Senior Industrial Relations Advisor

Service Stream; Adelaide; On-site; AUD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid work model

Career development opportunities

Employee discounts

Job summary

Service Stream is seeking a Senior Industrial Relations Advisor/Manager to lead a complex ER/IR portfolio across diverse, unionised operations and partner with operational leaders to provide strategic, commercially focused IR support.

You will drive enterprise bargaining negotiations, manage union relationships, and deliver practical advice on employment law, performance management and workplace change. Hybrid roles across Australian offices are available.

Qualifications

• Experience in employee and/or industrial relations in complex/unionised environments.
• Led enterprise bargaining negotiations and managed union relationships.
• Advocacy and dispute resolution in industrial matters incl. Fair Work Commission.
• Strong understanding of employment legislation, enterprise agreements and modern awards.
• Balanced legal, operational and business considerations with strategic thinking.
• Experience with blue-collar or field-based workforces advantageous.
• Strong stakeholder engagement and credibility across organisation.
• Tertiary qualification in Law or Commerce (desirable).

Responsibilities

• Manage a complex ER/IR portfolio across multiple business units.
• Lead enterprise bargaining negotiations, including strategy development and stakeholder management.
• Support broader industrial relations strategy with benchmarking and trend analysis.
• Represent the business in tribunals and industrial matters.
• Provide strategic, commercially focused advice to senior leaders on IR and employment law.
• Act as escalation point for complex workplace matters.
• Develop and deliver training on employment law and industrial instruments.
• Partner with operational leadership to support workforce planning and productivity improvements.
• Engage with unions and external stakeholders to foster constructive IR relations.

Skills

Industrial relations

Union negotiations

Stakeholder engagement

Dispute resolution

Employment law

Strategic thinking

Education

Law or Commerce degree

Job description

We have an opportunity for a Senior Industrial Relations Advisor/Industrial Relations Manager to join our growing ASX-listed company. We are continuing to evolve and strengthen our capability in this area, and you will be integral to continue building our partnership with operational leaders to provide strategic, commercially focused and pragmatic industrial and employee relations support.

You’ll be joining a collaborative and high-performing team with both autonomy and support to develop your career in a complex, unionised and operationally diverse environment, while contributing to broader organisational strategy and workforce outcomes. As our contracts are geographically dispersed across Australia, we are open to this role being based out of our offices in Brisbane, Adelaide or Sydney.

About the role

In this role you will:

• Manage a complex ER/IR portfolio across multiple business units and operational environments.
• Lead enterprise bargaining negotiations, including bargaining strategy development, industrial risk assessment and stakeholder management.
• Support the development and implementation of broader industrial relations strategy, including benchmarking, trend analysis, workforce risk identification and comparative analysis across industries and enterprise agreements.
• Represent the business in industrial tribunals and commissions, including the Fair Work Commission, conciliations, conferences and other workplace litigation matters.
• Provide strategic and commercially focused advice to senior leaders on industrial relations, employment law, performance management, disciplinary processes, workplace change and organisational risk.
• Act as an escalation point for complex and sensitive workplace matters, including investigations, disputes, grievances and high-risk employee relations issues.
• Develop and deliver training, coaching and upskilling initiatives for leaders across the business on employment law, industrial instruments, workplace obligations and effective people management practices.
• Partner closely with operational leadership teams to support workforce planning, organisational change initiatives and productivity improvement programs.
• Engage proactively with unions, employee representatives and external stakeholders to support constructive industrial relationships and positive business outcomes.

About you

You are an experienced IR Advisor ready to take the next step in your career or embrace a new challenge in a growing business with a strong pipeline of contracts and an interest in diversifying its portfolio.

Our ideal candidate may have:

• Strong experience in an employee and/or industrial relations role within a complex or unionised environment.
• Demonstrated experience leading enterprise bargaining negotiations and managing union relationships.
• Strong advocacy and dispute resolution capability, including experience representing employers in Fair Work Commission and other industrial matters.
• Excellent understanding of employment legislation, enterprise agreements, modern awards and industrial frameworks.
• Strong commercial acumen, strategic thinking capability and ability to balance legal, operational and business considerations.
• Experience supporting operational leaders within blue-collar, field-based or industrial workforces will be highly regarded.
• Strong stakeholder engagement skills with the ability to influence and build credibility across all levels of the business.
• Tertiary qualification in Law, Commerce or similar would be highly desirable.

About us

Service Stream is an equal opportunity ASX-listed business that develops and operates Australia's essential services networks across telecommunications, utilities, transport, defence, and social infrastructure industries - we keep communities connected.

Your next role comes with:

• Flexibility – all flexibility requests are genuinely considered. This role offers hybrid working.
• Career development – we offer growth opportunities and support internal mobility. You will also have access to skill enhancement through our online learning system.
• Access - discounts for hundreds of businesses such as Woolworths, Air BNB, The Iconic, JB HI-FI, Dan Murphys, Bupa Health Care, and Specsavers. We also offer access to novated leasing and a share matching program.
• Paid leave - parental, cultural, community service, defence, study, corporate volunteering and purchased leave available.
• Culture – we are dedicated to fostering a workplace environment that values diversity and inclusion, and meaningful recognition.

We celebrate diversity at Service Stream and welcome applications from people who identify as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander, people with a disability or neurodivergence, and those from LGBTIQA+, Veteran or other diverse groups.