Senior Legal Adviser

About the Commission

The Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission (the Commission) is an independent statutory body with responsibilities under Victoria's key human rights laws - the Equal Opportunity Act 2010, the Racial and Religious Tolerance Act 2001, the Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006 and the Change and Suppression Practice Prohibition Act 2021.

Our vision is for a fair, safe, and inclusive Victoria where every person is respected and treated with dignity. We work with others to eliminate inequality and build a community that respects and promotes human rights and equal opportunity.

We are a small and buzzing organisation that embraces the VPS values - Responsiveness, Integrity, Impartiality, Accountability, Respect, Leadership and Human Rights.

We know that our work has the greatest impact when it is informed by diverse experiences and perspectives. All roles at the Commission can be worked flexibly and we highly encourage applications from underrepresented groups such as First Nations people, people from culturally diverse backgrounds and people with disabilities. We also encourage applications from applicants who represent intersectional views, attributes and perspectives and lived experiences of the diverse communities we support.

The Commission is committed to fostering a culturally safe and respectful workplace of all staff. We seek to prevent harm and recognise that our staff, communities' children and young people's rights, relationships, identity, and culture must be recognised, and respected, their voices heard, and their concerns acted upon.

For more information on working with us please visit

About the Role

Reporting to the Head of Legal within the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission (the Commission), the Senior Legal Adviser will provide high-quality legal and policy services to the Commission.

The role requires excellent legal analysis, policy and writing skills, and an ability to develop productive working relationships across government and with community stakeholders. Litigation and/or investigatory skills would be an advantage.

To learn more about this role before applying, please read the attached position description.

About you

To be successful in this role, you will have:

• Proven knowledge and/or specialist expertise in providing strategic legal advice and litigation management on time sensitive cases; regarding discrimination, vilification, change or suppression practices and human rights law.
• Demonstrated ability to provide authoritative legal advice in relation to in-house government legal issues (including privacy, Freedom Of Information [FOI], contracts and administrative law) or other types of complex investigations.
• Ability to assist with conducting interventions, investigations and compliance reviews; whilst monitoring the development of local jurisprudence.
• Prior experience developing productive relationships with stakeholders.

Qualifications

• Must be a Barrister or a Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Victoria; and hold relevant tertiary qualifications.

How to Apply

Please click the Apply button on this advertisement. Applications should include a resume and covering letter. Attachments can be uploaded in .doc, .docx, .pdf, .txt or .rtf formats.

The successful candidate will be required to undergo pre-employment checks which may include national police checks and misconduct screening.

If you require adjustments to the recruitment and selection process, or require an alternative format to any of the application material, please don't hesitate to get in touch with the contact person listed on this ad.