About AFAC

AFAC is the national council for fire, land management and emergency service authorities in Australia and New Zealand, representing 34 member organisations, comprising permanent, part-time personnel and volunteers, totalling 288,000 firefighters and emergency workers. AFAC engages with members through a collaboration model as well as event facilitation, professional development and influencing regulations and standards.

AFAC has a number of business units that facilitate a broad range of activities on behalf of its members. These include professional services, aircraft contract management, cross border deployment of emergency services personnel and other nationally significant activities such as management of the AFAC Conference and National Memorial Service.

About the position

This hands-on people and culture leadership role is responsible for delivering AFAC's end-to-end people and culture function. While the role contributes to workforce strategy, organisational development and culture initiatives, it is equally focused on practical delivery across recruitment, employee relations, people operations, compliance and day-to-day workforce support.

Key responsibilities

End-to-end people and culture leadership

Lead and deliver AFAC's people and culture function across the full employee lifecycle, including attraction, recruitment, onboarding, development, performance, engagement, wellbeing and employee experience. Provide practical, responsive and trusted support to leaders and employees across all people matters.

Workforce planning and capability development

Support AFAC to build the workforce capability required to deliver its strategic and operational priorities. Lead workforce planning, succession planning, learning and development initiatives, and talent management activities that strengthen organisational capability now and into the future.

Leadership, culture and organisational development

Partner with leaders to build a positive, inclusive and high-performing workplace culture. Deliver leadership development, organisational development and change initiatives that strengthen individual, team and organisational effectiveness.

Employee relations, compliance and governance

Manage employee relations, performance management, workplace investigations, policy development and employment-related compliance. Ensure AFAC's people practices are fair, consistent, compliant and aligned with contemporary workplace standards.

People systems, reporting and continuous improvement

Oversee people systems, workforce reporting and HR processes to ensure efficient and effective people operations. Use workforce data and insights to inform decision-making and identify opportunities to improve the employee experience and organisational performance.

Sector collaboration and workforce initiatives

Contribute to workforce-related initiatives across the emergency management sector. Work collaboratively with member agencies, industry partners and AFAC stakeholders to support workforce capability, leadership and inclusion outcomes that benefit the broader sector.

Key relationships

• Office of the CEO
• Deputy CEO and CEO
• Internal staff and external stakeholders
• Subject matter experts
• Registered Training Organisations
• Collaboration group members

Key selection criteria

Essential

• Demonstrated experience managing an end-to-end People and Culture function, including recruitment, workforce planning, employee relations, performance management, learning and development, policy development and people operations.
• Strong generalist Human Resources expertise, with the ability to confidently manage both strategic workforce initiatives and day-to-day people matters in a hands-on environment.
• Proven ability to partner with leaders and build organisational capability, including leadership development, organisational development, culture initiatives and change management.
• Sound knowledge of Australian employment legislation and contemporary people practices, with experience managing employee relations, workplace compliance, performance matters and people governance.
• Experience using workforce data, reporting and insights to support decision-making, improve people outcomes and drive continuous improvement across people systems and processes.
• Excellent communication, stakeholder engagement and relationship management skills, with the ability to build trust, provide pragmatic advice and achieve positive outcomes across a diverse range of stakeholders.

Desirable

• Tertiary qualifications in Human Resources, Business, Organisational Development, Psychology or a related discipline, or equivalent professional experience.

Please note: interstate travel may be required for this role.

How to apply

The position description and key selection criteria can be found here. If you think you meet some of the criteria but not all, that’s okay – we would still love to hear from you. Please apply online and provide a detailed cover letter and CV that best demonstrate your motivation and skills relevant to this role. Should you have any questions about the position, please email hr@afac.com.au.

If you would like to request a reasonable adjustment to support your application, this can be done at any stage of the recruitment process, by contacting hr@afac.com.au.

Applications close 28 September 2026 however we will review applications as we receive them so if this position is of interest to you, apply today.