Reporting to the Chief Operating Officer, you will be a strategic leader at Oxfam Australia, holding the responsibility for shaping a values-driven and purpose-led workplace where people feel supported, inspired and able to thrive.
As a member of the Executive Leadership Team, you will provide vision, guidance and stewardship across all aspects of people, culture and strong organisational practices.
Drawing on your industrial relations experience, you will navigate complex employment matters such as overseeing grievance resolution, dispute management and workplace investigations. You will also play a vital role in leading enterprise bargaining negotiations to shape a fair, modern Enterprise Agreement that supports our people, reflects Oxfam Australia’s mission and values, and is financially sustainable.
Key Responsibilities
- Strategic leadership of the people and culture function
- Provide executive leadership of the people and culture function, demonstrating Oxfam’s values and feminist principles, contributing to and supporting the organisation’s strategic priorities.
- Develop and implement a multi-year People & Culture Strategy aligned to organisational strategy and operational plans.
- Provide high-level advice to the CE, COO and Executive Leadership Team on workforce strategy, organisational design and capability development.
- Lead and develop the people and culture team to cultivate a high-performing, customer-focused and strategically aligned function.
- Represent Oxfam Australia within Oxfam International and relevant industry networks on workforce matters
A little about you (the key selection criteria)
1. Enterprise Bargaining Leadership: Extensive experience leading enterprise bargaining negotiations in complex, unionised environments, including the ability to assume negotiations mid-process and successfully deliver a fair, contemporary and financially sustainable Enterprise Agreement.
2. Strategic Leadership of People & Culture Functions: Demonstrated executive or senior leadership experience developing and delivering People & Culture strategy, including workforce planning, organisational design, capability development and driving organisational performance.
3. Industrial and Employment Law Expertise: Ability to apply deep knowledge of Australian industrial relations and employment law to manage industrial risk and provide expert advice on complex workforce matters.
4. Executive Leadership: Proven success in providing strategic leadership to the People and Culture teams, fostering a culture of high performance, continuous improvement and accountability.
5. Feminist Leadership Practice: Demonstrated experience in shaping organisational culture and embedding feminist leadership principles such as equity, shared power, inclusion and accountability across leadership practice and organisational systems.
How to Apply
Complete the online application form, then, as three separate documents, upload:
- A cover letter that tells us why you want to join Oxfam Australia, and how your professional history and lived experience make you the right candidate.
- Your CV.
- Your response to the key selection criteria outlined in the advertisement.
Here is the link to the Position Description
What we can offer you
- The opportunity to use your talents and expertise to make a positive impact around the world.
- We value flexibility and seek to support our people in ways that meet their work/life commitments and support their wellbeing.
- Generous leave entitlements
Our culture is shaped by our values, which reinforce what we care about and how we do things, not just what we do. Our core values of Equality, Empowerment, Solidarity, Inclusiveness, Accountability and Courage drive everything we do at Oxfam.
Oxfam is committed to preventing any type of unwanted behaviour at work, including sexual harassment, exploitation and abuse, lack of integrity and financial misconduct. We are committed to promoting the welfare of children, young people and adults. Oxfam expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment through our code of conduct. We place a high priority on ensuring that only those who share and demonstrate our values are recruited to work for us. Therefore, our people are required to comply with the One Oxfam Child Safeguarding and Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse policies and sign the Oxfam Australia Child Safeguarding and One Oxfam Employee Codes of Conduct.
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Our people are at the heart of everything we do. We care deeply about creating a safe and inclusive workplace where our people feel valued, respected and empowered. We are committed to providing equal opportunities and encourage applicants with personal experience of the forms of injustice we seek to address to apply for opportunities at Oxfam Australia.
Applicants will be required to show proof of their right to work in Australia the subject to satisfactory pre-employment checks, which include Police Checks and Misconduct Disclosure Scheme outcomes, before commencement. Pre-employment checks are not used by Oxfam Australia to prevent any applicant from applying for this position. Each application will be considered on its merits.
Australian work visas
Oxfam Australia will not recruit international candidates who do not hold visas permitting them to work in Australia. Oxfam Australia does not provide visa sponsorship.
Additional information
For ongoing roles, candidates will be required to have a minimum of 2 years' Australian work rights from the date of commencement of their employment with Oxfam Australia. For fixed-term roles, candidates will be required to have work rights for the full duration of the contract.
At Oxfam Australia, we are committed to fostering a diverse, inclusive, and equitable culture where everyone's rights are recognised and respected. Guided by feminist principles and core values, we embrace different perspectives and work to eliminate systemic inequities that perpetuate discrimination. We centre and amplify the voices of people with lived experience and work in solidarity to build a future where no one is left behind.
Our commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion is reflected in our actions, Oxfam Australia:
- Supports employee-led committees
- Promotes consultative ways of working and decision making
- Maintains a comprehensive enterprise agreement that prioritises employee well-being, as demonstrated through multiple leave types
- Provides ongoing awareness and training on unconscious bias, inclusion, and respectful workplace practices, ensuring alignment with Oxfam’s values
- Ensures a fair and accessible recruitment process