Senior HR Business Partner

• Head of HR | Critical portfolio 300 FTE and growing
• High-impact role in a complex, highly regulated environment
• Enterprise-wide influence | Infrastructure sector
• Major Projects experience 
• Drive strategic workforce planning, cultural evolution, and risk mitigation
• Sydney CBD | Hybrid working available 
• MUST have critical infrastructure experience - Construction | Rail | Engineering | Mining

Our client is seeking a confident, strategic, and influential HR leader to join a high-performing business at the forefront of critical infrastructure projects. This is not a transactional role, it requires deep expertise across the employee lifecycle, with a focus on strategic workforce planning, organisational design, ER/IR risk management, and futureproofing the business through talent pipelines and cultural transformation.

This position will suit someone with strong commercial and regulatory acumen, who brings experience in high-value project environments, is confident navigating complex stakeholder dynamics, and has a systemic mindset to influence and embed best practice across the enterprise.

You will work closely with executive and project leadership teams on a growing portfolio expected to scale in headcount. Success in this role requires a high degree of emotional intelligence, the ability to read the environment, pre-empt issues, and bring people on the journey, particularly in a high-pressure, delivery-focused setting.

Key Responsibilities:

Strategic HR Leadership

• Act as a senior advisor and critical partner to business and project leaders
• Lead the development and implementation of integrated people strategies aligned to business growth and transformation priorities
• Partner with Centres of Excellence (e.g. Talent, L&D, Reward, Operations) to drive consistency and alignment across the operating model
• Embed workforce planning as a strategic discipline – from ramp-up and resourcing to cost forecasting, risk mitigation, and future workforce dispersion

Talent, Capability & Risk

• Build and execute robust bench strength, talent pipelines and succession plans that meet current and future technical demands
• Champion strategic approaches to performance, capability development, and leadership growth
• Understand and proactively manage ER/IR risks with a focus on business continuity, regulatory compliance and cultural integrity
• Coach and influence senior stakeholders on systemic and sustainable people practices

Workforce Planning & Project Alignment

• Deeply understand project lifecycles, technical workforce needs, and the rhythm of ramp-up/down phases
• Partner with project leaders to develop real-time workforce planning and cost forecasting tools
• Monitor workforce engagement, burnout risks and leadership gaps. Proactively engage with Directors to ensure team resilience and readiness
• Drive strategic decision-making through people analytics and insights

Culture, Engagement & Change

• Champion a positive, inclusive, high-performance culture
• Design and execute cultural initiatives and engagement strategies tailored to a project-heavy environment
• Lead large-scale change management initiatives and guide teams through complexity and transformation
• Run engagement surveys, interpret results, and implement actions that create lasting impact

About You:

• Degree qualified in HR, Business, Psychology or related field (postgrad/MBA desirable)
• 7–10+ years’ Senior HR experience, including significant time in strategic HRBP or HR leadership roles
• Proven experience working in complex, regulated and infrastructure environments
• Deep understanding of project lifecycles, workforce phasing, and talent implications
• Strong ER/IR expertise with a commercial and risk lens
• A natural influencer and coach, with high EQ and ability to lead through ambiguity
• Demonstrated experience in leading cultural transformation and capability building
• Strong analytical skills, with ability to translate data into strategic insight and action

What’s On Offer:

• Influence and shape the people agenda in a high-growth portfolio
• Work alongside senior leaders committed to transformation and excellence
• A collaborative, values-led environment with hybrid working flexibility
• Opportunity to lead in one of Australia’s most critical sectors
• Sydney CBD location

Contact: ashleyduffy@future-you.com.au