Senior People and Culture Business Partner

This is a Senior Leadership role with organisational impact.

• You will shape and lead organisational transformation.
• You’re a strategic thinker and influencer
• You are comfortable leading through ambiguity

Make a meaningful impact every day

At Sydney Water, everything we do is for our customers, our communities and the future of our city. With more than 3,500 people, we protect Sydney’s water, environment and liveability — and we’re transforming how we work to ensure our services remain sustainable, reliable and future‑ready.

As we evolve our operating model and uplift organisational capability, we’re building a high‑performing, engaged workforce that enables our strategy. Join us and play a pivotal role in leading this transformation.

Internally this role is communicated as ‘Manager, People & Culture’

The Opportunity

As a strategic business partner, you will shape culture, drive change, strengthen leadership capability and deliver people strategies that support the future operating model. The position requires a trusted advisor and confident change leader who can navigate complexity, influence senior stakeholders and guide teams through ambiguity with clarity and impact.

What You’ll Do

As People & Culture Manager, you will:

• Provide strategic partnering to members of Sydney Water’s Executive Leadership team to translate organisational strategy and model changes into targeted people plans.
• Drive the people‑related components of organisational transformation, including restructures, capability uplift and cultural evolution across the business.
• You will provide strong leadership, coaching and direction to a team of P&C professionals to ensure they deliver high‑quality, customer‑focused people solutions.
• Develop, refine and embed people strategies, frameworks and initiatives that align with our evolving operating model and organisational goals.
• Provide expert advice on organisational change, union engagement and complex case management, ensuring risks are managed and outcomes are fair and compliant.

What You’ll Bring

To succeed, you will bring:

• Relevant tertiary qualifications in Human Resources, Industrial Relations, Organisational Psychology or related field.
• Proven experience leading and developing P&C or HR teams in complex, fast‑paced environments and can inspire high performance.
• Successfully delivered organisational change programs and can confidently lead teams and stakeholders through transformation.
• Influenced senior executives as a trusted advisor and shape people strategies that directly support business priorities.
• Managed complex casework, organisational change and union engagement with sound judgement, with experience leading operating-model or structural change to redesign roles, evolve ways of working and uplift organisational capability.
• Relevant tertiary qualifications in Human Resources, Industrial Relations, Organisational Psychology or related field.

Why Sydney Water?

• Work for one of NSW’s most trusted public institutions.
• Play a pivotal role in shaping our culture, capability and the future of water in Greater Sydney.
• Hybrid working arrangements that support flexibility and work life balance.
• Join a collaborative team committed to innovation, sustainability and positive impact.
• Competitive remuneration and opportunities for development.

Recruitment Process

• To apply, please submit your CV along with a covering letter explaining why you are the right candidate for this role.

As part of your cover letter, please submit your response to the below question.

• Describe a people plan or workforce strategy you developed in response to specific business or customer needs. What insights informed your approach, how did you ensure it delivered value, and how did you measure its effectiveness?

Essential Requirements

• You must be an Australian Citizen or Permanent Resident at the time of submitting your application to be considered for this role.

Closing Date: Wednesday 3rd June 2026

For more information, or to request an accommodation information, you can contact priscilla.dahdah@sydneywater.com.au

At Sydney Water, we are passionate about making a difference to the lives of our customers and communities. We have a proud heritage and progressive future providing world class drinking water and services that are vital to our customers’ quality of life and safeguarding Sydney’s future. We see the world is changing, so we are changing too.

Our vision is to create better lives through world-class services, and we believe that starts with our people. Our people and their jobs are as diverse as the communities we serve. Our diverse skills, mindsets and backgrounds work together on exciting and challenging projects that make a difference and help ensure Sydney remains one of the most iconic and liveable cities in the world.

We welcome and encourage applications from diverse backgrounds, including First Nations people, LGBTQIA+ people, people with disability, people with caring responsibilities, people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, and veterans.

As part of the application process, Sydney Water will be collecting your personal information to assess your suitability for the role. We will also use your personal information to establish a LiveHire talent profile in our Talent Community. We look at our Talent Community first when new opportunities come up when you apply for a role. Your personal information will be collected in accordance with LiveHire’s Terms, Privacy Policy and Sydney Water’s Privacy Collection Statement – Job Application.

Please see the position description for the role’s full accountabilities.