HR Project Lead – Industrial Relations & Compliance

Combining hands-on industrial relations expertise with strong project management, you will lead a modern award compliance program across the Australian business. Working with People, Payroll, Legal and Finance, you'll translate complex employment obligations into practical processes and coordinate delivery through to completion. This chance will suit someone who enjoys solving complex problems, establishing structure and taking ownership of outcomes.

Key responsibilities

Define the project scope, deliverables, dependencies and detailed delivery plan.

Lead the assessment of modern award coverage, employee classifications and associated obligations, including annualised wage arrangements.

Translate technical requirements into workable payroll, timekeeping and operational processes.

Coordinate data analysis, methodology development, testing and validation alongside technical specialists.

Manage stakeholders, external advisers, project risks, governance and reporting, maintaining clear documentation and decision records.

Embed sustainable compliance through documented controls, clear ownership and ongoing monitoring.

About you

You bring substantial practical experience in Australian industrial relations or employment law,



with the judgement and commercial understanding to provide clear advice in complex situations.

Demonstrated experience leading a modern award compliance, payroll remediation or comparable project through to implementation.

Deep working knowledge of modern awards, employment entitlements and annualised wage arrangements.

Strong project management skills, with the ability to turn complex requirements into an achievable delivery plan.

Hands-on experience analysing employee, payroll, timekeeping and contractual data and supporting calculation validation.

The credibility to influence senior stakeholders and work constructively across different business priorities.

Strong written communication and documentation skills, with close attention to detail.

Knowledge of the Clerks – Private Sector Award and Professional Employees Award would be highly regarded.

You’ll be organised, pragmatic and resourceful, with the confidence to establish an approach, resolve issues and keep delivery moving.

The details

This is an approximately 9–12 month contract, with an ASAP start preferred. Sydney is the preferred location, although candidates elsewhere in Australia with the relevant expertise will be considered.

📌 HR Project Lead – Industrial Relations (Sydney)
🏢 Keegan Adams Recruitment
📍 Sydney