People and Culture Business Partner

Be close to the operation. Make a difference for our people.

At Svitzer, our people are at the heart of everything we do.

Since 1833, we have been helping keep global trade moving. Today, our crews and shore teams operate across ports and terminals around the world, delivering the specialist towage services that keep customers, businesses and communities connected.

Our story is one of problem-solving, partnership and performance. We believe thriving people create thriving customers, which is why our People & Culture team works closely with the operation to help our people and business perform at their best.

We are looking for an experienced People & Culture Business Partner to partner with our operational leaders across Melbourne, Port Kembla, Eden, Adelaide and Port Pirie.

This is a hands-on role for someone who enjoys being close to the frontline, building trusted relationships and turning people challenges into practical solutions.

The opportunity

You will be a trusted P&C partner to Port Managers and frontline leaders, providing practical advice across the employee lifecycle and helping build safe, engaged and high-performing teams.

You'll work across performance, employee relations, workforce planning, recruitment, capability, engagement and organisational change — bringing insight, challenge and a strong understanding of the workforce to operational decision-making.

A key part of the role will be coaching and influencing our leaders to build their capability and confidence in managing people. You'll need to be comfortable challenging thinking, having difficult conversations and helping leaders take ownership of people matters.

This isn't a role where you sit on the sidelines. You'll be close to the operation, understanding the realities of the frontline and working with leaders and employees to make things better.

Working in our environment

Svitzer operates in a complex, operational and unionised environment, and the ability to work confidently and constructively within this environment is important to success.

You'll work with operational leaders, employees and union representatives, building relationships based on trust, respect and clear communication.

You'll need the confidence to navigate different perspectives, have difficult conversations and find practical outcomes that support both our people and the business.

Just as importantly, you'll need the ability to coach, influence and challenge our own leaders and employees to address issues, improve performance and take accountability for creating the right culture.

We are looking for someone who can listen to different perspectives, hold their position when required and work constructively towards a resolution.

What you'll be doing

Be a true business partner

• Build trusted relationships with Port Managers, frontline leaders and employees.
• Provide practical, commercially minded P&C advice that supports operational performance.
• Coach and challenge leaders across recruitment, performance, development and employee matters.
• Bring a people perspective to operational decision-making.
• Identify emerging people risks and provide pragmatic solutions.
• Support leaders through organisational change and P&C initiatives.

Employee lifecycle and employee relations

• Partner with leaders across recruitment, onboarding, development, performance and offboarding.
• Work with Talent Acquisition to deliver timely, high-quality recruitment outcomes.
• Provide practical advice on employee relations matters and support leaders to manage issues effectively.
• Lead workplace investigations into grievances, complaints and misconduct matters where appropriate.
• Coach leaders through performance and disciplinary processes, including difficult conversations.
• Support the implementation of enterprise agreements and other employment arrangements.
• Work constructively with union representatives on relevant port-level matters.
• Escalate complex matters to the appropriate P&C specialist support where required.

Performance, engagement and capability

• Partner with leaders to build high-performing and engaged teams.
• Coach leaders to improve their confidence and capability in managing people.
• Support meaningful performance, feedback and development conversations.
• Help leaders address both high performance and underperformance.
• Support employee engagement activities and local action planning.
• Champion Svitzer's values and leadership behaviours.
• Promote inclusion, wellbeing and psychological safety.
• Support learning and capability initiatives across your allocated ports.

Change and continuous improvement

• Lead or contribute to P&C projects across workforce planning, organisational change, leadership, capability and culture.
• Support leaders and employees through change.
• Identify opportunities to improve P&C processes, systems and ways of working.
• Use data and insight to identify opportunities and improve employee and business outcomes.

About you

You are an experienced People & Culture professional who is comfortable operating in a complex, operational and unionised environment.

You build credibility quickly, understand the business and provide advice that leaders can use.

You are pragmatic and commercially minded, with the confidence to have difficult conversations, challenge thinking and work through complex issues.

You understand that being a great P&C Business Partner isn't about doing everything for leaders. It's about building their capability, holding them accountable and helping them become better people leaders.

Most importantly, you understand that great P&C is about making leaders stronger, helping people thrive and delivering better outcomes for the business.

You'll bring

• A degree in Human Resources or a related discipline.
• Demonstrated P&C Business Partner experience, ideally in a complex operational environment.
• Experience working effectively in a unionised environment.
• Confidence and credibility engaging with union representatives, employees and frontline teams.
• Strong experience across the employee lifecycle, including employee relations and performance management.
• Demonstrated experience interpreting Australian employment legislation, Modern Awards and Enterprise Agreements.
• Proven experience partnering with frontline and operational leaders to deliver practical people solutions.
• Strong coaching, influencing, relationship-building and problem-solving skills.
• Sound judgement and the confidence to challenge and coach leaders.
• A resilient, adaptable and solutions-focused approach.
• Commercial awareness and an understanding of operational business drivers.
• Strong organisation and the ability to manage multiple priorities across operational sites.
• Experience with HRIS systems and people data.

Experience in the maritime industry or another highly operational environment would be advantageous.

What matters most to us

You will be comfortable in the complexity.

We're looking for someone who can build trust across different groups, engage confidently with employees, leaders and union representatives, and help navigate complex people matters with fairness, consistency and good judgement.

You'll need the confidence to have difficult conversations, the maturity to listen and the pragmatism to find solutions that work for our people and our business.

You won't shy away from challenges. You'll lean into it - coaching our leaders, influencing our people and helping create an environment where everyone understands what is expected and is supported to perform at their best.

Why Svitzer?

You'll join a business with a proud maritime heritage and an ambitious future.

You'll work alongside experienced P&C and operational leaders who care deeply about our people, our customers and the work we do.

You'll have the opportunity to work across a broad range of P&C disciplines while developing your experience in a complex, operational business.

Most importantly, you'll be part of a team where people and performance go hand in hand.

Sea and shore. People and performance. Local expertise and global connection.

That's Svitzer.

If you're looking for a P&C role where you can be close to the operation, build strong relationships, have an impact and help our people and business thrive, we'd like to hear from you.

Building a Diverse Workplace

In Svitzer we value the diversity of our talent and will always strive to recruit the best person for the job – we value diversity in all its forms, including but not limited to gender, age, nationality, race, sexual orientation, disability, or religious beliefs. We are proud of our diversity and see it as a genuine source of strength for building high performing teams.

Don’t meet every single requirement? Studies have shown that members from some under-represented groups are less likely to apply for jobs if they don’t meet every single qualification. At Svitzer we are dedicated to building a diverse and inclusive workplace, so if you’re excited about this role but your past experience doesn’t align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyway. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles, and we are excited about hearing from you!

How to Apply

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