Principal Employee Relations | Fixed Term | Australia
1.Not Yet Confirmed
About BHP
At BHP we support our people to grow, learn, develop their skills and reach their potential. With a global portfolio of operations, we offer a diverse and inclusive environment with extraordinary career opportunities. Our strategy is to focus on creating a safe work environment where our employees feel strongly connected to our values and objectives, and where the capability of our people is key to our success.
Come and be a part of this success.
About the Role
We have an exciting opportunity for an experienced Employee Relations professional to join our team in a Principal capacity. Reporting to the Manager, Employee Relations, this role plays a critical part in shaping and delivering strategic ER support across the business.
As a Principal Employee Relations, you will leverage your deep expertise in complex ER and generalist HR matters to:
- Provide strategic, risk-based advice to leaders on a broad range of complex employee relations issues, including performance and conduct matters, workplace investigations, disciplinary processes, and the management of ill and injured workers.
- Build and enhance leader capability through coaching, mentoring, and the facilitation of targeted ER training programs.
- Lead and contribute to enterprise-wide productivity and continuous improvement initiatives, ensuring alignment with business strategy and operational goals.
- Support the development and execution of the ER strategy, driving outcomes that balance compliance, risk mitigation, and commercial value.
- Interpret and provide expert advice on industrial instruments, employment legislation, and policy frameworks.
- Represent the organisation in external forums, including the Fair Work Commission and other relevant tribunals or legal proceedings.
- Partner with leaders and HR colleagues to proactively resolve workplace issues and support a positive employee experience.
- Contribute to risk assessment and mitigation activities, ensuring ER practices support a safe, fair, and compliant workplace.
- Operate as part of a global Employee Relations function, collaborating in a high-trust, flexible, and team-oriented environment.
About You
You are a values-driven professional who brings integrity, respect, and a commitment to sustainability to everything you do. You thrive in a collaborative environment and are passionate about enabling leaders to create safe, fair, and high-performing workplaces.
To be successful in this role, you will have:
- A degree in Human Resources, Law, or a related discipline, with extensive experience in employee relations and generalist HR within an industrialised or complex organisational environment.
- Deep knowledge of the Australian industrial relations framework, with demonstrated experience managing complex ER matters including investigations, performance and conduct issues, and ill and injured workers.
- A strong reputation as a trusted advisor and leader within the ER function, with the ability to coach and mentor Employee Relations Specialists and contribute to the development of team capability.
- A proven ability to influence and support senior leaders (e.g. General Managers, Heads of Function) through strategic, risk-informed advice and coaching.
- Experience leading or contributing to enterprise-wide improvement initiatives or change projects, with a focus on continuous improvement and operational excellence.
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to manage competing priorities and deliver high-quality outcomes in a fast-paced environment.
- Excellent communication and stakeholder engagement skills, with the ability to build trusted relationships across all levels of the business.
- Proficiency in Microsoft 365 (Word, PowerPoint, Excel), with the ability to develop clear project plans, stakeholder presentations, and reporting tools.
- Experience in mining, heavy industry, or professional services is highly regarded.
This role requires the successful candidate to be based in either Brisbane, Perth or Adelaide and to attend our corporate office a minimum of three days per week, including a Monday and/or Friday and travel to our operational sites as necessary (including occasionally overnight).
Open for applications until 20-Nov
About Our Process
At BHP, we are committed to employing individuals who align with the BHP Charter Values and meet the requirements of the role. As part of the recruitment process, there are a number of checks which may be conducted to demonstrate applicants suitability for a role including police / criminal background checks, medical, drug and alcohol testing, due diligence checks, right to work checks, and/or reference checks.
If you are already employed directly by BHP, please log in using your BHP email address or apply via our internal jobs portal.
Supporting a Diverse Workforce
The size, stability and magnitude of our business not only provides significant opportunity for professional development, but also attractive salary packages with performance-based bonuses and a best-in-class employee share program. We know there are many aspects of our employees' lives that are important, and work is only one of these, so we offer benefits to enable your work to fit with your life. These benefits include flexible working options, a generous paid parental leave policy, other extended leave entitlements and parent rooms.
At BHP, we know that we are strengthened by diversity. We are an Equal Opportunity employer that is committed to making BHP a safe and inclusive workplace where everyone can thrive and be at their best every day. We are focused on creating a workforce that’s more diverse and represents the communities where we work and live. providing a work environment in which everyone is included, treated fairly and with respect. We are an Equal Opportunity employer and recognise that true diversity includes gender, age, race, disability status, sexual orientation, religion, neurodiversity, education levels, and many more aspects of your identity.
BHP is committed to providing a recruitment process that is fair, equitable and accessible for all. If you have a disability, we know that it may be helpful for us to adjust our process to make it equitable for your individual situation. If you would like to reach out to someone about your situation and our recruitment process, please email us at inclusion@bhp.com.