Principal Lawyer, Construction and Property Law Unit

Location: Melbourne | CBD

Job type: Full time / 3 years

Organisation: Department of Education

**Salary**: $134,593 - $180,115

Occupation: Legal

Reference: VG/PES/20014027

Providing legal advice and services to the Victorian School Building Authority (VSBA) and Victorian government schools, Principal Lawyers will be involved in varied and complex property and construction related matters.

**About Us**

The Department of Education (the department) is responsible for delivering and regulating state-wide learning and development services to approximately one-third of all Victorians across the early childhood and school education sectors. The department is also one of Victoria's biggest employers, with approximately 80,000 teaching staff and around 5,000 public service employees.

The Legal Division provides highly valued legal services to support the delivery of the department's strategic objectives, key reforms and to manage legal risk. In doing so, Legal Division provides direct, practical and strategic legal advice to portfolio ministers, the secretary, other senior staff and over 1,600 government schools, supporting approximately over 650,000 Victorian Government school students.

**About the role - fulltime, fixed term for 3 years**

A unique and exciting opportunity has arisen for an experienced property lawyer or construction lawyer with 5PAE+ to join the Construction and Property Law unit (CPLU) of the Department of Education (DE).

Providing legal advice and services to the Victorian School Building Authority (VSBA) and Victorian government schools, Principal Lawyers will be involved in varied and complex property and construction related matters.

**About you**
- You are commercially minded and provide high quality and practical legal advice.
- Highly organised, you can work with mínimal supervision, prioritise tasks and competing demands, and manage risk.
- You have excellent communication skills.
- You build strong interpersonal relationships and can manage stakeholder relationships.
- Bachelor's law degree with admission to practice law in Victoria (or ability to be admitted if role is offered) and minimum of 5 years PAE.

**Culture and Benefits**

The CPLU is a close team of construction and property lawyers responsible for providing legal support on a wide range of construction and property matters to DE.

We are focused on providing a workplace environment that is rewarding, enjoyable, healthy and productive for all employees, where contributions are valued and recognised, expectations are clear, and treatment is fair and equitable.

**Why join us?**
- **Flexible and hybrid working arrangements** — part time, flexible start and finish times, work from home to help manage your work and personal commitments.
- **Competitive salary** - Bi-annual salary increases in line with the Victorian Public Service Enterprise Agreement.
- **Diversity and inclusion** - As one of Victoria's largest employers, the department is committed to creating an organisation that is inclusive and ensuring it has a workforce that represents the community it serves.
- **Values** - The department has adopted the public sector values which are set out in the Code of Conduct for Victorian Public Sector Employees, which are Responsiveness, Integrity, Impartiality, Accountability, Respect, Leadership and Human Rights. DE's Values underpin how we interact with colleagues, learners and families, members of the community, suppliers and Government.
- **Employee assistance program** — for emotional, mental and general psychological wellbeing and support

**How to Apply**

Applicants are required to submit a CV and a cover letter summarising their skills and experience (no more than two pages).

For more details regarding this position, please see the attached position description. For a confidential discussion, please phone Craig Bowes, Director, Commercial and Legislation Branch, 03 7022 0959.

**Further Information**

For more details regarding this position please see attached position description.

Applicants requiring adjustments can contact the nominated contact person.

**Applications close** 11:59pm on Wednesday 4 December 2024.