IR Specialist

A leading organisation is seeking an Industrial Relations Specialist to join their Human Resources division in Brisbane. This role offers you the opportunity to make a significant impact by providing expert advice on compliance and industrial relations projects, managing stakeholder engagement, and developing educational resources for enterprise agreement and award compliance across Australia. You will be at the heart of shaping fair and transparent workplace practices, working closely with cross-functional teams including HR, Payroll, Legal, and unions. The organisation values continuous improvement, supportive leadership, and open communication, creating an environment where your expertise will be recognised and your professional growth encouraged. Flexible working opportunities are available, ensuring you can balance your career ambitions with personal commitments. If you are passionate about fostering an inclusive and compliant workplace culture, this is your chance to contribute meaningfully while advancing your own career. * You will play a pivotal role in ensuring national compliance with enterprise agreements and awards through specialist advice and project management. * The organisation offers flexible working arrangements and prioritises professional development within a supportive team environment. * Your work will directly influence organisational processes, employee education programmes, and stakeholder relationships across multiple functions.

What you'll do:

As an Industrial Relations Specialist based in Brisbane, you will be responsible for delivering specialist advice on compliance matters related to enterprise agreements and awards. Your day-to-day activities will involve collaborating with internal stakeholders such as HR Partnering teams, Payroll specialists, site management as well as external parties including unions. You will lead the design of pay remediation methodologies that ensure regulatory compliance while translating complex legal requirements into actionable payroll rules. Developing clear communications for employees affected by remediation outcomes will be central to your role; you will produce materials ranging from notification letters to briefing packs for leadership. Managing escalations requires you to provide sensitive yet robust explanations backed by legislative knowledge. You will also identify systemic issues through dispute resolution processes and recommend improvements. Education is a key focus: you will create tools and training materials that empower business leaders to embed compliant practices throughout the organisation. Your success in this role hinges on your ability to foster collaborative relationships across functions while maintaining transparency in all communications.

• Provide expert guidance on interpreting and applying the Fair Work Act, Modern Awards, enterprise agreements, and regulatory guidance to ensure compliance across all business units.
• Assess and validate remediation approaches for pay arrangements, ensuring alignment with legislative requirements and minimising risk.
• Collaborate closely with Legal, HR Partnering teams, Payroll, site management, and external advisors to maintain consistent and defensible positions on industrial relations matters.
• Support the development and validation of pay remediation methodologies by modelling rules and assumptions that withstand regulatory scrutiny.
• Review complex pay scenarios for compliance with Award provisions such as overtime, penalties, allowances, and loadings.
• Translate intricate industrial relations requirements into practical system-ready rules for payroll processing and remediation calculations.
• Develop high-quality communications including employee letters, FAQs, guidance documents, briefing packs for leadership teams, ensuring clarity and sensitivity to employee impact.
• Manage escalations and resolve complex employee queries or disputes arising from remediation outcomes by providing clear explanations supported by legislative interpretations.
• Identify systemic issues through dispute resolution processes and recommend corrective actions to improve compliance practices.
• Design and deliver organisation-wide education programmes to build capability in industrial relations compliance among HR, Payroll, business leaders, and frontline managers.

What you bring:

To excel as an Industrial Relations Specialist in this organisation’s Human Resources division, you will bring substantial experience interpreting complex industrial instruments within large-scale environments. Your academic background includes a Bachelor’s degree in Law or Human Resources; ideally complemented by postgraduate qualifications or equivalent industry experience. You have managed multi-faceted projects requiring collaboration across HR Partnering teams, Payroll specialists, site management—and unions—demonstrating advanced stakeholder management skills. Your communication abilities enable you to craft educational resources that clarify intricate compliance issues while handling sensitive employee queries empathetically. A strategic mindset drives your commitment to continuous improvement; you proactively identify areas for process enhancement or system uplift. Organisational skills underpin your capacity to plan audits or deliver training programmes efficiently. You are adept at translating legal requirements into practical payroll solutions that withstand regulatory scrutiny. When managing escalations or disputes arising from remediation outcomes, your approach is both tactful and analytical—ensuring corrective actions address root causes rather than symptoms. Throughout all interactions you uphold values of transparency and accessibility.

• Demonstrated experience interpreting complex industrial instruments such as enterprise agreements and Modern Awards within large organisations.
• Proven track record managing multi-faceted projects involving cross-functional teams in human resources or workplace law environments.
• Bachelor’s degree in Law or Human Resources is required; a Post Graduate Certificate in Law is preferred but not essential if industry equivalent experience is demonstrated.
• Exceptional stakeholder management skills enabling you to build trustful relationships with internal customers (site management, HR Partnering team) as well as external parties (unions).
• Advanced communication skills allowing you to develop clear educational resources and handle sensitive employee queries with empathy.
• Strategic mindset focused on continuous improvement of processes related to compliance and industrial relations.
• Strong organisational abilities enabling effective planning of audit reviews, educational programmes, process improvements, and system upgrades.
• Experience designing practical solutions that translate legal requirements into operational payroll rules or system controls.
• Ability to manage escalations or disputes with tactfulness while recommending corrective actions based on systemic analysis.
• Commitment to upholding values such as transparency, accessibility, modesty in all interactions.

What sets this company apart:

This organisation stands out for its unwavering commitment to fostering an inclusive workplace culture where every employee’s contribution is valued. The Human Resources division operates with a strong sense of community—prioritising collaboration between site management teams, HR partners, Payroll specialists, Legal advisors, and unions—to achieve shared goals around compliance and fairness. Employees benefit from flexible working opportunities designed to support work-life balance alongside generous training programmes that encourage ongoing professional development. Supportive leadership ensures feedback is timely and respectful; recognition of effort is embedded within daily practice. The organisation’s values emphasise transparency in communication as well as accessibility—making it easy for employees at all levels to connect with one another or seek guidance when needed. Continuous improvement is not just a slogan but a lived reality: every team member is empowered to identify opportunities for enhancing processes or systems so that compliant practices become second nature throughout the business. If you are looking for a workplace where your expertise will be nurtured within a collaborative network—and where your impact on organisational culture will be both meaningful and lasting—this is the ideal environment for you.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples are encouraged to apply.
To apply, please click "Apply" or contact Ryan McCarthy on 07 3032 2253 or ryan.mccarthy@robertwalters.com.au for a confidential discussion.