Regional Chief Human Resources Officer — Transport-Assets Portfolio

The mandate

An Australian transport portfolio is preparing public-private partnership bids that will add new operating models, regional workforces and long-duration service commitments. Current organisation and talent processes were built around mature assets, while bid teams assemble leadership late and rely on contractor assumptions not tested by HR. The board is creating a Regional CHRO role to make people capability part of bid and mobilisation evidence.

The role will influence approximately A$19,450 million in projects and operating assets and 575 employees and material partners. Accountability spans organisation design, strategic workforce planning, leadership, succession, industrial relations, reward, capability, contractor-workforce governance and people operations. Bid and asset executives own performance. The CHRO ensures roles, skills, agreements and employee processes make PPP commitments executable.

PPP workforce design starts before preferred bidder. Service hours, locations, safety, maintenance, customer response, technology and handback shape staffing and capability. The CHRO will test bid assumptions on labour supply, rosters, agreement coverage, training, contractor use and mobilisation time. Savings unsupported by lawful and achievable workforce arrangements will not enter the base case.

Regional operating-model change will clarify authority between portfolio, project and asset leaders. Roles will be tested against live decisions: incident command, timetable recovery, industrial issue and customer escalation. Structure will change where it improves those decisions, not simply to achieve span targets.

Why this seat is open

This is planned new hiring under the approved regional model and has no predecessor. A four-to-six-month process allows appointment ahead of major bid and mobilisation gates. Existing people leaders retain current responsibilities during selection.

What you will own

• Translate PPP bids into organisation, workforce, capability and industrial-relations plans.
• Establish leadership requirements and succession before mobilisation.
• Test labour-market, roster, contractor and training assumptions.
• Align reward and performance to safety, service and lifecycle outcomes.
• Lead consultation, mobility and responsible workforce transition.
• Build regional people leaders close to transport assets.

Workforce evidence will cover employees, contractors and key partner populations. Each critical role will show available supply, competence, time to proficiency and consequence of absence. Contractor dependence will identify supervision and knowledge-retention needs. A vendor headcount promise is not workforce readiness.

Industrial relations will be treated as operating infrastructure. Agreement coverage, bargaining timetable, classification and consultation can affect mobilisation and service. The CHRO will engage employee representatives with credible work and capability evidence. Management commitments will be recorded, costed and transferred into asset governance.

Leadership selection will use observable project and operating decisions. External recruitment will target genuine gaps; internal mobility will preserve asset knowledge and provide clear role, location and development. Unready successors will not be placed into high-consequence roles to satisfy a timetable.

People systems must support day one. Payroll, identity, time, rostering, learning and case escalation will be rehearsed under expected volumes and failure. Dual arrangements need owners and exit dates. Sensitive employee information will follow Australian privacy and purpose requirements.

Workforce transfer and bid confidentiality will be governed together. Potential employee transfers, insourcing or contractor transitions require legal, industrial and operational analysis before public announcement. The CHRO will plan consultation triggers, data access, accrued entitlements and continuity without implying an outcome before award. Bid teams will use controlled workforce assumptions rather than named personal commitments made outside fair selection.

Fatigue and remote work will enter operating design. Rosters will consider travel, maintenance windows, incident call-out and weather disruption, with escalation when actual overtime exceeds bid assumptions. The people function will test whether staffing remains safe during simultaneous vacancy and service disruption.

Regional people reporting will connect workforce variance to bid economics, service performance and safety, giving the executive team an early correction signal.

The first 12 months

Within 90 days, the CHRO will review priority bids, map 20 pivotal roles and assess the regional people team. The sponsor will receive the future model and immediate labour or mobilisation decisions.

By month eight, two PPP opportunities should have board-ready workforce cases, selected mobilisation roles should be filled and one asset should rehearse people operations. Reward and role standards will reflect service and safety.

At year-end, 80% of pivotal roles should have ready or scheduled cover, critical vacancies fall 30% and mobilisation people milestones meet 90% on time. Regretted attrition should remain below 8%, with no material payroll, agreement or competence failure delaying service commencement.

What the board will measure

• Bids supported by realistic workforce economics.
• Leadership and competence ready before mobilisation.
• Constructive industrial relations and credible consultation.
• Reliable people operations at service commencement.
• Strong regional succession and internal mobility.

The person

You are a Regional CHRO, transport people executive or major-project workforce leader with 18–22 years of experience. You have influenced at least A$11,300 million and 400 employees. Evidence must include a PPP workforce case, an industrial-relations decision and mobilisation completed without material people-service failure.

This onsite Sydney role requires extensive bid, asset and regional travel. You are credible with operating executives, unions, contractors and boards.

Compensation and terms

Base compensation is A$380,000–500,000 plus annual incentive. Measures include bid quality, mobilisation, leadership, industrial relations, retention and succession. Final terms will follow the confirmed regional workforce perimeter.

Confidentiality

The portfolio, bids, employees, partners and workforce plans remain confidential. Further information follows qualification and an undertaking. Sydney and approximate figures are non-identifying.