Senior Human Resource Manager - Sydney

Company:Oliver Wyman

Description:

About Oliver Wyman

At Oliver Wyman, a Marsh (NYSE: MRSH) business, we bring deep industry insight, bold innovation, and a collaborative approach that cuts through complexity to help organizations navigate their most defining transformative moments. 

For more information, visit oliverwyman.com.  

Role purpose

As the Senior Human Capital Manager, Australia you will play a key role within the HC team, overseeing Human Capital operations and serving as the HR business partner for offices across Australia. This role combines business partnering and employee relations with accountability for delivering a high-quality people experience across the employee lifecycle, leveraging data, digital tools, and AI-enabled insights to enhance operational efficiency, decision-making, and the employee experience.

Why Join Us

• A company with a strong brand and strong results to match. We are still growing in APR, now is the time to make your mark.

• An inclusive and collaborative culture, with a vibrant office environment.

• Competitive pay and outstanding benefits to help colleagues and their families live better – physically, mentally, and financially.

• A culture of internal mobility, with strong partnerships across Marsh HR and corporate functions.

• Colleague Resource Groups which provide access to leaders, volunteer and mentoring opportunities, and interactions with counterparts in industry groups and client organizations.

Meet the Team

• Reports to: Regional Head of Human Capital Services, APR

• Day-to-day collaborators: Regional business leaders, HC team in APR and globally, Talent Managers and colleagues from other teams including Legal, Finance and IT

• People management: This role includes direct management of HC Operations team members in Australia (as applicable)

How this role will contribute to team success

• Enable strong operational delivery by owning key HC processes end to end, helping ensure a consistent, compliant and efficient employee experience across the region.

• Support effective business decisions by being a trusted advisor to market leaders and senior stakeholders on employee matters, risks, and workforce priorities.

• Strengthen regional HC effectiveness by driving consistency, process improvement leveraging AI, and close collaboration across teams and markets

Your Day-to-Day

HR business partnering

• Be the lead HRBP for Australia and build strong relationships with Market Leaders, talent managers and other key stakeholders to provide trusted advice on people matters to support sound business decisions.

• Take the lead in coaching line and talent managers on employee relations matters, ensuring fair outcomes, sound judgment, and alignment with policy and local requirements.

• Provide advice and counsel managers and leaders on talent attraction, retention, rewards, and workplace culture to support a high-performing environment.

• Using a data driven approach, actively monitor the experience of people, creating processes and policies to address challenges; working with the Talent Management team, you will lead our Return-to-work efforts to ensure that our returning parents are successful in their re-integration.

• Proactively lead change initiatives, restructures, and employee engagement efforts to enable successful business and cultural transitions.

• Drive the translation of enterprise HC policies into practical local solutions and support adoption of COE solutions across the region.

• Share knowledge and best practices across the HC team in APR and globally

Human Capital operations

• Oversee and ensure effective delivery of HC operations from onboarding through exit management, including data collection, documentation, approvals, and coordination, while ensuring service quality and process control across the supported market.

• Monitor process performance, identify risks or bottlenecks, and implement practical solutions to improve timeliness, compliance, and service delivery.

• Lead, coach, and develop HC team members and managers, providing clear guidance, feedback, and support to build capability, confidence, and accountability across the function.

• Act as the point of contact for payroll and other operational escalations, working closely with Shared Services in Australia to resolve issues effectively.

• Identify and support adoption of automation opportunities across HC processes, partnering with HR, IT, and Shared Services to simplify workflows, reduce manual effort, and improve consistency at scale.

• Own end-to-end WGEA compliance and annual Employer Report submission for Australia, ensuring accurate, complete, on-time delivery and required leadership/Finance sign-offs.

• Partner with relevant stakeholders to interpret WGEA outcomes and support the action planning aligned to DEI/pay equity priorities and proactively monitor regulatory/guidance changes to strengthen ongoing reporting readiness.

• Use and promote data, AI-enabled insights, and digital tools to spot recurring issues, improve decision-making, and drive faster, more effective resolution of employee and operational matters.

• Role model strong leadership by setting clear expectations, fostering a collaborative and high performing team environment through regular coaching, mentoring, and knowledge sharing.

Employee relations and stakeholder management

• Manage employee relations matters end to end with due consideration to internal and external regulations.

• Lead ER/Compliance investigations and audits

• Lead terminations and exits of senior employees

• Handle sensitive issues with discretion, sound judgment, and a balanced commercial and people perspective.

• Ensure communications are clear, timely, and aligned to company values and governance standards.

• Escalate material risks or complex matters promptly to the Regional Head of HC Services and collaborate closely with Legal, Compliance, and other control functions to ensure timely resolution.

Skills & What You Bring to the Team

• At least 10 years of experience as an HR professional, ideally within a large, globally matrixed organization operating across Asia Pacific.

• Proven ability to manage multiple priorities simultaneously in a complex, multi-stakeholder environment.

• Strong coaching, mentoring, and influencing skills, with the confidence to challenge perspectives and support sound decision-making.

• Demonstrated ability to use data and technology to support informed decisions and improve outcomes.

• Excellent client relationship skills with the ability to build positive, collaborative working relationships internally and externally.

• Strong written and verbal communication skills, paired with sound problem-solving ability and professional judgement.

• Knowledge of labour regulations across Australia is required.

• Experience using Workday is desirable.

• Bachelor’s degree in HR, Organizational Psychology, Industrial Relations, Business, or another related field.

• Strong proficiency in AI (Chat GPT/ Claude) Microsoft Office, particularly Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.

What Will Make You Stand Out

• Be a self-starter with a strong work ethic and the ability to work independently with minimal oversight.

• Work effectively both autonomously and as part of a team, with a collaborative and responsive mindset.

• Approach every task with a growth mindset, embracing challenges as opportunities to learn.

• Leverage AI in your day-to-day work for greater efficiency and champion its adoption within the team. Bring a practical mindset for using automation and AI to improve service delivery, employee experience, and operational control.

• Demonstrate a track record of turning manual HR processes into more efficient, scalable, and technology-enabled ways of working. Be able to bring our team with you on that journey.

• Be proactive in keeping up with HR and industry trends and actively share insights and experiences with leaders and colleagues.

• Show curiosity about Oliver Wyman and its people, building a strong understanding to support our diverse job families.

• Professionally represent the department and the company, serving as a role model and exemplifying Oliver Wyman values.

How To Apply

• Submit CV

• Process: Our selection process typically includes an initial recruiter conversation (15-30 min.), followed by interviews and assessments with the hiring team, where you will get to know us overall.

• To ensure confidentiality, recording, transcription, screen capture, or use of AI/automated note-taking tools during interviews is strictly prohibited; by joining, you agree to these terms. Unauthorized capture may result in interview termination, disqualification, and mandatory deletion of any recorded material. We reserve all rights and remedies under applicable law.

Living Our Values

At Oliver Wyman, we lead with heart - we love what we do and have fun while we do it! We also strive for breakthroughs by seeking diverse perspectives, and finding powerful and sustainable solutions. If you share these values and want to work as one and own our impact at the same time, be brave and achieve the amazing with us!

At OW, we're committed to building a diverse team, and we recognize that uncertainty about the relevance of one’s qualification and experience may deter some talented candidates from applying. If you feel you don't meet every requirement, we'd love to hear from you nonetheless! If you require adjustments during the recruitment process, we are happy to discuss it with you.

Find more about our Values and Firm Inclusion Stance.

Oliver Wyman is a business of Marsh (NYSE: MRSH), a global leader in risk, reinsurance and capital, people and investments, and management consulting, advising clients in 130 countries. With annual revenue of over $27 billion and more than 95,000 colleagues, Marsh helps build the confidence to thrive through the power of perspective. For more information, visit oliverwyman.com, or follow us on LinkedIn and X. 

Marsh is committed to creating a diverse, inclusive and flexible work environment. We aim to attract and retain the best people and embrace diversity of age, background, disability, ethnic origin, family duties, gender orientation or expression, marital status, nationality, parental status, personal or social status, political affiliation, race, religion and beliefs, sex/gender, sexual orientation or expression, skin color, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. Applications will only be considered from candidates who have the appropriate approval to work in Australia. Successful applicants will be required to complete a Criminal & Bankruptcy check prior to commencing of employment.

Marsh is committed to hybrid work, which includes the flexibility of working remotely and the collaboration, connections and professional development benefits of working together in the office. All Marsh colleagues are expected to be in their local office or working onsite with clients at least three days per week. Office-based teams will identify at least one “anchor day” per week on which their full team will be together in person.