HR & WHS Business Partner – People, Safety & Culture - Medical Device Manufacturing

HR & WHS Business Partner – People, Safety & Culture

SE Suburbs | Full-time | On-site with 1 day WFH

People. Safety. Culture. Business Partnership.

Are you an experienced HR professional who wants to make a genuine impact across people, culture, workplace health and safety and business performance?

This is an opportunity to step into a hands-on HR & WHS Business Partner role where you will work closely with the Head of HR, operational leaders, managers, employees and contractors to deliver practical people solutions, strengthen workplace safety, manage employment risk and build a high-performing, accountable culture.

You will be a trusted partner to the business, balancing strategic thinking with a willingness to roll up your sleeves and get things done.

Working closely with the Head of HR and operational leaders, you will have meaningful ownership across employee relations, recruitment, organisational development, WHS, compliance, contractor management and people systems.

About the Role

This is a broad, commercially focused HR & WHS Business Partner role with genuine influence across the employee lifecycle and operational environment.You will partner with leaders and managers to provide practical advice and solutions across people matters, while driving a proactive approach to workplace health, safety and risk.

The role is full-time and primarily site-based, with one day working from home each week, providing the flexibility to undertake focused HR, reporting and strategic work while maintaining a strong presence across the operational environment.

You will be equally comfortable discussing an employee relations matter with a manager, reviewing a safety risk on the floor, supporting a recruitment process, analysing engagement feedback or improving a people process.

You will help shape a workplace where people can perform at their best, leaders are equipped to lead effectively and everyone goes home safe every day.

Key Responsibilities

• HR Business Partnership
• Partner with leaders and managers to provide practical, commercially focused HR advice across the employee lifecycle.
• Provide advice and support on employee relations, performance management, conduct, attendance, capability and workplace issues.
• Coach and develop managers to build confidence and capability in people leadership.
• Support leaders with organisational structure, position descriptions, workforce planning and recruitment requirements.
• Partner with hiring managers on recruitment strategy, selection and appointment processes.
• Oversee recruitment activities including job design, advertising, interviews, reference checks and background enquiries.
• Lead and continuously improve onboarding and induction processes.
• Prepare and review employment contracts, HR documentation, position descriptions and Fair Work Statements.
• Maintain accurate and confidential employee records and personnel histories.
• Partner with the Head of HR to deliver the broader people and HR strategy.
• Identify opportunities to improve employee experience, engagement, retention and organisational capability.
• Lead and support employee engagement initiatives, including twice-yearly engagement surveys and associated action plans.
• Provide HR insights, reporting and recommendations to support informed business decisions.
• Identify people-related risks and develop practical strategies to mitigate them.
• Workplace Health & Safety
• Partner with operational leaders to strengthen WHS performance and embed a proactive safety culture.
• Provide practical WHS advice to managers, supervisors, employees and contractors.
• Conduct and oversee workplace safety inspections, audits and risk assessments.
• Identify hazards, assess risks and recommend practical and sustainable controls.
• Monitor corrective actions and ensure safety issues are appropriately recorded, escalated and closed out.
• Promote safe work practices and visible safety leadership across the business.
• Coordinate safety training, awareness programs and competency requirements.
• Plan, coordinate and co-chair the WHS Committee.
• Coordinate emergency procedures, drills and preparedness activities.
• Administer and continuously improve the safety management system.
• Review, develop and update WHS policies, procedures, processes and documentation in consultation with the Head of HR and relevant stakeholders.
• Support incident management, investigation and corrective action processes.
• Monitor WHS compliance and provide advice on emerging risks and legislative requirements.
• Develop meaningful WHS reporting and insights for leadership.
• Contractor & Compliance Management
• Own the contractor management process and ensure contractors meet required compliance standards before and during engagement.
• Administer the Rapid Global contractor management system, including inductions, insurance, licences, qualifications and compliance requirements.
• Partner with contractors, recruitment agencies and internal stakeholders to resolve compliance issues.
• Monitor contractor compliance and proactively address gaps and risks.
• Manage the casual contractor pool and act as a key point of contact for recruitment agencies and external providers.
• Ensure employment, contractor and WHS documentation remains current and compliant.
• Culture, Engagement & Continuous Improvement
• Champion the organisation's values of Passion, Accountability, Respect, Teamwork and Innovation.
• Build strong relationships across all levels of the organisation and act as a trusted and approachable HR and WHS partner.
• Identify opportunities to simplify, improve and standardise people and safety processes.
• Use employee feedback, engagement data and operational insights to identify improvement opportunities.
• Support initiatives that strengthen wellbeing, engagement and organisational culture.
• Promote accountability and ownership for both people and safety outcomes.
• Coordinate waste management activities across local SDI sites and support broader environmental and sustainability initiatives where required.

About You

• You are an experienced HR professional who combines strong people capability with commercial awareness and a practical approach to WHS.
• You understand that effective HR is not simply about policies and processes. It is about helping leaders make better decisions, building organisational capability, managing risk and creating an environment where people and the business can succeed.

You will ideally bring:

Essential

• Tertiary qualification in Human Resources, Business, Industrial Relations or a related discipline.
• Demonstrated experience in an HR Business Partner, HR Advisor, HR Generalist or similar role.
• Demonstrated experience providing HR advice and partnering with managers and leaders.
• Strong understanding of Australian employment legislation, Fair Work requirements and contemporary HR practices.
• Strong working knowledge of WHS principles, risk management and Australian WHS obligations.
• Certificate IV in Work Health & Safety or equivalent WHS qualification.
• Demonstrated experience managing employee relations, performance, conduct and workplace issues.
• Strong interpersonal, influencing and communication skills.
• Excellent organisational skills and the ability to manage competing priorities.
• High level of attention to detail, judgement and confidentiality.
• Strong systems capability and confidence working with HRIS, safety and reporting platforms.
• A practical, solutions-focused and commercially minded approach.

Highly Regarded

• Experience within a manufacturing, industrial or operational environment.
• Experience working across both HR and WHS portfolios.
• Experience with HRIS or people management systems, particularly Sage.
• Experience with contractor management systems such as Rapid Global.
• Familiarity with systems such as Salesforce or SkyTrust.
• Experience developing HR and WHS reporting, dashboards or business insights.
• Experience leading employee engagement

IMPORTANT: It is a requirement of all our jobs that you have a PR or AU/NZ Citizenship. A work visa is not sufficient as all our jobs are permanent. Please do not apply if you do not meet these requirements.