People & Culture Manager

An Offshore Talent Solution Designed by Experienced Australian Accountants

Founded by David and Wei, two seasoned accounting practice owners from Melbourne, S&B Private reflects a deep understanding of the critical role a robust finance function plays in business success. As founders, David and Wei have gained unique insights into the triumphs and challenges of their clients’ outsourcing experiences. Frustrated by the inconsistent quality of accounting talent in Australia, they established an office in Colombo, Sri Lanka, in 2018. This initiative aimed to build a dedicated team of accountants to directly support their Melbourne-based practices.

Since its inception, S&B Private has grown significantly, developing a proven formula for recruiting and training well-rounded, technically proficient accounting professionals—regardless of location. The company’s success stems from its emphasis on technical expertise, commitment to education and development, deep cultural awareness, and mutual respect.

Purpose

This newly created role collaborates closely with the founders and leadership team to optimize business performance by aligning with S&B Private’s core values and fostering strong internal stakeholder relationships. These relationships will drive the development and execution of strategies that cultivate a positive, engaging workplace, enhancing people development, business capability, and the culture necessary to position S&B Private as a trusted, Australian-owned provider of offshore accounting solutions.

The role will influence the business through strategic advice, robust systems and policies, astute recruitment, and sound decision-making. The successful candidate will actively engage across the organization, championing new initiatives and serving as a change agent to implement them effectively. They will ensure appropriate support is provided, fostering a workplace where feedback is openly given and received.

Position Description

Core Values

• Be Knowledgeable
• Be Accountable
• Be Efficient
• Put Yourself in Their Shoes

Key Responsibilities

Recruitment and Selection

• Partner with the leadership team to develop and implement standardized recruitment practices and procedures that reflect the company’s core values and enhance the client experience.
• Create tailored interview guides for each advertised position.
• Oversee the end-to-end recruitment process, including analyzing client and company needs, drafting position descriptions, preparing interview guides, and managing job advertisements.
• Conduct reference checks for all new hires.

Onboarding of New Hires

• Develop and maintain a comprehensive, up-to-date onboarding process for all new employees.
• Manage the induction and onboarding process to ensure a seamless transition for new hires.

Performance Appraisals

• Contribute to the design and rollout of a new performance appraisal process.
• Assist in developing key performance indicators (KPIs) for each role.
• Review and update all position descriptions annually to ensure relevance and accuracy.
• Coordinate and monitor performance reviews, ensuring full business participation.
• Ensure the appraisal process identifies career goals, personal development opportunities, training needs, and alignment with core values and business objectives.

Strategic Planning and Implementation

• Develop and execute people and culture strategies aligned with the organization’s core values and business goals.
• Design and implement programs to foster a positive, inclusive workplace culture.
• Lead initiatives to enhance organizational culture and staff engagement.
• Ensure people and culture initiatives are engaging, collaborative, and maintain a high standard.

Employee Experience

• Enhance the employee lifecycle by creating a positive and engaging experience.
• Establish and implement best practices across all stages of the employee journey.
• Provide guidance to managers and staff on employment conditions, people management policies, and practices.

Talent Management and Development

• Oversee staff development and performance management processes.
• Facilitate training programs, including induction, customer experience, team building, and effective communication skills.
• Develop a leadership development framework to strengthen leadership capability and support succession planning.
• Collaborate with directors to design and implement a future leaders’ program.
• Coordinate learning and development initiatives with the directors.

Culture and Engagement

• Champion diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging at all levels.
• Foster a collaborative culture rooted in shared values.
• Promote and reinforce the company’s core values across the business.
• Encourage effective communication and strong working relationships.

Operational Support and Advice

• Provide high-level operational support and strategic advice to the leadership team.
• Advise on organizational change management and support its implementation.
• Contribute to a remuneration framework that guides directors in setting competitive salaries and benefits to attract and retain top talent.

Compliance and Legal Obligations

• Ensure compliance with HR policies, procedures, and legal requirements.
• Manage administrative aspects of employer-employee relationships, including employment agreements and related documentation.

CAPABILITY PROFILE

Formal Education

• Qualified – FCHRM/ACHRM/DPHRM/CQHRM/DHRM

Skills, Knowledge and experience

• Minimum 4 years senior HR leadership in fast paced environment.
• Senior HR leadership in high growth company.
• Experience in coaching, developing and training teams.
• Knowledge of competency-based recruitment.
• Experience of aligning HR/ Core Values and Organization Development strategies with overall business strategy.
• Broad knowledge of diverse employee relations/ employment law issues.
• Sound knowledge of HR strategies and tools developed in a broad range of environments.
• Conversant with modern HR Management theory, practice and trends.
• Proven ability to build and maintain strong stakeholder relationships.

Key Competencies

• Building and Maintaining Relationships.
• Continuous Improvement.
• Strategic Perspective.
• Results Orientation.
• Communication / Influence and Negotiation.

Definitions of Key Competencies

Building and Maintaining Relationships

• Able to establish and maintain relationships with people at all levels. Values and protects effective relationships with employees, customers and suppliers, as appropriate.  Builds harmonious and positive alliances with relevant professional contacts.

Continuous Improvement

• Seeks opportunities to improve processes and productivity. Continually looking for ways to make the business better rather than being satisfied with the status quo.

Strategic Perspective

• Helps to chart the long-term course of the business by evaluating key options, capabilities, threats and opportunities.  Establishes and implements operational plans aligned with strategic visions.

Results Orientation

• Take responsibility and accountability for achieving required actions and or outcomes.  Keen to complete tasks and see things through to the end. 

Communication / Influence and Negotiation

• Establish open communication channels.  Able to express own ideas and opinions in an appropriate manner.  Receptive to others’ communications.
• Persuades, convinces and negotiates to gain acceptance of ideas and/or courses of action.

MEASUREMENT CRITERIA

Relationship Building

• Stakeholder satisfaction including customer satisfaction with staff recruited.

Turnover

• Reduction in staff turnover.

Performance Appraisals

• Performance Appraisals are conducted in a professional manner and completed by due dates.

Recruitment and Onboarding

• Recruitment targets met and new staff successfully onboarded.

Strategy

• Completion of assigned projects within agreed time frames.

Talent Management

• Maintaining a personal professional development program.

• Attractive remuneration package for the right candidate.
• Direct exposure to foreign client base.
• Hybrid work arrangement - enjoy a healthy work-life balance with 3 days in the office and 2 days working remotely from home (working hours – 7.00am to 3.30pm SLT).
• Employee appreciation events, including staff birthday celebrations and regular team outings.
• Unused annual leave can be carried forward to the next year and flexible casual leave policy.
• Study support.