Manager Industrial Relations

Your Business:
The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) Group is an Australian multinational bank with businesses across New Zealand, Asia, the United States and the United Kingdom. We provide a variety of financial services including retail, business and institutional banking, funds management, superannuation, insurance, investment, and broking services. CBA employs over 45,000 people, serves over 15 million personal and small business customers, and has more than 800,000 shareholders.

The Human Resources (HR) team plays a key role in supporting the Group’s strategy by working with our client teams to attract and build talent, develop leaders, drive capability and performance, create a diverse culture, and enhance productivity.

The Group People Services (GPS) team provides the Group with HR advisory and operational services across Workplace Relations, Employee Benefits, Global Mobility, Health, Safety & Wellbeing, People & Payroll Services, Workforce Analytics, HR Direct, and Workers’ Compensation.

Your Team:
The Industrial Relations Team is responsible for end to end management of industrial relations including developing the strategy and implementing the Group’s enterprise agreement negotiations, monitoring the external IR environment, competitor IR environment. The broader team is also responsible for:

- EA compliance and execution
- Provision of advice relating to EA interpretation and IR legislative changes
- Contract management
- Group policy
- Grading

The purpose of this role is to support the IR function by providing advice and guidance on IR matters including EA interpretation, ensuring our compliance with the EA and our legal obligations and provide support on IR project initiatives. The role reports to the Senior Manager, Industrial Relations.

Your Responsibilities:
You will be expected to perform and deliver the following in a manner consistent with CBA’s Values Expectations.

Compliance
- Identify, monitor and implement controls to mitigate IR risks, including compliance risks
- Develop materials to report Group IR activities and implications to internal stakeholders and senior management across the Group

Advice
- Work with HR teams and business leaders to provide advice on industrial instruments, including resolving complex IR queries relating to the interpretation of the EA and Policy as it applies to specific circumstances, understanding some decisions will impact >30,000 employees
- Developing advice with internal/external legal advisors on complex matters as required
- Facilitate presentations/workshops to different levels of employees across the Group on IR matters
- Design education materials, collateral and training to enable leaders to understand and manage their industrial obligations

Monitoring
- Monitoring and reporting on our competitors and the external IR environment, keeping across changes in legislation and case law as it applies to the Group’s IR framework and EA obligations; formulating and executing action plans to address emerging needs and changes.
- Benchmark competitors Enterprise Agreements and employee policies and practice, to identify areas of opportunity and change

Projects support
- Lead IR strategic projects with technical support, analytical /data modelling, administrative support, planning, stakeholder management and organisational change as required.
- Engage with internal stakeholders to manage relationships and expectations while supporting organisational change

General IR support and other activities
- Contribute to the resolution of industrial disputes and grievances in the workplace
- Manage FSU queries impacting individual level issues as they relate to the Fair Work Act and the applicable Group Enterprise Agreements
- Source/Provide analytics to support the IR strategic initiatives
- Identify and assist BUs with enhancing workforce effectiveness and productivity
- Support the Group with other activities as required

Your Skills:

- Experience in the delivery of operational Industrial Relations activities including identifying compliance risks and supporting the business with IR queries and providing IR, policy or HR advice in a large multifaceted organisation
- Demonstrated ability to deliver on complex projects / programs of work
- Solid knowledge of the Australian workplace relations and industrial relations environment and employment contracts
- Strong interpersonal, influencing and communication skills, including the ability to distil complex policy into simple, easy to understand messages
- Solid data analysis skills, to source and manipulate data to identify trends, issues and corrective actions
- Data modelling to input to strategic IR plans and decisions, with impact to >30,000 employees/ multi-million dollar outcomes.
- Demonstrated experience in understanding change impacts and leading change
- Well-developed problem solving ability.
- Track record of success in roles requiring attention to detail
- Risk Mindset -All CommBa