Lead – Workforce Risk (WHS & Compliance)

? Location: Australia (Hybrid)

? Full-time | Leadership Opportunity

About Impellam Headfirst Group

Impellam Headfirst Group is a global leader in workforce solutions, STEM talent, managed services and HR technology, formed through the coming together of Impellam Group and Headfirst Group. Together, we partner with organisations across the globe to design, mobilise and manage complex contingent and contractor workforce programs.

Within our Talent Management portfolio, our purpose is straightforward: to build workforce solutions that attract, deploy and support the right talent, safely and compliantly, for the customers who rely on us. We do this by combining deep workforce expertise with strong governance, so that every contingent labour placement at a host employer is set up to succeed from day one.

In Australia, our Talent Management team supports a diverse portfolio of programs across the resources and mining, energy, and government sectors, spanning a wide variation of role types – from technical, trade and operational roles through to specialist and professional contingent labour placed at host employer sites nationally.

About the Role

We are seeking an experienced Lead – Workforce Risk (WHS & Compliance) to provide functional leadership across contingent workforce safety, operational risk, and WHS compliance for contractors placed at host employer sites throughout the APAC region.

Reporting to the VP Talent Supply & Enablement, you will act as the organisation's subject matter expert and authority on workforce risk, ensuring that safety, compliance, and critical risk controls are embedded into workforce solutions from design through to mobilisation and delivery.

This is a strategic leadership role that combines WHS expertise, workforce risk management, operational governance, and commercial partnership to support sustainable and compliant workforce solutions.

What You'll Be Responsible For

WHS & Critical Risk Leadership

- Develop and maintain contingent workforce WHS and critical risk frameworks for contractors deployed at host employer sites across APAC
- Establish site risk assessment processes, incident management, and mitigation strategies




- Monitor workers' compensation trends and high-risk environments
- Ensure strong governance and compliance across workforce operations

Safety by Design

- Embed safety principles into workforce operating models and mobilisation frameworks
- Partner with operational, product, and technology teams to integrate risk controls into systems and processes
- Provide safety and risk advice during workforce design and implementation activities

Implementation & Mobilisation Assurance

- Define safety readiness frameworks for new programs and workforce transitions
- Conduct risk assessments and provide recommendations before go-live
- Identify and mitigate operational and safety risks during mobilisation phases

Workers Compensation & Injury Management

- Oversee injury management, workers' compensation, and return-to-work governance for contingent workers at host employer sites
- Develop frameworks that improve recovery outcomes and reduce risk exposure
- Support on-site injury escalation and management processes

Risk, Audit & Compliance

- Lead internal and external WHS and operational risk audits
- Act as the escalation point for safety incidents and compliance matters
- Drive continuous improvement through audit outcomes and incident analysis
- Maintain strong governance across customer programs and high-risk environments

Commercial & Strategic Support

- Provide WHS and workforce risk advice for tenders and solution design
- Ensure workforce models are commercially sustainable, compliant, and operationally effective
- Support leadership teams with risk-based decision making

What Success Looks Like

Success in this role means:

· Reduced safety incidents and critical risk exposure

· Strong workers' compensation and injury management outcomes

· Workforce programs operating within established risk parameters





· Safety embedded into workforce design and mobilisation from day one

· Audit-ready operations with robust assurance frameworks

· Proactive identification and mitigation of emerging risks

· High confidence from customers and executive stakeholders

What You'll Bring From Day 1

Essential Experience

- Proven experience in Workforce Risk, WHS, Compliance, Workplace Relations, or Risk Management within MSP, CMS, or highly regulated environments
- Experience working within the mining, resources, or related heavy industry sectors in Australia
- Strong understanding of:
- All WHS and Workers Compensation legislation and associated regulations, together with the regulator SafeWork – Federal and State
- Fair Work Act, Modern Awards, and National Employment Standards
- Contractor engagement models (ABN and company structures)
- Worker classification and sham contracting risks
- Experience managing workers' compensation, injury management, and return-to-work frameworks
- Strong risk assessment, governance, and escalation capabilities
- Ability to influence stakeholders and support strategic decision making

Desirable Experience

- Experience working in high-risk industries
- Exposure to compliance audits and regulatory reviews
- Experience supporting commercial and workforce solution decisions from a risk perspective
- Professional certifications in WHS, Risk, Compliance, Audit, or Employment Law

Qualifications

- Degree in Human Resources, Workplace Relations, Employment Law, Risk, WHS, or a related discipline
- Postgraduate qualifications in Risk Management, Safety, Business, or Workplace Relations are highly regarded

Why Join Us?

- Strategic leadership opportunity with regional influence
- Ability to shape workforce safety and risk frameworks across APAC
- Collaborative, values-driven culture
- Flexible hybrid working arrangements
- Exposure to major resources, energy and government customers, across a broad variation of role types nationally

If you're passionate about workforce safety, operational excellence, and building robust risk frameworks that enable sustainable growth, we'd love to hear from you.

📌 Workforce Risk Manager (Sydney)
🏢 Impellam Group
📍 Sydney