and personable - you don't wait to be asked

• Comfortable working through uncertainty; you'd rather build the road than wait for a map

• Strong on Australian employment law, contracts and compliance

• Experienced with a HRIS (Employment Hero strongly preferred)

• Care about culture and want to help shape one, not just administer one

• 4+ years in a generalist HR role, ideally in professional services, engineering or a fast-growing business

What's on offer

• Part-time, 3 days a week, permanent

• Genuine ownership of the HR function, direct access to the leadership team, and the opportunity to build a team under you as we grow

• Flexibility on days and location

• Competitive market salary. Remuneration is dependent on experience.

If you want a role where the people function is yours to shape, we want to hear from you.

Applications close Applications close 11:59pm AEST, Sunday 27 September 2026.

Position Title: Senior HR Consultant

Reports to: Director of Operations

Employment type: Permanent, part-time 0.6 FTE (3 days/week)

Location: Brisbane or Sydney office, hybrid

Direct reports: None initially; a junior HR role is anticipated as the firm grows

Key relationships: Directors, Group Leaders, Finance, HSEQ Manager, all team members across NSW, QLD, SA and UAE

Purpose of the role

To own and operate Turnbull Engineering's HR function end to end - ensuring employment compliance, running the employee lifecycle, supporting leaders with people matters, and building the recruitment, development, remuneration and engagement capability the firm needs to keep growing well.

Key responsibilities

1. Employment contracts and compliance

• Draft, issue and manage employment contracts through Employment Hero

• Maintain contract compliance with the Fair Work Act, applicable modern awards and NES; track variations, renewals and expiries

• Manage state-based obligations across NSW, QLD and SA (e.g. long service leave)

• Coordinate with Finance on remuneration changes, superannuation, leave and payroll implications

• Maintain accurate employee records

2. HR platform administration

• Act as system owner for Employment Hero: configuration, user management, workflows, reporting and data integrity

• Continuously improve how the platform is used across the business

3. Employee lifecycle

• Manage and, where required, personally conduct onboarding and offboarding

• Ensure new starters have the context, tools and induction they need to be productive quickly

• Conduct exit interviews and feed insights back to leadership

4. Performance management support

• Support Group Leaders with performance conversations, plans and documentation

• Coach leaders on handling underperformance, probation and difficult conversations

• Maintain a simple, consistent performance framework

5. Recruitment

• Own and run the annual graduate recruitment program end to end

• Coordinate recruitment activity across the business; help hiring managers define roles, source candidates and run fair, efficient processes

• Manage agency relationships where used

6. Visa and immigration administration

• Administer Australian employer-sponsored visa processes (e.g. 482/186), including nominations, compliance obligations and renewals

• Coordinate with migration agents as required

• Track visa expiries and sponsorship obligations

7. Employee relations

• Act as a point of escalation for staff feedback, grievances and complaints

• Investigate and resolve matters fairly, promptly and in line with policy and law

• Escalate to the Director of Operations where appropriate

• Liaise with the HSEQ Manager on psychosocial matters that intersect with WHS obligations

8. Learning and development

• Design and implement a structured L&D system: capability frameworks, training pathways, CPD tracking and budget

• Work with Group Leaders to identify technical and leadership development needs

9. Remuneration and benefits

• Run the annual remuneration review cycle in coordination with Directors and Finance

• Maintain salary benchmarking and banding; monitor pay equity

• Administer bonus and benefits programs

10. HR policy ownership

• Own, maintain and communicate HR policies: code of conduct, leave, flexible work, sexual harassment (positive duty), bullying and discrimination, performance and discipline

• Ensure policies remain current with legislative change and are consistently applied

• WHS policy remains with the HSEQ Manager

11. Workforce reporting and planning

• Provide regular people metrics to leadership: headcount, turnover, leave liability, tenure, recruitment pipeline

• Support Directors with workforce planning inputs

12. Engagement and culture

• Design and run the engagement survey cycle and act on findings

• Develop recognition and retention initiatives

• Contribute to internal communications on people matters

Out of scope

• Work health and safety, incident management, workers' compensation and return-to-work - owned by the HSEQ Manager. This role coordinates with HSEQ where people matters intersect.

• UAE employment law and contracts - handled separately. This role covers Australian‑employed team members only unless otherwise agreed.

Selection criteria

Essential

• Tertiary qualification in HR, Business or a related field, or equivalent experience

• 4+ years in a generalist HR role with end-to-end lifecycle responsibility

• Strong working knowledge of Australian employment law, modern awards and contract compliance

• Hands-on HRIS experience; Employment Hero strongly preferred

• Demonstrated experience supporting managers with performance and ER matters

• Excellent written communication and attention to detail

• Ability to work autonomously and prioritise in a small, fast-moving business

Desirable

• Experience in professional services, engineering or construction

• Experience with employer-sponsored visas

• Experience designing or implementing an L&D program

• Graduate recruitment experience

• Experience running a remuneration review cycle

• AHRI membership

Success in the first 12 months looks like

• Employment Hero fully configured and trusted as the single source of truth

• All contracts compliant and audited; renewal/variation tracking in place

• Graduate recruitment program run successfully with strong candidate quality

• Group Leaders actively using you as their first call on people matters

• L&D framework designed, approved and in its first cycle of delivery

• Clear view formed on when a junior HR hire is warranted, with a case put to the Director of Operations

Our values in practice

People over process. Context over control. Freedom and responsibility. We hire great people, give them what they need to make good decisions, and trust them to do so.

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