Head of People Partnering & Employee Relations

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Perth Airport seeks a Head of People Partnering & Employee Relations to lead the Business Partnering and Talent Acquisition teams, translate strategy into action, and advise senior leaders across operations, corporate functions and major projects. The role owns Employee Relations, drives talent management and engagement, champions change management, and leads workforce planning and organisation design. The ideal candidate has 7+ years in senior HR leadership, deep ER expertise, experience in complex fast paced environments, executive presence and a proven record embedding ER frameworks. To apply, tailor your CV and cover letter with concrete outcomes, quantify impact, and show how you will embed PAPL's change approach and ESPG goals.

Perth Airport is Australia’s Western Hub connecting the people, businesses and communities of Western Australia with the rest of Australia and the world. Operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week throughout the year, Perth Airport plays a significant role in providing economic, social and cultural benefits to West Australians. 

Perth Airport is investing more than $5 billion in new infrastructure so we can support our airline partners to grow, offering more services to new destinations and an improved customer experience. 

Over the coming decade we will expand T1 International, and build new domestic terminal facilities, a parallel runway, two multi-storey carparks and our first airport hotel. This will deliver one airport for the people of Western Australia which will host all flight services in a central location giving passengers a seamless, world-class travel experience. 

The Perth Airport estate is spread over 2100 hectares and has developed a $1.5 billion portfolio of existing industrial premises and significant vacant land holdings. 

We service a truly diverse community and play an important role in strengthening cultural, family and social bonds while supporting business, tourism and leisure travel. 

About the role 

Reporting to the General Manager, People & Culture, the Head of People Partnering & Employee Relations leads the Business Partnering and Talent Acquisition functions. You will be the critical link between P&C strategy and business execution - translating plans into practice, embedding frameworks into day-to-day operations, and equipping leaders to build capable, engaged, and well-designed teams.

This is not a role that sits at arm's length. You'll operate as a trusted advisor to senior leaders across operations, corporate functions, and a major projects portfolio, with a team of HR Business Partners and Talent Acquisition professionals delivering alongside you.

You will:

• Shape and execute people strategies aligned to business priorities, strengthen organisational capability, and lead high-performing teams that deliver measurable enterprise-wide impact.
• Lead the Business Partnering & Talent Acquisition Partnering function across all areas of the business, operations, corporate, and major projects - building team capability and ensuring commercially relevant, strategic advice to leaders.
• Own and embed the Employee Relations framework, ensuring contemporary, consistent and compliant practice. Coach leaders to manage complex ER matters with confidence, maintain constructive union relationships, and ensure correct application of the EBA and relevant legislation.
• Execute talent management, performance and engagement programs designed by the OD function, embedding them into business operations through the partnering team. This role is about driving execution, not duplicating design.
• Champion the airport's change management philosophy ensuring leaders are familiar with, confident in, and consistently applying PAPL's change management approach and tools as part of how the business manages people-related and organisational change.
• Drive cyclical P&C processes including salary reviews, performance management, FTE budgets, succession planning and strategic workforce planning, in partnership with P&C peers and Finance.
• Partner with senior leaders on organisation design, role clarity, and workforce planning to ensure structures are fit for purpose and aligned to current and future business needs.

About You 

You are a credible and contemporary people leader, recognised for bringing strategic judgement, organisational influence and a calm, assured presence to complex environments. Operating confidently at senior level, you build trusted relationships, shape critical conversations and provide the leadership required to align people, culture and business performance in moments that matter. You will bring: 

• Broad HR leadership experience across multiple disciplines, business partnering, employee relations, talent acquisition, workforce planning, with ER as a genuine strength.
• 7+ years in senior-level HR leadership roles, with a demonstrable track record of achievement in complex, multi-stakeholder environments.
• Deep expertise in employee relations, change and organisational transformation, with the ability to lead through complexity and ambiguity.
• Proven experience building and embedding ER frameworks and executing talent and OD programs through a partnering model into business operations.
• A contemporary commercial mindset, translating people strategy into practical outcomes that strengthen performance and organisational capability.
• A strong understanding of change management principles and the ability to equip leaders and HR practitioners to apply them consistently. You don't need to be a change manager, but you need to know how to embed change thinking into how leaders lead
• Degree-qualified in HR, Management or a related discipline, with additional leadership development viewed favourably.
• A trusted advisor style, with the executive presence to partner confidently with senior leaders and navigate sensitive, high-impact matters.
• Experience in complex, fast-paced operational environments, with infrastructure, construction or similarly scaled settings highly regarded.
• A strong record of leading, coaching and uplifting high-performing people teams through growth, change and transformation.

About Us 

We offer a dynamic and supportive team culture, a contemporary workplace with great facilities and a modern approach to work/life integration. Our competitive remuneration package comes with additional company benefits including free parking. 

Perth Airport is an Equal Opportunities Employer. We are committed to building an equitable and diverse workforce representative of the community we serve. We encourage and welcome applications from all communities and backgrounds. 

Doing the right thing by the planet and future generations is important to us. At PAPL we place a strong emphasis on embedding sustainability throughout our business strategy and operations. We remain steadfast in our commitment to driving ESPG (Environmental, Social, People, Governance) performance across our value chain and areas that have material environmental and social impact. 

If this sounds like you, please get in touch.