Senior HR Business Partner, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

ABOUT THE ROLE:

The HR Business Partner is a strategic advisor to business leaders across Australia, translating people intelligence into clear business outcomes. Opererating in an evolving AI landscape, this role focuses on the challenges that require human judgment, local knowledge, and trusted relationships — routine transactions and operational HR queries are handled through digital and AI-enabled service channels.

The HRBP is accountable for the people agenda across their Australian client groups, integrating insight from people analytics, centres of excellence, and AI-enabled HR services to deliver coherent, commercially grounded talent strategy.

JOB RESPONSIBILITIES

1. Strategic business partnership

Act as the primary people advisor to leaders across Australian business units, developing a working knowledge of each unit's commercial priorities, operating pressures, and talent dynamics.
Translate workforce data into practical talent strategies, presenting insights and recommendations to senior leaders
Participate in business planning by contributing workforce forecasts, capability gap assessments, and people risk inputs.
Build credible, trusted relationships that position HR as a strategic enabler, not an administrative function.

2. Workforce intelligence & analytics

Draw on people analytics to identify attrition trends, skills gaps, engagement patterns, and capability risks specific to the Australian workforce.
Present data-driven workforce narratives to leaders — moving beyond report-reading to genuine insight and recommended action.
Maintain an up-to-date picture of workforce composition, pipeline strength, and talent risk across client groups.

3. AI and human-machine workforce design

Support business units through the redesign of roles and teams as AI agents absorb transactional and analytical tasks — ensuring transitions are managed equitably and with appropriate communication.
Act as the people-side partner for AI adoption initiatives, helping managers prepare their teams for changing work patterns and new human-AI boundaries.
Build manager capability to self-serve through AI-powered HR tools, reducing unnecessary escalation while maintaining trust in the HR function.

4. Change & organisational effectiveness

Support organisational design reviews and workforce restructures across Australia, ensuring changes are grounded in data and conducted in accordance with the Fair Work Act 2009 and relevant modern awards.
Help leaders build team-level change capability — equipping managers to navigate transformation as a normal part of working, not just a discrete event.
Monitor engagement and culture indicators, connecting signals from listening tools to proactive leader action before issues escalate to formal processes.

5. Talent & capability

Partner with leaders on succession planning for critical roles, with visibility across the Australian portfolio to identify internal mobility opportunities.
Drive skills-based talent practices within client groups — shifting conversations from role-filling to capability deployment.
Collaborate with Talent Acquisition on strategic hiring needs for capability gaps.
Identify and support the development of high-potential employees, connecting them to growth opportunities within the broader organisation.

6. Employee experience & psychosocial safety

Support business units in meeting obligations under the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Cth) and the 2024 Code of Practice for Managing Psychosocial Hazards at Work, including risk identification, control measures, and incident response.
Advise managers on creating psychologically safe team environments — particularly relevant in the context of AI-driven change and workforce uncertainty.
Manage complex and sensitive employee matters with sound judgment, discretion, and compliance with the Fair Work Act 2009, National Employment Standards, and applicable modern awards.
Provide practical guidance on performance management, misconduct, and grievance processes, ensuring consistency and procedural fairness.

JOB REQUIREMENTS

Business acumen Understands how the business unit operates commercially and can connect talent decisions to operational and financial outcomes. Comfortable discussing workforce strategy in terms of business impact, not HR activity.

Data fluency: nConfident working with people analytics outputs — able to interpret trends, identify the story in the data, and present it compellingly to non-HR audiences.

AI literacy: Familiar with AI tools being deployed in HR and across the business. Able to identify use cases, support adoption, and recognise where human judgment must remain in the loop.

Australian employment law: Solid working knowledge of the Fair Work Act 2009, National Employment Standards, modern awards, and WHS obligations including psychosocial hazard frameworks. Knows when to involve Legal or specialist ER.

Influencing without authority: Builds trust and credibility with business leaders. Able to bring a point of view, push back constructively, and shape decisions through insight and relationship — not through process control.

Change & complexity navigation: Comfortable working in ambiguity. Able to help leaders and teams navigate change, restructure, or transformation without a fixed playbook — bringing structure where it's helpful and flexibility where it isn't.

EXPERIENCE:

Min 5 - 7 years in an HRBP, HR generalist, or HR advisory role, with demonstrated exposure to strategic people challenges (not solely operational or transactional HR).
Experience interpreting and applying people data to talent conversations and workforce decisions.
Working knowledge of Australian employment law and WHS obligations, including psychosocial hazard management.
Exposure to organisational change, restructuring, or transformation programs in an Australian context.
Familiarity with AI-enabled HR tools or digital HR service delivery desirable.
Technology, professional services, or large enterprise environment experience advantageous.

What success looks like in year one

Trusted advisory relationships established with key leaders across Australian business units.
Workforce risks, attrition drivers, and capability gaps actively monitored and being addressed.
AI adoption within client groups supported with clear people and change guidance.
HR transactions and routine queries handled through HRSS/AI channels — HRBP time protected for strategic work.
Psychosocial hazard risks identified and documented, with controls in place and leaders equipped to manage their obligations.

Über Cognizant 
Cognizant (NASDAQ: CTSH) i ist ein Technologiedienstleister und Entwickler von KI-Lösungen. Wir schlagen die Brücke zwischen KI-Investitionen und echtem unternehmerischem Mehrwert, indem wir ganzheitliche Full-Stack-KI-Lösungen für unsere Kunden entwickeln. Mit unserer fundierten Branchen-, Prozess- und Engineering-Expertise integrieren wir die spezifischen Anforderungen von Unternehmen passgenau in Technologiesysteme. So entfalten wir das menschliche Potenzial, erzielen greifbare Ergebnisse und sichern globalen Unternehmen in einer sich rasant wandelnden Welt den entscheidenden Vorsprung. Erfahren Sie mehr unter cognizant.ai oder @cognizant.

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