Senior HR Business Partner (Remote)

O-HR is an Australian HR consulting and technology company. Our mission is to strengthen human-led HR practice through expert consulting, on-demand leadership, and safe, intelligent systems. We are a female-led national business of highly capable HR practitioners who enjoy the on-demand impact and rhythm of delivering better HR.

Our HR Business Partners are trusted with complex and difficult HR work, often when a business needs help most: a serious complaint, a restructure under pressure, significant operational risk or a leadership gap. They bring senior HR judgement to businesses that need it, resolve real issues quickly, and leave every organisation better than they found it.

They've spent years building the commercial and professional acumen to read a business fast, spot the real people risk and act on it, often before the full picture is clear. They don't need a long runway, a tidy brief or a big team around them. They deliver.

Our consultants mobilise at short notice, get across a new client's business within days and build trusted relationships with leaders, largely through virtual channels. The work ranges from high-stakes matters to the foundational documents every business needs to get right, across the full generalist remit.

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‍What you'll do

Partner with leaders, fast

• Mobilise at short notice so clients experience no gap in HR coverage
• Quickly assess new environments and pinpoint the immediate people risks and priorities urgently
• Build enough credibility with each leadership team that they treat you as one of their own

Strategic workforce advice

• Help leaders make sound people decisions on capability, culture, change and risk
• Translate commercial priorities into practical, deliverable people plans

Operating model and organisation design

• Advise on structure, roles, spans of control and workforce planning to support business goals
• Set up position management, so every role is clearly defined, approved and costed
• Design roles using O-HR's Output, Outcome, Impact (OOI) methodology, connecting each role's outputs to the outcomes and impact the business needs
• Build ways of working that are productive, sustainable and psychologically safe
• Make sure proposed structures are commercially sound and procedurally fair

Organisational restructuring

• Guide clients through restructures from end to end, preparing impact statements and communication plans
• Make sure consultation, selection and redundancy processes meet award, agreement and Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) requirements
• Support leaders to deliver difficult conversations with care and confidence

Employee and industrial relations

• Conduct workplace investigations into complaints of misconduct, bullying, harassment and discrimination, with procedurally fair processes and clear, defensible findings
• Advise on modern award and enterprise agreement interpretation, including pay, classification and entitlement questions
• Manage performance, conduct and grievance matters
• Support terminations and exits, making sure processes are fair and meet Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) requirements
• Support clients through Fair Work Commission matters, including preparing responses and, where permitted, representing them

WHS and injury management

• Support clients to meet their work health and safety obligations, including managing psychosocial hazards
• Manage return to work and workers' compensation matters under the relevant state or territory scheme

Remuneration and reward

• Build remuneration frameworks, pay bands and salary structures that are fair, competitive and affordable
• Evaluate and size roles so pay decisions are consistent and defensible
• Benchmark pay against the market and advise on offers, reviews and incentives
• Build incentive structures aligned to client organisational objectives

Payroll audits and compliance

• Run structured payroll audits, testing classification, entitlements and record-keeping against the relevant award, agreement or contract
• Identify and quantify underpayment exposure, and set out a remediation plan clients can act on
• Help clients put in place payroll processes and controls that stop problems recurring
• Keep clear, audit-ready records so every finding traces back to source data

HR audits and capability uplift

• Run evidence-based reviews using O-HR's proven audit methodology, assessing HR governance, compliance, talent, performance, reward, conduct, psychosocial safety and leadership against Australian law and leading practice
• Build the frameworks, tools and leader capability that keep working after the engagement ends

Temporary support to HR teams

• Support HR teams during operational peaks or transitions
• Work alongside existing HR teams on matters outside their day-to-day scope

Training and development

• Deliver training on psychosocial safety, respectful workplaces and sexual harassment prevention, and bullying, harassment and discrimination awareness
• Build leader capability in managing underperformance, difficult conversations and mental health awareness
• Coach managers and internal HR teams so improvements stick

‍Operational HR delivery

• Draft and update policies, contracts and position descriptions
• Support recruitment and onboarding when an engagement calls for it
• Handle the everyday HR work that keeps a business compliant and running smoothly

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You're part of a team

Our consultants work remotely, but they never work alone. You'll be part of a like-minded team of senior Australian HR practitioners, all focused on delivering better HR for our clients, and backed by our Chief HR Officer.

• Need a template? We have it.
• Want to bounce an idea around? Someone will be there.
• Need a tool? You'll have access to it.
• Facing a complex or high-risk matter? Our CHRO is there to back you with senior advice.

You'll work with O-HR's own methodologies, templates and IP, built from years of senior HR practice. No need to reinvent anything, so you can focus on delivering for clients.

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About you

This role is for senior practitioners. You'll have held roles such as Head of HR, HR Director, GM People, Chief People Officer or Senior HR Business Partner, and you'll bring:

• Deep, hands-on experience working within the Australian workplace relations system
• Strong award and enterprise agreement interpretation skills
• Confidence running ER matters, investigations, restructures and payroll compliance reviews on your own
• The commercial judgement to connect people decisions to business outcomes
• The ability to walk into an unfamiliar business and earn trust quickly
• You're at your best when the brief is unclear, the information is patchy, and a decision still needs making
• Confidence facilitating training and workshops
• A calm, organised approach and clear written advice

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Is this right for you?

Our remote-first, on-demand model works best for experienced practitioners who want flexible, on-demand work. It isn't suited to people early in their HR career, or to people currently in full-time employment who can't take on engagements at short notice.

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How we engage

This is a casual employment role. Whether you're open to a few hours a week or a few days, we'll bring you opportunities that match your capacity, and you decide which to take on. Rates are set to match your experience and the client's needs.

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Why O-HR

O-HR is an independent, Australian, female-led HR consulting and technology company. Our consultants are part of a national network of senior HR leaders who've chosen portfolio careers so their impact reaches beyond one workplace.

We advocate for the profession. Our Industry Council brings together more than 300 years of collective Australian HR experience; we partner with universities to invest in the next generation of practitioners, and we're building Nooma, our AI-enabled platform designed to strengthen HR professionals, not replace them.

We take clear social and environmental positions. We won't take on work that requires us to act against employees' interests or facilitate unlawful workplace practice. We deliver remotely and digitally by default to reduce travel and waste, and we hold our technology partners to human rights and environmental standards. We're a small firm with big provider standards, working to acheive SOC 2 Type 2 and ISO 42001:2023 governance, risk and safety benchmarks.

Our engagements are flexible and fit around your life. We deliberately create real opportunities for working parents who are limited by availability, not capability.

Have a question? Email careers@o-hr.com.au.