Title:  Employee Relations Advisor

About John Holland

At John Holland, our purpose is simple – we transform lives with everything we do.  

We’ve always known that infrastructure is about people — our customers, our employees, and the communities in which we work every day. 

That’s our difference. Deep experience and capability with a genuine care about creating better lives for people along the way. 

Be part of the team that’s up for the challenge of transforming lives for good. 

Are you up for the challenge?

Kickstart your in-house career with our National Advisory Service Employee Relations (NASER) team, part of John Holland’s broader Employee Relations (ER) function. Our ER team provides centralised ER and HR support to our business of 6000 employees and is the national point of contact for all ER and HR matters across our business units and projects.

Reporting to the Head of Employee Relations - NASER & Legal, you will be a trusted advisor drawing on your strong foundation in employee relations to support stakeholders at every level with a wide range of employment issues across both white-collar and blue-collar environments.

You will thrive in a close-knit collaborative team, working together on case management and ER strategy. Your respect for confidentiality, ability to perform under pressure and natural problem-solving skills will set you up for success. High level drafting skills, attention to detail, and the ability to quickly turn around timely, pragmatic advice are essential. This is a great opportunity to transition in-house and develop your commercial acumen, providing practical solutions to internal stakeholders in a fast-paced environment.

This is a 12-month parental leave cover role, based in either our Sydney or Melbourne office.

What you will do:

• Manage end-to-end employee relations cases, including investigations, grievances, and disciplinary matters
• Support litigation and dispute resolution, working closely with legal and ER leaders
• Develop and refine ER policies and processes to drive continuous improvement
• Build and maintain strong relationships with stakeholders at all levels across the business
• Prepare and review ER documentation, such as warnings, termination letters, and investigation reports
• Deliver on-site support to business units and projects, ensuring effective ER/HR outcomes
• Champion a team culture of accountability, high performance, and collaboration
• Leverage technology and best-practice ER/HR systems to enhance service delivery

What we are looking for:

• Bachelor’s degree in law (preferred), or qualifications in employee relations, HR, or employment law
• Solid post-admission experience in employment law (law firm or in-house), or a strong background in employee relations advisory
• Confident communicator with excellent drafting and analytical skills
• Proven ability to build positive, effective professional relationships
• Proactive problem-solver, always seeking opportunities for process improvement
• Strong understanding of national and state regulatory frameworks
• In-depth knowledge of employment legislation, government policy, and contracts
• Commercially aware, with a practical approach to complex issues

As part of the team, you can help us transform lives.

Your success is reflected in ours, so we’re committed to being an employer of choice. We pride ourselves on having a diverse and inclusive workplace, as we understand that different perspectives and ideas are critical to our long-term success.  

We want you to be with us for the long term, so providing you with rich career experiences and ongoing development is our priority.  

What’s in it for you

We’re about connecting your sense of purpose to ours. We understand that your career is one of the biggest ways to have an impact on the world. We also believe in supporting you as a whole person, not just an employee. 

We reward and support our people in so many ways. This starts with being flexible about how different people like to work. From generous leave policies to wellbeing and relationship support, your needs sit at the heart of our employee benefits.  

We offer:

Competitive remuneration with salary continuance, and salary sacrifice options.  

Great leave benefits including 18 weeks paid parental leave with super and up to an extra 18 weeks of super paid on further periods of unpaid parental leave, multicultural leave exchange and two extra days to prioritise your wellbeing.  

Career progression underpinned by our exciting pipeline of work means you’ll have the opportunity to work on iconic projects that are shaping cities and communities.  

Learning and development opportunities where you’ll have access to emerging talent programs, building your career through clear career pathways, plus technical and leadership training and development opportunities.  

Inclusion, diversity and equity is part of how we work. We want everyone at John Holland to feel that they belong – that’s why we’re working hard every day to foster a more inclusive culture, backed by a business-wide inclusion strategy to bring about meaningful change. We’ve also got active employee resource groups that support our commitments including those around gender equality and reconciliation. 

Flexibility means different things to different people. Whether it’s flexi-hours, flexi-parenting, flexi-leave, flexi-shifts or flexi-work, we’re committed to helping our people work flexibly.