Focus HR has been a proud Toowoomba business since 2011. In that time our team has worked with over 700 businesses, building relationships on mutual trust and speaking the truth.
We're more than compliance consultants. Our work spans Human Resources, Leadership Development, Workplace Culture and Business Strategy – helping clients create workplaces where people genuinely choose to be.
We have a thirst for knowledge and a desire to share it generously. We love working alongside our clients to give them practical tools, commercial clarity and the confidence to make good decisions about their people.
We're now looking for a senior HR/IR professional to lead our Workplace Support Hub – the team that delivers rapid, accurate, plain‑English HR/IR advice to our SME clients and partner networks.
About the role
The Head of HR/IR – Workplace Support Hub is a pivotal leadership role at Focus HR. In this role you will:
Lead and grow the Workplace Support Hub team
* Provide day‑to‑day leadership, guidance, coaching and support to a team of HR/IR advisors (from graduate to experienced).
* Set clear expectations for the standard of advice, documentation and client interactions.
* Review and sign off higher‑risk or complex advice, lifting quality and consistency across the Hub.
Be the technical HR/IR expert and escalation point
* Act as the primary escalation point for complex or high‑risk matters.
* Provide clear, commercially balanced positions on complex HR/IR questions, in plain English.
* Personally manage selected complex or strategic matters where senior involvement is warranted.
* Share your knowledge generously across the team, becoming the "go‑to" for HR/IR within Focus HR.
Design and refine systems, frameworks and tools
* Shape the end‑to‑end Hub service model – triage, scoping, allocation, delivery, escalation and follow‑up.
* Lead the creation and maintenance of playbooks, decision trees, checklists and guidance notes for key HR/IR topics.
* Champion digital enablement and AiAC (AI‑Assisted Consulting) to support rapid, accurate advice.
Strengthen client and partner relationships
* Ensure clients feel "in good hands" – heard, supported and confident in the advice they receive.
* Work with our Directors to position the Workplace Support Hub as the advice line of choice for chambers, peak bodies and referral partners.
* Link acute HR/IR matters as an entry point to deeper, preventative and strategic work across our broader service offering.
About you
You're an experienced HR/IR professional who enjoys being the expert, but even more so enjoys building other experts. You will likely bring:
* Deep technical HR/IR expertise – strong knowledge of Australian IR legislation and extensive experience managing complex and high‑risk matters.
* Proven leadership experience – leading and developing HR/IR or advisory teams and building confidence in others.
* A track record of designing or improving service delivery models (either in an internal HR capacity or as a service provider) and the systems and tools that support them.
* Strong consulting and communication skills – able to quickly understand context, weigh risk and commercial impact, and communicate options clearly to SME owners and leaders.
* Comfort working with and optimising digital systems to support consistent, scalable service delivery.
This role would suit the experienced HR/IR practitioner or an IR lawyer who is tired of dealing with the litigious end of the process and would rather help businesses implement proactive and practical solutions.
Why join Focus HR?
At Focus HR you'll find:
* A values‑driven team that genuinely cares about each other and our clients.
* The opportunity to shape and lead a core part of our business – the Workplace Support Hub.
* The ability contribute to meaningful change in client businesses.
* A culture that balances work and fun in equal measure, where we share the journey and are proud of the stories we are part of.
Interested?
If this sounds like the next chapter you've been looking for, we'd love to hear from you.
Please apply with your resume, and to give us an insight into how you think, we'd love you to tell us what your biggest bug-bear in Australia's HR/IR system is and what you would do to change it if you were handed the keys.
No need for corporate buzzwords – clear, honest and human works best for us.
For confidential enquiries, call Stephanie Kelly on