Deputy General Counsel

**Job no**: 504601
**Employment type**: Full Time
**Location**: Newcastle, Maitland & Hunter, Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne
**Categories**: Disability, Child, Youth & Family, Legal

**About the Organisation**

Make a real difference in the lives of vulnerable people in our community with this unique opportunity to provide both corporate expertise and community support. With a focus on people, not profit, Life Without Barriers’ corporate services team partners with our direct support staff, clients, and their families to ensure we continue our mission to change lives for the better. If a truly inclusive, collaborative, and fast-paced work environment sounds like your next career move, this is an opening not to be missed.

Life Without Barriers is a leading social purpose organisation of 8,000 employees working in more than 500 communities across Australia. We support children, young people and families, people with disability, older people, people with a mental illness, the homeless and refugees and asylum seekers. Join us and help us in breaking down barriers.

We want to employ people who reflect the diversity of our clients to ensure we can support each client's individual needs. We encourage people of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander background and people with disability to apply.

**About the role**

You will provide expert legal counsel and guidance to ensure compliance with relevant laws and regulations, managing legal and strategic risks and supporting Life Without Barriers’ in achieving its Purpose, Values and strategic objectives. You will manage significant, critical time-limited incidents as well as issues determined by the Chief Executive as needing a national coordination point, while ensuring advice and responses on behalf of the Office of General Counsel are aligned with governance best practice and legislative and non-legislative requirements.

Reporting to the General Counsel, you will support the chief legal advisor to the Chief Executive and Executive team while coordinating and liaising with key internal and external stakeholders on significant matters that may have regulatory, financial and reputational consequences for LWB in addition to providing high quality strategic and timely legal advice.

We are flexible to the location of this position and are committed to our employees having access to an office environment while enabling flexible work options.

**Key responsibilities**
- Provision of high quality, clear concise legal advice and expertise on complex and contentious issues within a highly visible organisation, enabling LWB to positively impact the lives of people we partner with.
- Act as key point of contact for parties involved in legal and risk matters, including internal managers, external agencies, and solicitors and family members.
- Support the General Counsel in providing strategic advice to relevant internal stakeholders on the best response approach to manage a designated critical incident or issue to ensure that LWB meets its legal and regulatory obligations in managing client related critical incidents.
- Report to the General Counsel, or directly to the Chief Executive and Executive Team in the General Counsel’s absence, on critical incident management on status, findings, lessons learned and recommendations for ongoing risk mitigation.
- support the General Counsel in working on significant projects for the Chief Executive that are conducted within the regulatory framework (such as Royal Commission) and where there are possible high-stake consequences for LWB.
- Maintain and develop positive working relationships with key external stakeholders, including Commonwealth and State regulatory bodies, sector and judicial stakeholders.

**Qualifications & experience required**:

- Tertiary qualifications in Law.
- Currently, or eligible to be, enrolled as an Australian lawyer on the roll of the High Court of Australia.
- Extensive experience as in-house counsel with specific expertise in a broad range of courts and tribunals.
- Must have a human rights approach and an ability to build relationships, engage and influence in a positive manner.
- Proven track record in undertaking work across multiple jurisdictions and particularly Children’s Court, District Court, Supreme Court, State and Commonwealth Administrative Tribunals, Coroners Court, Royal Commissions and Special Commissions of Inquiry will be useful.
- Significant experience providing high quality legal advice and representation to members of senior and executive leadership within a large-scale human services organisation.
- Demonstrated experience in effectively and appropriately communicating complex legal concepts to a range of audiences.
- Strong leadership skills, with the ability to build a shared understanding of, and commitment to LWB’s Purpose and Values.

**Benefits**
- Join one of Australia’s largest and leading social-purpose organisations with strong values and culture.
- Flexible working arrangem