Senior HRBP, Commercial & Functions

Who are we:

With over 200 brands sold in nearly 180 countries, Diageo is home to some of the world’s most iconic drinks. From Johnnie Walker and Guinness to Tanqueray, Smirnoff and Don Julio, we craft brands chosen for life’s moments — from everyday connections to landmark celebrations.

Bring your talent, curiosity and ambition, and strive for your personal best alongside people who challenge, support and learn from each other. Together, as one outstanding team, we keep learning, improving and raising the bar for our brands, our business and each other.

Join us and play your part in making life’s moments mean a little more.

About the Function:

Human Resources is about shaping the experience of working at Diageo and helping our people learn and grow every day.

From attracting talent to developing careers, this team plays a central role in building a culture where people feel supported, challenged and able to grow. They work closely with teams across the business, bringing insight, care and commercial understanding to everything they do.

You’ll help create an environment where different perspectives are valued and where people can learn new skills and thrive, unlocking potential across a truly global organisation.

About the Role:

Our People & Culture team brings brilliant people together to deliver our Growth Ambition. This senior role partners Executive members across Commercial, Marketing and Finance, supporting around 200 employees from Sydney HQ. As a member of the Extended Leadership Team and second-in-command within People & Culture, it will help shape Diageo Australia through an exciting period of transition and growth.

Decision Making Authority:

• Owns the people strategy and annual plan for Commercial, Marketing and Finance, aligned to global/local principles and growth priorities.

• Operates as senior trusted advisor to Executive members, challenging constructively and shaping organisation choices.

• Leads end-to-end priority P&C projects and pillars, setting outcomes, governance, stakeholder engagement and execution.

• Owns talent for the function and enables decisions on talent, succession, leadership, culture, organisation design and workforce investment.

• Acts as second-in-command to the P&C Director where required, representing P&C in senior forums.

Function Complexity:

• Partners Commercial, Marketing and Finance from Sydney HQ, supporting around 200 employees in a fast-paced, matrixed business.

• Connects people strategy to growth, performance, brand, customer and financial outcomes.

• Supports a business transition requiring future-fit organisation design, capability building and culture leadership.

• Partners CoEs (Talent Engagement, Reward, L&D, OE, I&D) and offshore People Services (FirstPoint).

• Sydney HQ based under hybrid ways of working; limited interstate travels a couple of times a year.

Leadership Responsibilities:

• Senior individual contributor with significant enterprise leadership influence.

• Member of the Extended Leadership Team and key partner to Executive members across Commercial, Marketing and Finance.

• Acts as second-in-command within P&C, coaching peers and leading key priorities.

• Leads cross-functional P&C projects and pillars end-to-end, coordinating CoEs, leaders and stakeholders.

• Role models leadership, inclusion, collaboration and commercial judgement.

You will be responsible for:

• Leadership & Culture: Build leadership capability and team effectiveness, embedding performance expectations and approaches, inclusive leadership and a culture that supports growth.

• Talent & Capability: Shape talent, succession and capability plans with CoEs, deepening bench strength and accelerating development in critical roles.

• Organisation Effectiveness: Lead OE priorities including design, simplification, productivity, role clarity and ways-of-working for a future-fit business.

• Commercial Partnership: Translate business strategy into people priorities, using insight, data and commercial judgement to drive performance and growth.

• Projects & Change: Lead end-to-end P&C projects and change initiatives through clear governance, stakeholder engagement and adoption.

The required qualifications for this role are:

• Proven senior HRBP experience partnering Executive members and senior leadership teams in a complex, matrixed environment.

• Strong commercial acumen and ability to connect people strategy to growth, customer, brand and financial outcomes.

• Deep generalist capability across talent, OE, culture, leadership, performance and change.

• Experience leading end-to-end people projects or strategic HR pillars with measurable business impact.

• Understanding of the Australian employment landscape, people risk and ER matters.

• Confidence using HR systems and analytics (e.g., Workday, LMS, Power BI) to generate insights and track outcomes.

• Independent problem solver with strong judgement, pace, resilience and delivery orientation.

• Credible with Executive stakeholders; able to challenge constructively, coach deeply and build trust quickly.

• Strong commercial lens; curious about the business, close to the numbers and comfortable with growth and transformation.

• Thrives in a global matrix and delivers through others, connecting CoEs, People Services and business leaders.

• Hybrid working under our Flex Philosophy (circa 60% office/40% WFH); Sydney HQ based with limited interstate travel and occasional global time-zone flexibility.
  

Flexible Working:

Flexibility is key to our success. Talk to us about what flexibility means to you, so that you’re supported to manage your wellbeing and balance your priorities from day one. 

Rewards & Benefits:

At Diageo, we offer more than just a role— we offer an environment where you can thrive, grow and be recognised for your impact.

• Competitive reward – Market-leading salary, performance-driven bonus and industry perks

• Flexible ways of working – Hybrid working with no set office days, empowering you to balance work and life in a way that works for you

• Industry-leading family leave – Generous paid parental leave for all parents, along with support for life’s key moments

• Health & wellbeing – Comprehensive support including mental health resources, wellbeing initiatives and employee assistance programmes

• Career growth – Access to global opportunities, leading learning programmes and clear pathways for development

• Inclusive culture – A values-led, inclusive environment where you can bring your whole self to work

• Product perks – Employee discounts and experiences across our iconic portfolio

Commitment to Inclusion & Diversity:

Our purpose is crafting iconic drinks chosen for life’s moments. And it’s our people, with their different experiences, perspectives and talents, who make that possible.

We value diversity in its broadest sense and want everyone to feel they can belong, contribute and strive for their personal best. You’ll work alongside people with different backgrounds, experiences and perspectives — challenging, supporting and learning from one another as one outstanding team.

Together, we’re constantly learning and improving, combining the strength of our people, capabilities and iconic brands to raise the bar, grow and win. Wherever you join us, you’ll have the opportunity to contribute, make an impact and play your part in making life’s moments mean a little more.

Ready to bring your best? This could be your opportunity.

At Diageo, we pride ourselves on our fast paced, bold and agile culture. In order to ensure we’re supporting the performance ambitions of our team, applications for this role will close in 21 days.

Recruitment Scam Warning

Protecting candidates is very important to us. All communications regarding your application will come from an email address ending in @diageo.com. In our recruitment process, we'll never ask for money.