Legal Officers

Legal Officer (APS3 - APS6) - $71,444- $103,145
- Chief Counsel
- Adelaide - SA, Brisbane - QLD, Canberra - ACT, Melbourne - VIC, Sydney - NSW

This is an exciting opportunity to be part of a growing legal practice in a newly established Commonwealth Department.

**Who we are**
The Chief Counsel Division is managed by the Chief Counsel and is comprised of both lawyers and non-lawyers. Together we are responsible for all legal services required by the department. We partner with the business areas of the department, the Executive, and the Secretary to identify and manage legal risk across the department and facilitate excellent legal outcomes for our clients. As a member of the Division you will be part of growing our legal practice and will be involved in interesting and important work which may span environment protection, energy, climate change and heritage, and on-ground operations in Commonwealth national parks and Antarctica.
Work we do includes:

- providing legal advice on a broad range of issues including statutory interpretation and administrative law, regulatory actions and investigations and commercial work and funding activities
- managing the department’s litigation across a broad range of matters including merits review, judicial review, regulatory enforcement, commercial disputes, and Work Health and Safety matters, in a range of Courts and Tribunals
- developing legal risk and mitigation strategies, particularly in areas of novel or complex work
- developing and coordinating legislation bids and processes, including drafting instructions for the department’s ambitious legislative reform agenda
- developing legal guidance resources and delivering training to the department
- coordinating freedom of information requests and privacy advice
- providing administrative and financial support services to the Division.

The Chief Counsel Division operates in a fast paced, exciting environment. We focus on ensuring our staff are supported and developed so that they are in the best position to take on and enjoy the challenges of the work. We provide competitive conditions and remuneration and provide opportunities for lawyers to either specialise or diversify their skills, while learning from and being supported by highly skilled senior lawyers.

**The Job**
Legal Officers undertake research and analysis of legal issues to provide accurate and clearly written advice, providing practical solutions and options. Legal Officers contribute positively to their team and the division, promote a unified team culture and support team diversity.

In this role you will:

- work on routine or moderately complex matters and be accountable for their work
- manage requests for legal advice by acknowledging the request, seeking further information as required, managing client expectations, and keeping clients informed of progress
- undertake research using appropriate research tools and databases, seeking guidance where needed, in order to provide clear, concise, and practical legal advice that meets the needs of the client
- ensure knowledge of and compliance with legislative, financial and administrative frameworks, government decision-making processes and agency guidelines and regulations
- engage with key clients and stakeholders to understand their business, the policy context, and their needs
- prepare documentation seeking quotes and engaging external firms to provide legal advice
- contribute to divisional and team activities, such as helping to arrange divisional training or activities, and helping to draft briefs and guidance material and provide input to reporting
- ensure that records management obligations are met, and that new files are opened for new matters
- contribute positively to section meetings
- liaise with other sections, external agencies and external stakeholders as necessary.

**What we are looking for**

**Knowledge and experience**

**Skills and capabilities**
- have a high standard of attention to detail, use initiative, meet deadlines and manage their workload efficiently and effectively
- have effective oral and written communication skills, building effective relationships with internal and external stakeholders as a trusted in-house adviser
- be flexible and adapt to changing priorities, and resilient and engaged when asked to adopt new practices
- understand when to escalate issues and be willing to learn and contribute to the resolution of those issues
- work collaboratively and cooperatively as a member of a team, contributing to ideas, coordinating projects, and suggesting improvements as appropriate.

**Mandatory qualifications**
Bachelor of Laws from an Australian tertiary institution

**For additional information, please read the Job Description below.