About the Opportunity

This is a step-up opportunity. Our client, a family-owned building services contractor, is looking for an HR Advisor who is ready to take the next step - to own the HR function outright as their HR Manager, and to be part of a genuine growth story. With a workforce of 400+ across multiple related entities – and demand booming across major commercial and infrastructure projects - you’ll run HR end-to-end, work directly with the business owners, and shape the function as the business scales.

Benefits

- A culture people don’t leave - family-owned, down-to-earth, and must be prepared to have a laugh
- Attractive remuneration package including superannuation and car allowance
- Generous leave: 4 weeks annual leave plus 10 RDOs per year

About the Role

Reporting closely to the business owners and working alongside a tight-knit office team, you’ll be the go-to for everything people-related across a workforce of 400+, most of whom are EBA-employed trades on site.

Your remit will include:

- End-to-end employee lifecycle – contracts, onboarding, inductions, movements and exits
- Employee relations in a unionised setting - leading day-to-day ER conversations with support from directors on complex matters (you won’t be negotiating the EBA - but you’ll need to know your way around one)
- Managing and developing the apprentice program alongside project managers
- Hands-on ownership of performance management, annual reviews and KPIs – ready to be taken on and built out properly
- Training and development – there are currently no formal programs, so this is a genuine blank canvas
- WorkCover claims and a hands-on contribution to safety (a dual HR/safety flavour – some safety exposure is a real plus)




- Uplifting HR systems and processes as the business grows - there’s real scope to build things properly and make the function your own

About You

- An HR Advisor, Senior Advisor or Business Partner ready to step up and own a function end-to-end – this role is built for that next move (experienced HR Managers seeking a hands-on role are equally welcome)
- Background in construction, trades, industrial or another blue-collar environment - you’re comfortable and credible with a large trade workforce
- Working knowledge of EBAs and experience operating in a unionised setting
- Pragmatic and hands-on - you sort things out rather than write policies about them
- Composed in a fast-paced, direct-communication environment - you handle candid conversations professionally and constructively
- Easy-going with a sense of humour and a down-to-earth approach - you’ll fit a team that works hard and doesn’t stand on ceremony

About the Company

Our client is a long-established, family-owned business with an enviable reputation across Melbourne’s commercial construction sector – and they’re now in a significant growth phase on the back of strong demand across their markets.

But here’s what really sets them apart: the culture. This is a business where employees stay for decades. Where the owners know everyone by name. Where Friday drinks are a fixture, people have a laugh, and nobody takes themselves too seriously – but the work gets done, and done properly. They hire for cultural alignment first, and it shows. It’s honest, easy-going and refreshingly free of ego. Office-based in Melbourne’s northern suburbs, with the genuine day-to-day flexibility of a family business.

#J-18808-Ljbffr

📌 HR Manager (Williamstown)
🏢 GH Talent
📍 Williamstown