Senior People Advisor

Australian Financial Complaints Authority Limited; Melbourne; Hybrid; AUD 110,000 - 160,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Gold AWEI Accreditation 2025

Accredited Family Friendly Workplace

Hybrid working

Inclusive leave options

Job summary

Australian Financial Complaints Authority Limited in Melbourne seeks a Senior People Advisor to join our People & Culture team on a fixed-term contract through to 30 June 2027. You will provide trusted, practical advice across employee relations and the broader lifecycle, coaching fellow advisers, and helping ensure a consistent, high‑quality experience for our people.

As we evolve our ways of working and implement an HRIS, you’ll help maintain continuity while shaping processes, policies and

Qualifications

• Significant hands-on HR generalist experience at senior advisory level.
• Strong experience managing employee relations and lifecycle matters.
• Deep knowledge of Australian employment law incl. Fair Work Act and NES.
• Experience interpreting industrial instruments and People policies in practical workplace situations.
• Strong judgement and confidence assessing risk and navigating sensitive or complex people matters.
• Experience coaching other HR professionals, reviewing advice and building capability without needing formal people leadership responsibility.
• Practical experience with People policy governance, review and implementation.
• Ability to manage competing priorities, build trusted stakeholder relationships and translate complex employment requirements into clear, practical advice.
• A relevant HR or related qualification.

Responsibilities

• Provide practical, commercially sound advice across employee relations and lifecycle matters.
• Use your judgement to assess risk, confidently manage complex matters and recognise when specialist support or escalation is required.
• Act as an escalation point for People Advisors and Coordinators, providing coaching, guidance and quality review.
• Support daily triage, prioritisation and consistent case management across the People Advisory team.
• Help embed our tiered People service model, including clear ways of working, ownership, hand‑offs and escalation pathways.
• Oversee People policy governance, including review cycles, consultation, approvals and publication.
• Review and simplify policies, procedures, templates and guidance to keep them practical, current and aligned with legislative requirements.
• Identify opportunities to improve advisory processes, workflows and service delivery.
• Provide practitioner input into HRIS testing and readiness activities where required.
• Partner across People & Culture and with teams including Payroll, Legal and Risk.

Skills

HR generalist

Employee relations

Employment law AU

Industrial instruments

Risk assessment

Coaching peers

Policy governance

Stakeholder management

HR qualification

Education

HR qualification or related degree

Job description

Company Description

Make a real impact at AFCA. Where fairness drives every decision. Help us deliver world-class, independent complaints resolution for Australians. As a not-for-profit and progressive financial ombudsman, we’re championing positive change. Achieving our purpose takes progressive thinking, accountability and resilience. At AFCA, our inclusive leadership values every voice. We offer our people flexible work options, thoughtful benefits and opportunities to deepen expertise. Flourish in a diverse, caring culture. Feel the difference of belonging to an organisation intentionally designed to put people first.

Job Description

Bring your HR expertise to a role where your judgement, coaching and practical advice will make a real impact.

We’re looking for an experienced Senior People Advisor to join AFCA’s People & Culture team on a fixed-term contract through to 30 June 2027.

This is a great opportunity for an accomplished HR generalist who enjoys being close to the action. You’ll provide trusted, practical advice across employee relations and the broader employee lifecycle, coach and support fellow People Advisors, strengthen our advisory practices and help ensure we continue delivering a consistent, high-quality experience for our people.

You’ll join us at an important time for People & Culture. As we continue to evolve the way we work and undertake an HRIS implementation, you’ll play a key role in maintaining operational continuity while helping us improve the processes, policies and ways of working that underpin our People Advisory service.

What you’ll be doing

• Provide practical, commercially sound advice across employee relations and employee lifecycle matters.
• Use your judgement to assess risk, confidently manage complex matters and recognise when specialist support or escalation is required.
• Act as an escalation point for People Advisors and Coordinators, providing coaching, guidance and quality review.
• Support daily triage, prioritisation and consistent case management across the People Advisory team.
• Help embed our tiered People service model, including clear ways of working, ownership, hand‑offs and escalation pathways.
• Oversee People policy governance, including review cycles, consultation, approvals and publication.
• Review and simplify policies, procedures, templates and guidance to keep them practical, current and aligned with legislative requirements.
• Identify opportunities to improve advisory processes, workflows and service delivery.
• Provide practitioner input into HRIS testing and readiness activities where required.
• Partner across People & Culture and with teams including Payroll, Legal and Risk.

Qualifications

You’ll be an experienced HR practitioner who can quickly build credibility and operate with a high degree of autonomy.

We’re looking for someone with:

• Significant hands‑on HR generalist experience at a senior advisory level.
• Strong experience independently managing employee relations and employee lifecycle matters.
• Deep working knowledge of Australian employment legislation, including the Fair Work Act and National Employment Standards.
• Experience interpreting and applying industrial instruments and People policies in practical workplace situations.
• Strong judgement and confidence assessing risk and navigating sensitive or complex people matters.
• Experience coaching other HR professionals, reviewing advice and building capability without needing formal people leadership responsibility.
• Practical experience with People policy governance, review and implementation.
• The ability to manage competing priorities, build trusted stakeholder relationships and translate complex employment requirements into clear, practical advice.
• A relevant HR or related qualification.

Experience supporting an HRIS implementation or HR transformation would be highly regarded

Additional Information

• Gold AWEI Accreditation 2025 – Recognised for LGBTQ+ workplace inclusion.
• Accredited Family Friendly Workplace – Supporting work-life balance and inclusivity.
• Hybrid working – Flexible arrangements with two days a week in our modernoffices designed for collaboration and wellbeing.
• Additional and inclusive leave options – Flexible public holidays, gender affirmation leave, women’s health leave, and bonus paid time off over the end of year holiday period.

We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds, cultures, abilities, sexual orientations, and gender identities.

We believe fairness starts with people. That’s why we don’t use AI or automated tools to screen candidates. As a result, our processes may take a little longer, and we thank you for your patience.

About AFCA

The Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) was established in 2018 as a private not-for-profit ombudsman service providing free, fair and independent help with financial disputes. The original team has grown to over 1600 dedicated professionals. Since 2018, AFCA has received more than 634,000 complaints, helping to secure $2.1 billion in compensation for consumers.

AFCA is a 2026 Circle Back Initiative Employer - we are committed to responding to every applicant.