HR Advisor

About the Position

The Australian Research Council (ARC) has an exciting opportunity for an experienced HR Advisor to join a small and collaborative People and Capability team. This role is suited to an HR professional with experience in one or more HR disciplines who is looking to broaden their capability while making a meaningful contribution from day one.

As an HR Advisor, you will work closely with employees and managers to deliver practical HR support and advice across a range of people matters. You will have the opportunity to take ownership of your work, contribute to key team priorities, and play an active role in delivering high-quality HR services across the Agency.

Working in a small team environment, you will contribute across a diverse range of HR activities and play an active role in projects, process improvements and strategic initiatives that support organisational capability and employee experience.

Duties and Tasks

As an HR Advisor, you will support the delivery of People and Capability services across a range of HR functions. Depending on business needs and your experience, this may include contributing to one or more of the following areas:

• Providing responsive customer service and accurate, practical HR information to employees and managers, including managing enquiries through the HR inbox and maintaining online HR resources.
• Supporting recruitment and onboarding activities, including preparing advertising material, coordinating selection processes, supporting candidate management, and liaising with internal stakeholders and external providers.
• Assisting with payroll and HR administration activities, including processing employee variations, maintaining accurate records, and using HR systems to support consistent and compliant service delivery.
• Coordinating learning and development activities, including organising training, maintaining learning records, monitoring completion information, and supporting employee development initiatives.
• Supporting workforce planning and people-related initiatives, including coordinating activities, gathering information, maintaining records, and assisting with APS Census and workforce reporting processes.
• Contributing to the review, implementation and maintenance of HR policies, procedures and guidance material by undertaking research, drafting content, coordinating feedback and supporting communication activities.
• Preparing and checking HR data, reports and correspondence to support team priorities, compliance requirements and decision-making by senior staff.
• Assisting with HR projects and continuous improvement activities, including identifying practical improvements to processes, templates, resources and service delivery.
• Contribute to a collaborative, inclusive and respectful team culture, including supporting practices that promote diversity, inclusion and psychosocial safety.

Required Skills and Knowledge

We are looking for an APS5 HR Advisor with experience in one or more areas of HR who is keen to contribute to the delivery of people-focused services in a small, collaborative team. 

• Skills or experience in one or more HR areas, such as recruitment, payroll, learning and development, workforce coordination, HR administration, reporting, policy or general HR advisory support.
• Ability to provide accurate, practical and customer-focused HR support to employees, managers and colleagues.
• Sound judgement and attention to detail, including the ability to follow policies and processes, maintain accurate records, and know when to seek guidance or escalate matters.
• Strong communication and organisational skills, including the ability to manage competing priorities and work  collaboratively in a busy team environment.

Our Ideal Candidate

Our ideal candidate is a proactive and adaptable HR professional with experience in one or more areas of HR who enjoys working across a broad range of generalist HR functions.

You will possess strong interpersonal and communication skills, a customer-focused approach, and the ability to build effective relationships with a diverse range of stakeholders.

Success in this role requires strong organisational skills, sound judgement, and the ability to manage competing priorities while maintaining a high level of accuracy and attention to detail. A commitment to continuous improvement and the ability to apply HR policies, procedures and legislative frameworks in a practical way will be highly valued.

Whether your experience is in recruitment, payroll, learning and development, workforce planning, policy, or another HR discipline, the successful candidate will bring a collaborative approach and a genuine desire to contribute to the delivery of high-quality People and Capability services.

What the role offers

This role offers the opportunity to apply and expand your existing HR experience across a broad range of people functions within a small and supportive team. You will have the chance to take ownership of your work, build strong relationships across the Agency, and contribute to operational activities, projects and people initiatives across the Agency.

Working across recruitment, payroll, learning and development, workforce planning, reporting, policy and people initiatives, you will develop a broader understanding of the employee lifecycle and gain exposure to areas that may sit outside your current HR experience.

As a member of a small team, your contribution will have a visible impact. You will be trusted to manage your responsibilities, contribute ideas for improvement, and work collaboratively to deliver high-quality outcomes for employees and managers.

About our team

People and Capability delivers a broad range of operational and strategic HR services across the employee lifecycle. As a small team, we work closely together and provide opportunities for staff to take ownership of their work and contribute across a variety of HR functions rather than specialising in a single area.

This environment provides exposure to a diverse range of work, the opportunity to build broad HR capability, and the ability to see the direct impact of your contribution on both employees and organisational outcomes.

The People and Capability team is collaborative, supportive and committed to delivering high-quality services across the Agency. We value initiative, continuous improvement and a practical, customer-focused approach to HR.

Diversity and Inclusion 

We welcome applications from candidates with diverse backgrounds including but not limited to; Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, people who identify as LGBTIQA+, people with a disability, and people from a culturally and linguistically diverse background. 

The ARC expects all staff to understand workplace diversity, workplace participation, a safe working environment and access and equity principles, and to promote these principles in the development and implementation of policies and programs.

• Must be an Australia citizen
• Must undergo ID Verification Check
• Must undergo Criminal History Check
• Must hold or be able to obtain a Baseline Commonwealth security clearance

For further information about our Agency and what we offer, please refer to the ARC Website.

The ARC is a non-corporate Commonwealth entity established under the Australian Research Council Act 2001 (ARC Act). It is located within the Australian Government’s Education portfolio and reports to the Minister for Education. The ARC is a vital component of Australia’s innovation and research system. It plays an integral role in supporting the research sector to produce excellent and impactful research for Australia’s economic, social, environmental and cultural benefit through the delivery of the National Competitive Grants Program (NCGP). The NCGP funds excellent pure basic, strategic basic and applied research in all disciplines except medical research. The ARC’s broader remit includes the provision of high-quality research policy advice to the Australian Government and supporting research security and integrity. It also includes promoting ethical research, evaluating the excellence, impact and depth of Australian research and expanding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander knowledge systems. It also facilitates partnerships between researchers and industry, government, community organisations and the international community.