The Director, People Operations with Sydney Local Health District is a senior leadership opportunity for applicants with strong experience in workforce operations, HR governance, and change leadership in large, complex organisations. This is a permanent full-time role based at Concord Repatriation General Hospital, with responsibility for district-wide workforce operational services including recruitment, establishment management, payroll interface and governance, HR systems administration, workforce reporting and operational workforce programs.
This role will suit someone who can lead at both strategic and operational levels. You need to be comfortable overseeing service quality, compliance, systems, reporting and continuous improvement, while also leading teams and building strong relationships with senior stakeholders. If you are working out how to apply for the Director, People Operations (Health Manager Level 5) role, the key is to show clear evidence that you have led complex workforce functions, improved systems and services, and delivered compliant, efficient outcomes at scale.
NSW Government applications are assessed against both the application instructions and the role requirements. That means you need to submit the right material in the right format and use strong examples that prove your capability. For this role, the targeted questions are central to the application, so your responses need to be specific, relevant and grounded in results. When you are ready, you can apply for this role here.
Below, we show you exactly how to approach this application, what the hiring team is looking for, and how to structure stronger responses for a senior NSW Health leadership role.
Contents
- Director, People Operations (Health Manager Level 5) role snapshot
- NSW Government application requirements
- Application requirements for Director, People Operations (Health Manager Level 5)
- NSW Government candidate requirements
- Candidate requirements for Director, People Operations (Health Manager Level 5) at Sydney Local Health District
- Example application structure for Director, People Operations (Health Manager Level 5)
- Help with your Director, People Operations (Health Manager Level 5) application
Director, People Operations (Health Manager Level 5) role snapshot
| Role Title | Director, People Operations (Health Manager Level 5) |
| Organisation / Entity | Sydney Local Health District |
| Job location | Concord Repatriation General Hospital |
| Job reference number | REQ656560 |
| Work type | Permanent Full Time, 40 hours per week |
| Total remuneration package | $173,345 – $193,906 per annum plus annual leave loading and superannuation |
| Closing date | 30 April 2026 |
| Official job ad | View the official job ad |
NSW Government application requirements
Application requirements matter because they are used to screen applications for compliance before the panel looks closely at suitability. In NSW Government recruitment, a strong candidate can still be disadvantaged by missing a required response, ignoring a format instruction or failing to address the questions properly.
For senior roles, the panel is looking for evidence that you can follow instructions, communicate clearly and present relevant examples in a structured way. Your application needs to do two things well. It needs to meet the process requirements, and it needs to show that your experience matches the capability and leadership demands of the role.
Application requirements for Director, People Operations (Health Manager Level 5)
For this role, you need to address two targeted questions in your application. These questions are a major part of how your suitability will be assessed, so they deserve careful, detailed responses that draw on your own leadership examples.
The targeted questions are:
- How do you ensure workforce operational services are delivered efficiently, consistently and in compliance with policy and industrial requirements and stakeholder needs in a large complex organisation.
- Describe your experience in change management, optimising data and technology to transform the employee experience of workforce services and the decision making of senior stakeholders.
No specific page limit, word limit or document format is listed for the targeted questions, so follow the online application process carefully. Usually, you’ll find a limit in the online application form of around 4000 characters per answer. Keep your responses focused, direct and evidence-based. You can read the full job ad, and start your application form here.
NSW Government candidate requirements
Candidate requirements are the skills, experience and capabilities the hiring manager wants to see demonstrated in your application. These are the points that should shape your examples, your language and the achievements you choose to highlight.
For a senior NSW Health role like this, the panel will be looking for evidence of scale, complexity, leadership judgement, compliance awareness and measurable improvement. Your examples should show what you led, what decisions you made, how you managed risk and stakeholders, and what changed as a result.
Candidate requirements for Director, People Operations (Health Manager Level 5) at Sydney Local Health District
| Requirement or capability from role | How to demonstrate it |
|---|---|
| Extensive experience leading workforce operations or human resources functions in a large, complex organisation | Use examples where you held senior responsibility for workforce operations, HR service delivery or a comparable function across a large workforce. Show the scale of the operation, the services you oversaw, the governance you applied and the outcomes you delivered. |
| Strategic leadership of district-wide workforce operational services | Show that you can lead beyond day-to-day administration. Include examples of setting direction, improving service models, aligning operations with organisational strategy and supporting broader service delivery priorities. |
| Delivery of efficient, consistent and compliant workforce services | Provide evidence of how you maintained service quality and consistency across multiple teams or business units. Explain how you used policy, legislation, industrial instruments, controls, escalation pathways, audits or service standards to ensure compliance. |
| Oversight of recruitment, establishment management, payroll interface, HR systems administration and workforce reporting | Demonstrate experience across several of these operational areas. Strong examples will show how you improved process flow, reduced errors, strengthened reporting, clarified accountability or improved stakeholder confidence in workforce systems and services. |
| Change management and implementation of new processes, systems and operating models | Use a substantial transformation example. Explain the problem, the change approach, how you brought people with you, how you managed risk and resistance, and what improved after implementation. |
| Use of data and technology to improve employee experience and support senior decision making | Show how you used workforce data, reporting tools, dashboards, system improvements or digital process changes to improve service access, speed, accuracy or insight. Include how senior leaders used the information to make better decisions. |
| Ability to lead and manage large teams and operational services | Give examples that show team leadership, service management, performance oversight and staff development. Include how you built capability, maintained accountability and created a positive team culture during periods of pressure or change. |
| Senior stakeholder engagement and expert advice | Demonstrate how you advised executives or senior leaders on workforce operations, governance, systems or reporting. Strong examples will show sound judgement, clear communication and influence across complex stakeholder groups. |
| Management of external service relationships | If relevant to your background, include an example of managing a major service provider or shared service relationship. Show how you monitored service quality, addressed issues, improved value and maintained accountability. |
Example application structure for Director, People Operations (Health Manager Level 5)
For this role, your main focus should be the two targeted questions. Treat them as your opportunity to show the panel how you think, how you lead and what results you have delivered in complex workforce environments.
Use examples with enough scale and detail to match the seniority of the role. A strong response will explain the context, your leadership actions, the governance or change approach you used, and the measurable outcome for the organisation, workforce or service.
| Question | What a strong response would include |
|---|---|
| How do you ensure workforce operational services are delivered efficiently, consistently and in compliance with policy and industrial requirements and stakeholder needs in a large complex organisation. | Explain your operating approach to workforce services leadership. Cover governance frameworks, service standards, policy and industrial compliance, quality assurance, reporting, escalation processes and stakeholder engagement. Use a real example that shows how you improved consistency and efficiency while maintaining compliance and meeting operational needs. |
| Describe your experience in change management, optimising data and technology to transform the employee experience of workforce services and the decision making of senior stakeholders. | Use a transformation example involving systems, process redesign, reporting uplift or service model change. Show how you identified the need for change, used data to shape decisions, implemented technology or process improvements, supported adoption and delivered better employee experience and stronger decision support for leaders. |
What the panel will want to see in your examples
- Clear evidence that you personally led the work, rather than simply being part of a broader project
- Examples with enough scale, complexity and stakeholder impact to match a senior district-wide leadership role
- Strong understanding of compliance, governance and industrial requirements in workforce operations
- Practical use of data, systems or technology to improve services and support executive decision making
- Measured outcomes such as improved efficiency, service quality, reporting accuracy, user experience or risk reduction
- Leadership behaviours that show judgement, collaboration, accountability and the ability to lead teams through change
Help with your Director, People Operations (Health Manager Level 5) application
This is a substantial leadership role, and the application needs more than broad claims about HR experience. The strongest applications give the panel clear, relevant evidence that the applicant can lead workforce operations at scale, manage compliance and governance, and deliver meaningful service improvement through people, systems and change.
Before you submit, go back through the official job ad and check that your examples speak directly to the two targeted questions and the core requirements of the role. Make sure each response is specific, outcome-focused and written at the right level of seniority.
If you want practical help, Team 3Thirty offers a free NSW cover letter template and professional application writing support from a government hiring manager. That support is designed to help you present your experience clearly, address the role properly and submit an application that is strong, relevant and well structured.
