Principal Consultant, HR Client Partnering

About This Opportunity

If you’re ready to elevate your HR career and shape the future of workforce excellence at a leading Australian university, this is the opportunity to make your mark! As the Principal Consultant, HR Client Partnering, you’ll be the trusted expert guiding leaders through the full employee lifecycle, from job design and classification to employee relations, organisational analytics, and workforce planning.

In this pivotal advisory position, you’ll shape high-quality HR practices across a diverse client portfolio, operating within a collaborative matrix model that enables you to contribute both locally and at scale across university-wide priorities. You’ll lead workforce insights, uplift manager capability, and steer complex case management with confidence, all while driving proactive, data-led HR solutions that enhance performance and employee wellbeing.

This is an exciting chance to step into a role where your expertise, judgement, and influence will help build a positive, forward-thinking workplace culture. Come join us and help shape the people experience that drives UQ forward!

Key responsibilities will include:

• Deliver expert HR advice across the employee lifecycle, including job design, classification, employee relations, and case management.
• Lead workforce analytics, providing data-driven insights to inform strategic workforce planning and identify trends and hotspots.
• Uplift leader capability through coaching, training, and support on performance, development, and complex people matters.
• Ensure policy and legislative compliance, providing clear guidance and conducting reviews and audits to support consistent HR practice.

About UQ

As part of the UQ community, you will have the opportunity to work alongside the brightest minds, who have joined us from all over the world.

Everyone here has a role to play. As a member of our professional staff cohort, you will be actively involved in working towards our vision of a better world. By supporting the academic endeavour across teaching, research, and the student life, you will have the opportunity to contribute to activities that have a lasting impact on our community.

Join a community where excellence is at the core of our culture, contributions are valued and a range of benefits and rewards are available, such as:

• Up to 26 weeks paid parental leave/paid primary care leave
• 17% superannuation contributions + 17.5% annual leave loading
• Access to flexible working arrangements including hybrid working options, flexible start/finish times, purchased leave, and a condensed fortnight
• Health and wellness discounts – fitness passport access, free yearly flu vaccinations, discounted health insurance, and access to our Employee Assistance Program for staff and their immediate family
• Career development opportunities –access to exclusive internal-only vacancies and our Study for Staff program
• On campus childcare options
• Affordable parking (from just $6.15 a day)
• Salary packaging options

About You

• Degree qualifications in HR, Business, Psychology or a related field, paired with extensive HR advisory experience in complex environments.
• Strong communication and stakeholder engagement skills, with the ability to influence and build credibility at all organisational levels.
• Proficiency in HR systems, data analysis and visualisation, with the ability to translate insights into actionable workforce recommendations.
• Demonstrated experience managing performance, conduct and employee relations matters with sound judgement and professionalism.
• A commitment to staying current with contemporary HR practices, applying innovative and evidence-based approaches to people challenges.
• Ability to work both independently and collaboratively, using structured problem-solving to navigate sensitive and high-stakes HR issues.

The successful candidate may be required to complete a number of pre-employment checks, including right to work in Australia and a criminal check

You must maintain unrestricted work rights in Australia for the duration of this appointment to apply. Employer sponsored work rights are not available for this appointment.

Questions?

For more information about this opportunity, please contact Chelse Dunne at chelse.dunne@uq.edu.au

For application inquiries, please reach out to the Talent Acquisition team at talent@uq.edu.au, stating the job reference number (below) in the subject line.

Want to Apply?

We welcome applications from all individuals and are committed to an inclusive and accessible recruitment process. To be considered, please ensure you upload:

• Resume
• A cover letter summarising how your background aligns with the 'About You' section

Our strength as an institution lies in our diverse colleagues. We're dedicated to equity, diversity, and inclusion, fostering an environment that mirrors our wider community. We're committed to attracting, retaining, and promoting diverse talent. If you require an alternative method to submit your application due to accessibility needs or personal circumstances, please contact talent@uq.edu.au.

Other Information

UQ is committed to a fair, equitable and inclusive selection process, which recognises that some applicants may face additional barriers and challenges which have impacted and/or continue to impact their career trajectory. Candidates who don’t meet all criteria are encouraged to apply and demonstrate their potential. The selection panel considers both potential and performance relative to opportunities when assessing suitability for the role.

Applications close Thursday 16 April 2026 at 11.00pm AEST (R-63123). Please note that interviews have been tentatively scheduled for the week of the 20th of April. Applications will be reviewed as received. Candidates may be interviewed prior to the job closing date. We encourage candidates to apply as soon as possible. The University of Queensland reserves the right to close this application process early.