Business Partner – People & Culture (12-month contract)

Business Partner – People & Culture | 12-month fixed term contract | Melbourne

Russell Kennedy is seeking an experienced People & Culture Business Partner to join our People & Culture team on a 12-month contract. This is a broad, hands-on role providing both business partnering and operational support across our Business Services teams, with the opportunity to work closely with leaders and employees across a diverse range of people matters.  Working closely with the Director – People & Culture and the broader P&C team, you will partner with senior leaders and department heads to understand their people priorities and provide practical, responsive advice and support. Alongside this, you will take an active role in the day-to-day delivery of P&C activities, helping ensure our people processes are effective, consistent and support a positive employee experience.

The role encompasses a broad range of work across talent acquisition and retention, employee relations, performance and development, flexible working and parental leave, organisational development, change and employee engagement. You will also support and contribute to P&C and firmwide projects, help optimise our HR systems and processes, use workforce data to identify trends and opportunities, and contribute to initiatives supporting psychosocial safety and an inclusive workplace.

The ideal candidate will bring strong recruitment or generalist P&C experience and enjoy working across both advisory and operational aspects of the employee lifecycle. You will have sound knowledge of contemporary employment practices, strong organisational and problem-solving skills, and the confidence to provide pragmatic advice to leaders while also being comfortable taking ownership of processes and getting things done. You will thrive in a collaborative environment, build trusted relationships and bring a flexible, responsive and solutions-focused approach to your work.

If you are looking for a varied P&C role where you can combine business partnering with hands-on operational delivery, we would welcome the opportunity to hear from you. This is an excellent opportunity in a collaborative People & Culture team, where you will work closely with leaders across the firm and contribute to both the everyday employee experience and broader P&C initiatives at Russell Kennedy.

Primary Duties and Responsibilities

• Strategic Partnership: Partner with senior leaders, cross-functional stakeholders and department heads to understand business priorities and deliver aligned People & Culture strategies that enable high performance and organisational growth.
• Talent Management: Lead initiatives related to talent acquisition, development and retention for Business Services with local support from Manager - People Experience in Sydney. Ensure RK attracts, develops, and retains top talent.
• Employee Relations: Provide advice on employee relations matters, ensuring compliance with employment legislation and supporting constructive, solutions‑focused outcomes.
• Performance Management: Coach people leaders on the performance management process, including performance reviews, development plans, and performance management issues.
• Organisational Development: Drive initiatives that enhance organisational culture, including diversity, equity and inclusion programs, change management and employee engagement activities.
• HR Systems: Optimise HRIS processes, ensuring data accuracy, system integrity and effective utilisation of HR technology. Partner with stakeholders to improve workflows, reporting capability and user experience across all People & Culture systems.
• HR Metrics and Reporting: Analyse HR data to identify workforce trends, risks and opportunities. Prepare insights-driven reports and recommendations for senior leadership.
• Flexible Working & Parental Leave: Coordination of flexible working arrangements and parental leave processes to ensure consistency and compliance.
• Projects: Lead and contribute to P&C and firmwide projects, ensuring successful delivery and stakeholder engagement.
• Psychosocial Hazards: Implement key actions to identify, mitigate and monitor psychosocial hazards, ensuring a safe, supportive and compliant work environment.
• Mentoring: Provide coaching and local line manager support to P&C Operations to enable quality service delivery in support of Manager – People Experience.
• General Responsibilities: Undertake additional duties as required to support the effective functioning of the People & Culture team.
• Interstate Collaboration: Travel to the Sydney office approximately twice per year to support cross-office engagement, strengthen stakeholder relationships and ensure alignment on firmwide People & Culture priorities.
• Act as a role model for information security.As well as setting an example of good practice, management responsibilities include ensuring that employees, relevant contractors and supplier are aware of their responsibilities and attend Information Security training were appropriate in accordance with ISO 27001, control A.6.3.

Skills/Knowledge

• People leadership and management
• Highly developed strategic, administrative and organisational skills.
• Excellent time management.
• Flexibility and adaptability to changing priorities and work demands.
• Excellent attention to detail.
• Outstanding service delivery.
• Excellent IT literacy.
• Project planning and change management (Desirable).
• Stakeholder management and communication (written and verbal).
• Collaboration and influencing skills.
• Commercial acumen.
• Technology and Digital Proficiency.
• Analytics and problem-solving.

Experience

• HR degree or equivalent.
• Consistent with the Competency Framework.
• End-to-end project management experience.
• Interpretation of Legal Services Award or equivalent experience.

Further Information 

Any questions regarding the vacancy can be directed to Rhoda Siu on (************* or **************. For further information or to submit your application for this position please visit the careers page on our website. Please note any offer of employment made by Russell Kennedy to the successful candidate will be subject to a police check. We are currently accepting applications from direct applicants only. No agency referrals will be accepted at this stage.

Our Firm and Culture 

Russell Kennedy is a commercial law firm with more than 380 people in Melbourne and Sydney.  At Russell Kennedy we are committed to providing exceptional legal strategies and solutions to our clients, guided by market-leading expertise across our key sectors of focus.

We’re committed to making a difference for our clients, providing opportunities for our people, and delivering lasting change for our community.  As part of our team, you’ll receive hands-on experience, quality mentoring and access to valuable learning opportunities.  We encourage a professional and committed work ethic, while recognising the importance of an enjoyable working environment and balanced lifestyle.

At Russell Kennedy, we respect and celebrate the things that make each of us different.  The firm is dedicated to creating an environment that is characterised by equal access and respected participation of all groups and individuals.  This is regardless of all differences, including culture, ethnicity, race, sex, gender identity, age, religion, personal circumstances, physical features, abilities and disabilities, socioeconomics and sexual orientation.

We believe we have a culture where individuals of all backgrounds and abilities feel included and confident in bringing their whole selves to work, and where your talents are fostered, empowering you to contribute to the success of the firm.

Russell Kennedy is proud to be an equal opportunity employer and is certified as a WGEA Employer of Choice for Gender Equality.  We are committed to being a LGBTIQ friendly and disability confident employer.  The firm supports and promotes a range of initiatives including, the Russell Kennedy Women’s Network and our Diversity and Inclusion committee, with 3 key focuses:  Access RK (Accessibility and Disability), Kaleidoscope (Cultural Diversity) and SPARKLE (LGBTIQ).

Russell Kennedy is dedicated to creating and participating in a meaningful process of reconciliation as part of the broader national reconciliation movement. Our key aims in embarking on our first RAP are to celebrate the deep knowledge of First Nations communities, the longest continuing cultures in the world, acknowledge past wrongs and to begin to build a structured future together where we can play our part in righting those wrongs through our own reconciliation initiatives.

Russell Kennedy is committed to attracting the best talent available and is open to discussing flexible work arrangements and workplace adjustments for all of our listed vacancies.