Employee Relations Specialist

This role provides specialist industrial relations service to HR and the organisation to facilitate a positive industrial climate

About Southern Ports
Southern Ports manages the three gateway ports of Albany, Bunbury and Esperance, and facilitates trade through the commercial management of efficient, safe, sustainable, and customer-focused ports. Our three regional ports play a vital role in connecting Western Australia with world markets. It is our belief that strong regional ports lead to strong regions, and that results in economic and social benefits for the communities across the regions we serve. Our people are our greatest asset, and we are committed to supporting our teams and building a diverse and capable workforce that is geared to meet the current and future needs of our customers and the sustainability of our ports.
Our Vision: Strong Regional Ports, strong regions.
About the role
Reporting to the Group Strategy & Employee Relations Manager, the Employee Relations Specialist provides specialist industrial relations service to the HR team and organisation to facilitate a positive industrial climate.
The Employee Relations Specialist will be responsible for providing advice to leaders and staff across Southern Ports on matters pertaining, but not limited, to workplace change and consultation; employee consultative committees; award and enterprise agreement interpretation, policy review and development, and IR dispute resolution.
Key Responsibilities

• Provide timely advice, coaching and support to leaders, and staff members on workplace relations matters, including modern award, legislation, and policy interpretation.
• Provide day to day advice to leaders and team members on industrial and Employee Relations matters.
• Support the organisation with the negotiation and administration of enterprise agreements.
• Support Southern Ports at the Fair Work Commission, at relevant conciliations, or with union representatives as required.
• Provide expert advice to business leaders on the impact of changing IR/ER legislation and its impact on our business.
• Ensure Southern Ports policies, procedures, and practices align with relevant ER/IR legislation.
• Maintain ER related data sources including spreadsheets and terms and conditions of current enterprise agreements across the organisation.
• Monitor key Employee Relations metrics such as industry conditions and labour relations initiatives as well, grievance, disciplinary and performance management processes.
• Utilise reporting and metrics to focus on identifying trends to inform future initiatives and development.
• Maintain and review relevant policies and procedures that align with legislation, EA’s and best practice including assisting in the implementation.
• Maintain and review Southern Ports industrial relations strategy and guidelines in consultation with senior leadership.
• Develop meaningful relationships with key stakeholders to empower leaders in the management or employee and industrial relations matters

Experience

• Tertiary qualifications in Employment Law or related field
• 3 years Post Admission Experience in an ER or IR role
• Excellent communication and customer service skills
• Experience managing union and union delegate relationships
• Experience negotiating enterprise agreements in an industrialised environment
• Demonstrated knowledge of contemporary industrial relations issues affecting a diverse organisation. This includes experience providing solutions to a range of industrial relations or Employee Relations issues across varied business areas in a unionised environment
• Working knowledge of the Fair Work act and the application of legislation at a state and federal level
• Demonstrated understanding of workplace relations legislation, and modern award and Enterprise Agreement interpretation

If you'd like to see the PD for this role, please copy and paste the below link into your browser:
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/ra90885kyjsdqyan942b2/Employee-Relations-Advisor-PD.pdf?rlkey=yjypj2dq5b6o5yqqoiggckqms&dl=0\
Requirements
To be eligible for this permanent role, applicants must provide proof of Australian citizenship or permanent residency and reside in Perth or Bunbury.
The successful applicant must have a current WA driver’s licence, be able to obtain and maintain a Maritime Security Access Card and undergo a pre-employment medical assessment including drug and alcohol testing.
Southern Ports is proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity employer and does not discriminate against race, gender, age, religion, sexual preference or disability. We encourage applications from all culturally diverse backgrounds, Indigenous Australians and Non-Indigenous Australians. Southern Ports is committed to creating and maintaining an inclusive and impartial workplace with equal opportunities for all employees.
Applications close 27th March 2024. We reserve the right to commence the recruitment process during the application period. Please contact Marianna Gyulambaryan on recruitment@southernports.com.au for a position description or further information.