HR Manager

About the Opportunity

This is a step-up opportunity. Our client, a family-owned building services contractor, is looking for an HR Advisor who is ready to take the next step - to own the HR function outright as their HR Manager, and to be part of a genuine growth story. With a workforce of 400+ across multiple related entities – and demand booming across major commercial and infrastructure projects - you’ll run HR end-to-end, work directly with the business owners, and shape the function as the business scales.

Benefits

• A culture people don’t leave - family-owned, down-to-earth, and must be prepared to have a laugh
• Attractive remuneration package including superannuation and car allowance
• Generous leave: 4 weeks annual leave plus 10 RDOs per year

About the Role

Reporting closely to the business owners and working alongside a tight-knit office team, you’ll be the go-to for everything people-related across a workforce of 400+, most of whom are EBA-employed trades on site.

Your remit will include:

• End-to-end employee lifecycle – contracts, onboarding, inductions, movements and exits
• Employee relations in a unionised environment - leading day-to-day ER conversations with support from directors on complex matters (you won’t be negotiating the EBA - but you’ll need to know your way around one)
• Managing and developing the apprentice program alongside project managers
• Hands-on ownership of performance management, annual reviews and KPIs – ready to be taken on and built out properly
• Training and development – there are currently no formal programs, so this is a genuine blank canvas
• WorkCover claims and a hands-on contribution to safety (a dual HR/safety flavour – some safety exposure is a real plus)
• Uplifting HR systems and processes as the business grows - there’s real scope to build things properly and make the function your own

About You

• An HR Advisor, Senior Advisor or Business Partner ready to step up and own a function end-to-end – this role is built for that next move (experienced HR Managers seeking a hands-on role are equally welcome)
• Background in construction, trades, industrial or another blue-collar environment - you’re comfortable and credible with a large trade workforce
• Working knowledge of EBAs and experience operating in a unionised setting
• Pragmatic and hands-on - you sort things out rather than write policies about them
• Composed in a fast-paced, direct-communication environment - you handle candid conversations professionally and constructively
• Easy-going with a sense of humour and a down-to-earth approach - you’ll fit a team that works hard and doesn’t stand on ceremony

About the Company

Our client is a long-established, family-owned business with an enviable reputation across Melbourne’s commercial construction sector – and they’re now in a significant growth phase on the back of strong demand across their markets.

But here’s what really sets them apart: the culture. This is a business where employees stay for decades. Where the owners know everyone by name. Where Friday drinks are a fixture, people have a laugh, and nobody takes themselves too seriously – but the work gets done, and done properly. They hire for cultural alignment first, and it shows. It’s honest, easy-going and refreshingly free of ego. Office-based in Melbourne’s northern suburbs, with the genuine day-to-day flexibility of a family business.

How to Apply

If you’re motivated by workplace culture and career progression, I’d love to hear from you.
Apply now or feel free to reach out to Tiarne McDonald via LinkedIn for a confidential chat.

Good hires start with good humans.