Job Description: Lead a high-performing People Partnering team and help shape the future of healthcare through strategic people leadership, workforce expertise and meaningful organisational impact. Lead and develop a capable People Partnering team: Coach, mentor and uplift a team of People Partners while driving high-quality HR service delivery across the organisation. Influence strategic workforce outcomes: Partner with senior leaders to navigate complex people matters, workforce planning, organisational change and industrial relations challenges. Make a meaningful difference: Join one of Australia's leading not-for-profit healthcare providers and contribute to a workplace culture that enables exceptional patient-centred care.
About St Vincent's Health Australia
At St Vincent's Health Australia (SVHA), we are shaping a future health and aged care system that supports people with life-changing care, wherever and whoever they are. Founded by the Sisters of Charity in ****, St Vincent's is one of Australia's leading not-for-profit health and aged care organisations. Our 30,000 dedicated people provide compassionate care through public and private hospitals, aged care residences, virtual care and services delivered at home across New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria. Our vision is for every person to receive excellent and compassionate care through a better and fairer health and aged care system. Together, we are focused on enhancing our impact, connecting care and transforming the system. Our work is guided by our values of Compassion, Justice, Integrity and Excellence.
About the Opportunity
We are seeking an experienced and people-focused Lead People Partner to join St Vincent's Hospital Melbourne. Reporting to the Head of People Partnering, you will lead a team of five dedicated People Partners and act as a trusted advisor to executive leaders, managers and stakeholders across the organisation. This is an outstanding opportunity for a senior HR Business Partner ready to step into a broader leadership role, or an experienced People & Culture leader looking to expand their strategic impact within a complex and purpose-driven healthcare environment. You will play a critical role in driving workforce outcomes, providing expert employee and industrial relations advice, leading organisational change initiatives and supporting leaders to build high-performing and engaged teams. Working closely with leaders and specialist People & Culture functions, you will influence both strategic and operational people outcomes across St Vincent's Hospital Melbourne.
A Message from Paula Parry, Head of People Partnering
St Vincent's is a unique employer within the healthcare sector. Our People & Culture team works closely with leaders and frontline teams who deliver compassionate care every day. This is an exciting opportunity for an experienced HR professional to lead a highly engaged team while contributing to meaningful workforce outcomes that support our mission and values.
Your Key Responsibilities
Lead, coach and develop a team of People Partners to deliver exceptional HR support and advice.
Partner with senior leaders on workforce strategy, organisational design, workforce planning and people initiatives.
Provide expert advice on employee relations, industrial relations, performance management, conduct matters and workplace investigations.
Act as an escalation point for complex people matters, grievances and case management.
Represent St Vincent's Hospital Melbourne in Victorian Hospitals Industrial Association (VHIA) reference groups and industrial forums.
Interpret and apply enterprise agreements, industrial instruments and employment legislation.
Manage relationships with unions and employee representatives to support positive workforce outcomes.
Lead and support organisational change initiatives, restructures and workforce transition activities.
Ensure consistent and compliant people practices across assigned portfolios.
Collaborate with Payroll, Talent Acquisition, Workplace Relations, People Services and Occupational Health & Safety teams to deliver integrated people solutions.
Support leaders to build employee capability, engagement and performance.
Drive continuous improvement initiatives that enhance People & Culture service delivery.
Contribute to the development of strategic workforce and People & Culture priorities.
Monitor workforce trends and provide data-informed recommendations to leadership.
Build strong relationships with stakeholders across all levels of the organisation.
About You
You are an experienced HR professional who combines strong technical expertise with authentic leadership capability. You thrive in complex and fast-paced environments, enjoy partnering with senior leaders and are passionate about developing others to achieve their full potential. You bring a collaborative approach, sound judgement and the ability to influence outcomes while balancing organisational, employee and operational needs.
Significant experience providing generalist HR support within a unionised workforce environment.
Demonstrated employee and industrial relations expertise.
Experience interpreting and applying enterprise agreements and employment legislation.




Experience managing complex workplace investigations, grievances and employee relations matters.
Experience representing employers in Fair Work Commission matters.
Strong stakeholder management and business partnering capabilities.
Proven ability to influence leaders and support decision-making at all organisational levels.
Experience leading, coaching or mentoring HR professionals.
Excellent communication, consultation and relationship-building skills.
Strong problem-solving capability and sound commercial judgement.
A commitment to continuous improvement and contemporary People & Culture practices.
Highly Regarded Previous experience within healthcare, aged care or a similarly complex and regulated environment.
Experience supporting large operational workforces.
Exposure to workforce transformation and organisational change initiatives.
Knowledge of public health sector industrial relations frameworks.
Experience building capability and leading high-performing HR teams.
Why Join St Vincent's?
Lead with Impact: Shape workforce outcomes, influence organisational strategy and support leaders across one of Australia's most respected healthcare organisations.
Develop Your Leadership Career: Lead a capable People Partnering team while expanding your strategic HR, workforce planning and industrial relations expertise.
Purpose-Driven Work: Contribute to an organisation where great people practices enable exceptional patient care and community outcomes.
Collaborative Culture: Join an experienced and supportive People & Culture team committed to innovation, learning and continuous improvement.
Work-Life Balance
Enjoy five weeks annual leave plus a paid monthly ADO, providing additional flexibility and time to recharge.
Excellent Employee Benefits
Access salary packaging benefits.
Professional development opportunities.
Employee Assistance Program (EAP).
Fitness Passport.
A range of wellbeing initiatives.
Important Information
Employment is subject to satisfactory completion of all required pre-employment checks, including identification, right-to-work verification, referee checks, criminal history screening and applicable immunisation requirements.
Diversity & Inclusion
At St Vincent's Health Australia, we celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive workplace where everyone feels respected, valued and empowered to contribute their unique experiences.
We encourage applications from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, people with disability, culturally and linguistically diverse communities, and people of all backgrounds, identities and experiences.
Position Description
St Vincent's Health Australia (St Vincent's) is a non-profit health organisation founded by the Sisters of Charity in ****. We are renowned for industry leading research, education and the provision of exceptional and compassionate care. St Vincent's is shaping a future health and aged care system that supports people with life-changing care, wherever and whoever they are. We care for people in our public and private hospitals, at home and in our aged care residences across NSW, QLD and Victoria.
Our vision at St Vincent's is that every person, wherever and wherever they are, is served with excellent and compassionate care, by a better and fairer health and aged care system.
Our 30,000 dedicated people provide compassionate care through public and private hospitals, aged care residences, virtual care and services delivered at home across New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria.
Our 30,000 dedicated people are committed to delivering three key priorities:
Enhance Impact: Continuously improve our care, enhancing our positive impacts for patients, people, and our planet.
Connect Care: Work together, building "One St Vincent's" capabilities and services to create the future of connected health and aged care.
Transform the System: Work with partners to shape a better and fairer health and aged care system.
St Vincent's also recognises its obligations under equal employment opportunity and unlawful discrimination in the workplace legislation, as a minimum standard. We are committed to diversity in the workplace and seek to create an inclusive environment that accepts everyone's differences, embraces their strengths, and provides opportunities for everyone to contribute their unique experiences to the workplace.
Role Impact
Provide operational and strategic support to St Vincent's (SVHM) clinical and non-clinical service directorates to support these directorates in managing and developing their teams and employees through contemporary People & Culture strategies and initiatives.
Lead a team of People & Culture (P&C;) professionals to deliver outstanding customer service to managers and employees at SVHM adhering to HR SVHM policies, Enterprise Agreements,



relevant employment legislation and in line with values of the organization.
Represent SVHM in Victorian Hospitals Industrial Association (VHIA) reference groups and lead SVHM representation to VHIA for all industrial matters including enterprise agreement negotiations, implementation and the ongoing management of industrial advice on the enterprise agreements.
Provide accurate advice and interpretation of employment terms and conditions of employees in accordance with the relevant Enterprise Agreement and work to resolve any issues in a timely manner.
Provide a high level of advice and strategy to managers to assist in managing performance of employees and operational issues.
Manage conflict, employee relations and industrial relations scenarios in the service area which may require contact with employees and/or Unions.
Provide advice or support in relation to disputes and grievances including management of cases externally referred to Fair Work Commission (or other jurisdictions). Supervise or carry out investigations as required alongside managers to ensure relevant procedures are followed and outcomes are aligned to the organisation's Code of Conduct.
Deliver an exemplary level of customer service which displays flexibility, availability and understanding of the needs of the service area.
Support key organisational initiatives that develop and grow employees and supports organisational outcomes.
Work with senior leaders and Executive Directors to develop succession plans and support the execution of talent management activities.
Drive workplace change in conjunction with key managers and develops processes and implementation plans which comply with relevant industrial instruments and legislation.
Participate in strategic planning initiatives, provide sound advice.
Personal Effectiveness
Executes Results – Sets and measures team goals, driving pursuit of higher standards of practice.
Learning Agility – Responds to new and complex situations by adjusting behaviour appropriately.
Collaboration – Operates across functions.
Strategic – Drives results.
Key Stakeholders
Internal Executive Directors and Senior Leaders with St Vincent's Melbourne Public Hospital.
People & Culture teams including other People Partnering teams, People Services, Talent, Occupational Health and Safety, Payroll, Systems and Workplace Relations.
Employees at St Vincent's Melbourne Public Hospital.
External VHIA Employee representative groups.
Fair Work Commission/Ombudsman.
WorkSafe (in conjunction with Occupational Health & Safety).
External service providers including legal advisors, consultants.
Essential
Extensive experience in providing generalist human resources services in a unionised workplace.
Employee relations and/or industrial relations experience including contemporary understanding of legislation, hands on experience in enterprise agreement interpretation and implementation, managing Fair Work Commission cases including representation at the Commission.
Strong business partnering and internal consulting experience, demonstrating strong relationship management skills across the different levels of an organisation.
Strong written and verbal skills, including experience in writing executive-level documents.
Demonstrated capacity to lead a team of professionals, with strong organisational skills.
Strong computer skills in Microsoft Office applications, with intermediate Excel capability.
Experience in using HRIS and Payroll systems, including report building and providing business requirements to systems teams to implement changes and investigate root cause of issues.
Demonstrated commitment to career development, with strong understanding of contemporary P&C; practices.
Desired
Experience in a dynamic healthcare setting.
Post-graduate qualifications and experience in managing change processes.
Post-graduate qualifications and experience in psychosocial risk assessment methodologies.
Minimum Education Requirements
Tertiary qualifications in Human Resources or Industrial Relations.
Closing Date
17 October *******:59pm
Reconciliation Action Plan
At St Vincent's we acknowledge the importance of creating a work environment that is welcoming, safe, equitable and inclusive for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Employees. As part of our Commitment to Reconciliation and Closing the Gap in employment related outcomes, we encourage applications from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples. For further information, visit or get in contact at ******
Company Overview
St Vincent's Health Australia has been serving Australians with compassionate health and aged care since our first hospital was established in Sydney in ****. Founded by the Sisters of Charity more than 180 years ago, St Vincent's is a clinical, research and education leader delivering private hospital, public hospital and aged care services across NSW, VIC and QLD. Our founder, Mary Aikenhead's vision, commitment and inspiration lives on in us and the work we do. From modest beginnings, St Vincent's Health Australia is today the nation's largest not-for-profit health and aged care provider, offering services in Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria, including public and private hospitals and aged care facilities.
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📌 Lead People Partner (Melbourne)
🏢 St Vincent's Health Australia
📍 Melbourne