About us

As a department our purpose is to help the community to prevent, prepare for, respond to and recover from the impact of fire and emergency events.

Queensland Fire and Emergency Services (QFES) is the primary provider of fire, rescue and emergency management programs and services throughout Queensland. The department encompasses the Fire and Rescue Service, disaster management services, the Rural Fire Service and the State Emergency Service, and also supports other volunteer groups providing emergency response to Queenslanders.

QFES is one department with many services, many capabilities and many partners.

Purpose of the role

The Industrial Relations (IR) branch will provide advice, representation and advocacy on behalf of QFES and performs traditional industrial relations functions such as negotiations and consultation with unions, advocacy before industrial tribunals, and negotiation, administration and implementation of industrial instruments, including awards and certified agreements. The initial functions is to establish the Industrial Relations branch, working closely with the Director of Relations and Standards and to transition IR functions from the existing Employee Relations unit and deliver team capabilities to meet organisational requirements.

Reporting to theChief Human Resource Officer, People and Culture Directorate, you will provide strategic leadership, direction and specialist industrial relations services to the Board of Management, senior executives, staff and volunteers and other key stakeholders to delivery certified industrial agreements. You will contribute to the achievement of strategic organisational objectives through best practice, IR management services consistent at all times with the prevailing (State) Industrial Relations Act 2016 and building workforce capability to ensure the ongoing provision of quality fire services to the Queensland community.

Key requirements

Highly desirable requirements

• Possession of relevant tertiary or postgraduate qualification/s in industrial/employee relations.
• Demonstrated experience in the negotiation of industrial instruments, including enterprise bargaining.
• High level knowledge of IR systems, including legal framework, with specific knowledge of, or the ability to rapidly acquire knowledge of the Queensland IR legislative context.
• High level knowledge in contemporary IR practices and workforce/employee reform processes and application of best practice within a complex organisation.

Your key accountabilities

Your part in the ongoing success of our department, in providing key frontline services will see you responsible for a variety of work, including, but not limited to:

• Provide professional, authoritative, and timely strategic advice and strategies to senior management and executives on issues of a complex and sensitive nature pertaining to IR including enterprise bargaining and workforce strategy.
• Lead the management, maintenance, and negotiation of the department’s industrial instruments within established government and organisational policies and processes to provide governance and oversight of the implementation and interpretation of the IR framework.
• Lead, collaborate and mentor IR professionals and other stakeholders to develop organisational capability, performance, and provide contemporary industrial relations functions to a complex organisation.
• Build and maintain effective relationships, through high level negotiation and consultation with internal and external stakeholders to lead and manage a corporate industrial relations function and achieve organisational and government objectives.
• Identify and investigate organisational IR issues, their implications, and recommend change options and facilitate the implementation of any change plans requiring industrial consultation to meet operational and organisation needs.
• Manage and respond to a range of high-level departmental and ministerial correspondence, briefing notes, reporting and communication materials from internal and external clients and stakeholders, in accordance with departmental requirements and governance.
• Prepare and deliver advocacy on behalf of the QFES in proceedings before the Queensland IR Commission (QIRC) and other tribunals.
• Manage human, financial and physical resources ensuring client service and performance management and drive a culture of accountability and fairness that encourages and enables teams and individual staff to meet challenges, develop skills and achieve results.

Capabilities

To determine your suitability for the role, you will be assessed on the following Leadership Competencies for Queensland behavioural profiles that link to the “key accountabilities” for this role:

Leadership Competency Stream – Program Leader (leading teams and/or projects)

Vision

• Leads strategically
• Makes insightful decisions

Results

• Develops and mobilises talent
• Builds enduring relationships

Accountability

• Fosters healthy and inclusive workplaces
• Demonstrates sound governance

Once you join us we will want you to exemplify the QFES shared values:

• Respect
• Integrity
• Trust
• Courage
• Loyalty