Senior People and Culture, Business Partner

This is your chance to join a respected organisation where purpose meets opportunity, and where your work directly supports frontline staff who make a difference every day.

Employment Type: 1x Permanent Full-time 1x Temporary Full-Time for 12 months with possible extension and conversion to ongoing 
Salary Range: $137,525 - $156,231 per annum + 12% super and benefits (Health Mgr Lvl 3)
Location: Sydney Metro (permanent position) or Hunter New England - Tighes Hill / Hamilton (temporary position) 
Closing Date: 11:59 PM, Sunday 18 October 2026

Why You'll Love Working With Us: 

• Salary packaging options to increase your take home pay up to $9,000, plus additional meal and entertainment options. 

• Up to 12 allocated days off each year for full-time employees, in addition to annual leave. 

• We support your work-life balance through flexible work arrangements and a Fitness Passport, allowing you and your family to access a range of 24/7 gyms, swimming pools, fitness centres, and leisure centres across Australia.

About Us

NSW Ambulance is an integral part of the NSW Health system that must work together seamlessly to deliver services to the community of NSW. We take a values-based leadership approach putting our people at the centre of everything we do, striving to deliver our mission of Excellence in Care through our CORE Values of Collaboration, Openness, Respect and Empowerment.

About the opportunity

Our paramedics and control centre staff turn up for people on some of the worst days of their lives, right across NSW, at every hour of the day and night. Our job in People and Culture is to make sure they're supported well enough to keep doing that work, and to be okay themselves.

Senior Business Partners are where a lot of that gets decided. You'll be the person leaders call when something difficult lands, and, when we're doing this well, the person they call before they make the decision rather than after.

We have two positions available:

• A permanent full-time position supporting Metro Sydney stakeholders, based at Sydney Olympic Park or other Sydney metro locations.
• A temporary full-time position for 12 months covering parental leave and supporting the Hunter New England sector, based in the region. There is potential for this position to become ongoing.

Both are Senior People and Culture Business Partner roles at the same grade, and you're welcome to apply for one or both.

Reporting to the Senior Manager, People and Culture Business Partnering, you'll hold your own portfolio and work alongside a Business Partner Advisor. Your week will move between complex employee and industrial relations matters, coaching leaders through decisions they're finding hard, change and organisational design work, and the workforce planning that stops the same problems turning up again. We're looking for someone who works on the pattern behind the caseload, not just the caseload.

The two portfolios look different in practice. Metro Sydney sites close to the corporate centre with high matter volume and frequent contact with senior leaders. Hunter New England covers a large geographic footprint with stations spread across the region, so you'll spend more time travelling to your leaders and building relationships at a distance. What's the same in both is the level of judgement expected of you.

This is a hard job and we'd rather say so. The matters you'll carry affect people's livelihoods and their wellbeing. You'll often be forming a position with less information than you'd like, to a timeframe you didn't set, and senior leaders will test that position before they act on it. Some days you'll be the one telling an experienced and well-regarded leader something they don't want to hear. If you need everyone to agree before you'll commit to a view, you'll find this uncomfortable. If you'd rather be trusted with the difficult ones, this is the work.

What makes it worth it is that your judgement genuinely counts here. You'll have real access to the people making decisions, colleagues who know this organisation and will back you, and work that shows up in how thousands of staff experience their jobs and in what the community receives from us.

About you

You take a systems view. You spot the workforce trends and risks early and work with leaders on what's underneath them, rather than just responding to what comes across your desk. Specifically, you'll bring:

• Relevant tertiary qualifications in Human Resources, Organisational Development or a related field.
• Substantial experience as a Senior Business Partner or equivalent, with real depth in employee relations, performance management, grievances and complex case management.
• The credibility to hold a position with senior leaders. You can give advice they don't want, explain your reasoning, take the challenge, and keep the relationship intact.
• Sound judgement when the situation is genuinely ambiguous, and the discipline to give clear, evidence-based advice rather than hedging.
• Discretion. You handle sensitive matters without drama and without them travelling.
• The ability to carry several things at once without dropping the one that matters most, and to reset when priorities move.
• Empathy that coexists with candour. People should leave a conversation with you feeling respected and clear, not managed.

How to Apply

Please respond to the two questions below (Maximum 4000 characters per question) and submit your responses along with your CV and any other required documentation.

Question 1: Good partnering depends on specialist teams getting the right problem from us, and us getting the right answer back from them. Tell us about a time you worked with an internal centre of excellence, for example industrial relations, safety, talent or learning, to resolve a complex matter for your client group. How did you make sure the outcome was accurate and consistent with how the organisation handles similar matters elsewhere, and what did you do when their view and yours didn't align?
Question 2: Tell us about someone you coached who wasn't yet ready for the next step up. What was the gap, what did you actually do to close it, and where did they get to? We're interested in how you build depth around you, so the team isn't dependent on any one person.

Need Further Information

• If you have any questions about this role, please contact Lawrie Whitehurst via Lawrie.Whitehurst@health.nsw.gov.au

• Please refer to the Role Description for further information. 

• Please refer to the Position Conditions for further information 
  
   

Additional Information

• Employment of temporary visa holders is only considered if no suitable permanent resident or citizen is identified after labour market testing.
• Eligibility lists and talent pools may be created and used to fill ongoing and temporary vacancies over the next 18 months at the same, or other locations, that are at the same grade and capability level.
• Applicants are expected to provide responses that reflect their own knowledge, experience, and understanding of the role.
• Any AI assisted content should still reflect your own capability; candidates may be asked to discuss or demonstrate examples during interview.
• If you are currently a Paramedic or in a role that is covered by the NSW Ambulance Death and Income Protection Benefits (State) Award 2022, please ensure that you have sought advice prior to accepting this position. For further information please contact Paramedic Insurance via AMBULANCE-ParamedicInsurance@health.nsw.gov.au

Our Commitment  

• NSW Ambulance is committed to achieving a diverse workforce that reflects the communities we serve. All are welcome to apply, including women, Aboriginal People, people from culturally diverse backgrounds, refugees, people of diverse genders and sexuality, and people living with a disability. We value the knowledge, skills, experiences, and perspectives that all people bring to our organisation, patients, communities, and workforce.

• If you are an Aboriginal job applicant and wish to obtain more information about applying for a role with NSW Ambulance, please contact our Aboriginal Workforce Engagement Coordinator via AMBULANCE-FirstNations@health.nsw.gov.au or visit Stepping Up. Stepping Up aims to assist Aboriginal job applicants by providing information about applying for roles within NSW Health - visit https://www.steppingup.health.nsw.gov.au/

• If you wish to discuss any changes to the process, you may need to present your best self, including accessibility requirements; please contact the panel convenor or recruitment team for support at NSW Ambulance Corporate Recruitment Team via AMBULANCE-CorporateRecruitment@health.nsw.gov.au 

• Additionally, you can contact the NSW Ambulance Diversity & Inclusion Team at Ambulance-Diversity@health.nsw.gov.au

Child Safe Employment

NSW Ambulance is dedicated to fostering a child-safe environment that respects and upholds the rights of children and young people, aligned with NSW Health’s commitment to implementing the Child Safe Standards. We aim to ensure that children and young people feel safe, supported, and included in their care. All current and prospective staff are expected to prioritise the safety, welfare, and well-being of children and young people, actively working to protect them from harm and abuse.