Head of Talent and Careers (12 month contract)

Kinetic is on a mission to improve the livelihoods of the communities in which we live and operate—moving people, enhancing communities and being an employer of choice.

As Australia’s largest bus operator, we’re shaping the future of mobility—and we’re looking for an exceptional people leader to help shape our future workforce.

The opportunity

As our Head of Talent and Careers, you will lead the national talent acquisition and people administration functions. You’ll drive the design, implementation and delivery of innovative recruitment strategies and programs including Women Up Front, Moving the Mob, apprenticeships, traineeships and cadetship pathways.

This role partners closely with senior leaders across Australia to understand current and future workforce needs, ensuring Kinetic attracts, engages and develops the best talent while supporting diversity, workforce planning and organisational growth.

This is a 12‑month fixed‑term opportunity — ideal for a strategic, people‑centric leader who thrives on impact, improvement and capability‑building.

What you'll be doing:

• Lead and guide our national Talent Acquisition team, cultivating capability and excellence.
• Develop and deliver a contemporary, future‑focused talent acquisition strategy for Kinetic’s Australian operations.
• Leading and strengthening the sourcing and recruitment for our Women Up Front and Moving the Mob programs to increase women’s and Frist Nations peoples ' participation and progression into frontline and operational roles.
• Embedding diversity metrics, targets and insights into workforce planning and talent strategies.
• Championing inclusive recruitment practices and ensuring hiring managers are equipped and accountable for delivering equitable outcomes.
• Own and evolve Kinetic’s Employee Value Proposition, ensuring it authentically reflects our culture, supports attraction and retention, and is embedded across recruitment, onboarding and employer brand activity.
• Oversee end‑to‑end candidate experience—from sourcing to onboarding—driving continuous improvement across processes and systems.
• Develop long‑term recruitment strategies for critical roles to minimise delays, enhance candidate experience and lift talent quality.
• Ensure recruitment assets including requisition workflows, job descriptions and competency checklists are up to date and high quality.
• Partner with senior leaders to provide data‑driven advice, market intelligence and proactive talent sourcing.
• Lead employment marketing initiatives in partnership with Communications and Marketing.
• Manage external talent partners, education providers and industry networks to improve reach and engagement.
• Oversee people administration, employment documentation, employee communications and record management.

About You

You’ll thrive in this role if you bring:

• Bachelor’s degree in HR, Business or related discipline, or equivalent experience.
• Significant experience managing high‑volume 360‑recruitment processes in complex environments.
• Outstanding communication, influencing and stakeholder‑engagement skills.
• Strong organisational and prioritisation capability.
• Analytical strength, using data to drive decisions at senior levels.
• A creative, collaborative mindset and experience driving process improvement and change.
• Strong digital literacy including MS Office and HRIS systems.

What We Value

At Kinetic, we look for leaders who:

• Display emotional intelligence, curiosity and strong communication.
• Unite people around a shared purpose and deliver on strategy.
• Hold high standards for talent and champion ongoing growth.
• Drive results, foster teamwork and lead continuous improvement.

Why Join Us?

You’ll have the opportunity to make a meaningful impact—shaping the future of talent, careers and people operations in a business that moves millions and enriches communities every day.

If you’re passionate about building diverse, capable workforces and creating pathways for future talent, we’d love to hear from you.

Apply today and help us move communities forward.