_{30th April, 2026}

Senior People Operations Manager
Confidential Opportunity | Melbourne

Not every HR role lets you step into a business at a true inflection point.

This is one of those roles.

We’re partnering confidentially with a growing, operationally complex business on the verge of a major transformation. With a significant acquisition about to land, the organisation is entering a new phase, scaling rapidly, increasing workforce complexity, and requiring stronger, more experienced leadership across its people function.

This is where you come in.

The opportunity

Reporting into the General Counsel, this role sits at the heart of the business. You’ll be stepping into a highly industrial, multi-site environment with a national footprint, where HR isn’t just support, it’s critical to performance, compliance, and growth.

Your mandate is clear: stabilise, strengthen, and build.

You’ll lead HR operations end-to-end, bringing structure, consistency, and credibility to a function that needs to operate with greater rigour and commercial alignment. At the same time, you’ll play a key role in supporting the integration of a newly acquired business, ensuring people, processes, and obligations are aligned from day one.

What you’ll be doing

• Leading HR operations across the full employee lifecycle in a complex, industrial environment
• Acting as a trusted advisor to senior operational leaders on workforce, performance, and culture
• Driving ER/IR strategy, including managing grievances and leading upcoming enterprise bargaining cycles
• Supporting the people integration of a major acquisition 
• Strengthening payroll alignment, compliance, and governance across the workforce
• Building internal talent capability while reducing reliance on labour hire
• Developing meaningful workforce reporting and insights to drive decision-making
• Leading and uplifting a small, capable HR team

What we’re looking for

This is not a role for someone early in their journey, or someone who prefers theory over action.

You’ll bring:

• Deep experience in HR operations within industrial, multi-site environments
• Strong IR/ER capability, including enterprise bargaining and complex case management
• Exposure to M&A or business integration (essential)
• The ability to operate with pace, ambiguity, and competing priorities
• Credibility with operational leaders, you know how to influence, not just advise
• A hands-on, sleeves-rolled-up approach to getting things done

Most importantly, you’ll be someone who can step into complexity without being overwhelmed, and bring clarity, structure, and calm where it’s needed most.

Why this role?

This isn’t about maintaining the status quo.

It’s an opportunity to:

• Play a key role in a business undergoing significant growth and change
• Shape and strengthen the people function from the inside
• Influence real outcomes across workforce performance, cost, and capability
• Work with a leadership team open to change and improvement

It’s a business in transition, with real complexity, and that’s exactly where the opportunity lies. 

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