Head of Employee Relations

Arup’s purpose, shared values and collaborative approach have set us apart for 80 years, guiding how we shape a better world.

Arup is a unique organization that is trust-owned for our members, which means that our people are at the heart of everything we do. As a people-centric organization, we are committed to creating an inclusive and supportive work environment where everyone can thrive and achieve their full potential. Our members are empowered to make decisions and take ownership of their work, which fosters a culture of innovation and collaboration. At Arup, we value diversity and strive to create a workplace that reflects the communities we serve. As a result, we attract and retain some of the brightest and most talented professionals in the industry.

The Opportunity

• Responsible for designing, implementing, and leading a globally aligned Employee Relations capability.
• Establish and maintain global ER and employment policies, standards, contracts and practices that promote a fair, consistent, and legally compliant member experience, working across all regions.
• Create and maintain the global approach to Employee Relations strategy, including the firm’s relationships with any representative groups, such as works councils and trade union partners
• Oversee performance improvement processes and serve as a specialist consulting partner to region and global People and business leaders.
• Act as the escalation point for complex or high-risk employee relations matters, ensuring Arup maintains a culture of integrity, accountability, and respectful workplace practices.

Strategic Leadership & Governance

• Design and implement a consistent, “virtual” global ER operating model able to support across multiple regions (EIMEA, Americas, APAC), timezones and jurisdictional environments.
• Define and articulate the ER function’s value proposition, scope, and operating principles (scope including policy development, employment contracts, investigations, disciplinary, managing performance, labour relations and workplace accommodations /adjustments).
• Develop and maintain a global ER governance framework, including RACI matrices, escalation protocols, and decision rights.
• Lead the development and continuous improvement of Arup’s global ER “playbook”, ensuring alignment with Arup’s values, legal requirements, and cultural nuances.
• Lead horizon scanning for emerging employee relations, employment law, regulatory, and societal developments globally, proactively assessing impacts on Arup and ensuring ER policies, practices, and capability are future-ready, compliant, and aligned to effective risk mitigation strategies.
• Carry out regular thematic reviews to establish patterns and root cause analysis that enables the business to proactively address systemic or major challenges, flagging emerging risks/issues for escalation. Ensure delivery and value realisation by maintaining an appropriate professional network in the function and business.

Policy & Standards Development

• Establish and maintain key global ER and employment policies, procedures, and standards, ensuring consistency and compliance across all jurisdictions.
• Collaborate with Legal, Ethics and Compliance, and People Partners to ensure policies reflect current legislation and best practices.
• Lead standardisation of case management and performance improvement processes globally, including performance management, disciplinary procedures, and conflict resolution frameworks.
• Establish and maintain robust global legal frameworks and minimum standards for core employment documentation (including employment contracts, policies, and templates), ensuring alignment with local legal requirements, risk mitigation, and consistent application across regions in partnership with Legal and regional People teams.
• Implement appropriate measures to provide assurance of compliance and delivery of appropriate services.

Case Management & Escalation

• Serve as a final escalation point for complex, sensitive, or high-risk ER cases globally and ensure cases with potential reputational risk are quickly escalated to relevant stakeholders for awareness. May handle or represent Arup in most senior or high-risk case examples.
• Oversee the implementation and use of case management systems and tools (e.g., potential interim solutions and future Oracle HCM roadmap) that drive positive member experience and efficiency.
• Monitor ER case trends, resolution times, and risk indicators; provide regular reporting and insights to senior people and business leadership.
• Ensure consistent application of ER practices across regions through training, audits, and case reviews within the team and with partnering teams.
• Provide oversight and escalation support for Speak Up, whistleblowing, and ethics related cases, ensuring matters are managed independently, consistently, and in line with regulatory requirements, confidentiality standards, and Arup’s ethics and compliance frameworks.
• Develop appropriate conciliatory practices that enable the early identification and resolution of key issues, including relevant mediation capabilities, situated in the right place to be most effective.

Team Leadership & Capability Building

• Build a high-performing global virtual ER team, including Senior Advisors and specialists, embracing progressive practices and technologies to ensure that the team both deliver a service and enable the firm to proactively address root causes.
• Contribute to defining team structure, roles, and responsibilities; oversee transition, recruitment onboarding, and development of ER professionals and effective integration with the global People Team.
• Foster a culture of collaboration, continuous learning, and psychological safety within the ER function.
• Provide coaching and guidance to ER specialists and People Partners on ER best practices and case handling.
• Establish and proactively use ER data to implement initiatives to build People Partnering and line manager capability.

Stakeholder Engagement & Change Management

• Partner with People Leaders, People Partners, and business leaders (by exception) to ensure alignment and support for ER initiatives.
• Lead change management efforts related to the transition from embedded to centralised ER models.
• Develop and execute strategies as needed to promote awareness and understanding of the ER function across the organisation.

Vendor & External Partner Management

• Identify, select, and manage relationships with external legal counsel, ER consultants, and potential ER technology vendors (if required).
• Assess, design, and oversee potential outsourced or partnership models for employee relations support, evaluating opportunity to enhance capability, scalability, and risk management while ensuring quality, compliance, and alignment with organisational standards and values.
• Ensure service level agreements (SLAs), confidentiality, and compliance standards are met.
• Evaluate vendor performance and ensure alignment with organisational needs and values.

At Arup, you belong to an extraordinary collective – in which we encourage individuality to thrive. Our strength comes from how we respect, share and connect our diverse experiences, perspectives and ideas.

You will have the opportunity do socially useful work that has meaning – to Arup, to your career, to our members and to the clients and communities we serve.

Is this role right for you?

• Extensive years of progressive HR experience, with ideally in a senior Employee Relations leadership role in a global organisation.
• Proven experience designing centralised ER functions across multiple geographies and in a professional environment.
• Deep knowledge of global employment law, labour relations, and performance management practices.
• Demonstrated ability to manage complex investigations and sensitive employee matters with discretion and integrity.
• Strong leadership, coaching, and stakeholder management skills.
• Experience managing external vendors and legal counsel.
• Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Law, Business, or related field (preferred).
• Comfortable navigating ambiguity and driving clarity in complex environments.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Non-hierarchical, with the ability to engage and communicate with people at all levels in both technical and non-technical environments.
• Fosters team collaboration; embraces diversity and inclusion and actively seeks diverse perspectives.
• Self-aware, understands their role in a team and takes responsibility for own actions.
• Enjoys looking for ways to improve and step up quality and levels of service.

What we offer you

At Arup, we care about each member’s success, so we can grow together.

Guided by our values, we provide an attractive total reward package that recognises the contribution of each of our members to our shared success. As well as competitive, fair, and equitable pay, we offer a career in which all of our members can belong, grow and thrive – through benefits that support health and wellbeing, a wide range of learning opportunities and many possibilities to have an impact through the work they do.

We are owned in trust on behalf of our members, giving us the freedom, with personal responsibility, to set our own direction and choose work that aligns with our purpose and adds to Arup’s legacy. Our members collaborate on ambitious projects to deliver remarkable outcomes for our clients and communities. Profit Share is a key part of our reward, enabling eligible members to share in the results of our collective efforts.

Explore the perks of a career with Arup Australia:

• Hybrid working policy and flexible working hours.
• Paid parental leave for the primary carer of 16 weeks or 32 weeks at half pay and as well as generous unpaid leave benefits.Paid parental leave for the non-primary carer of 4 weeks plus the opportunity to access extra paid and unpaid leave of up to 16 weeks if you later become the primary carer (any leave taken at the time will be deducted from the total 16-week parental leave benefit).
• Birthday leave
• Annual leave loading
• Ability to purchase additional leave of up to 20 days for permanent employees.
• International mobility opportunities
• Insurances (life & income protection)
• Interest free solar energy and bicycle loans
• Novated car lease
• Ovasaver including discounts, vouchers, cashback, and exclusive offers on more than 300 retailers.