Senior Legal Officer (Various Positions)

The Australian Government's Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water is hiring Senior Legal Officers in Canberra. The role involves providing legal services in areas such as environmental protection, energy, and climate change. Responsibilities include advising on commercial matters, managing litigation, developing legal strategies, and offering training. The position requires technical legal expertise and offers opportunities for professional development within a supportive legal division.
The Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water is seeking Senior Legal Officers in Canberra, Australia. The role involves providing high-quality legal services across various areas such as environment protection, energy, and climate change. Responsibilities include advising on commercial matters, managing litigation, developing legal strategies, and providing training. The position requires technical legal expertise and offers opportunities for professional development within a supportive legal division.
Who we are

The Legal 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 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.

The Legal 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.

Work across the Legal Branches includes:
• Advising on commercial matters including procurements, underwriting arrangements, funding activities, finance law and delegations (including work on key projects such as Marinus Link and Capacity Investment Scheme, as well as supporting the operations of the Australian Antarctic Division, water purchasing and ICT procurements).
• Providing legal advice on a broad range of issues including statutory interpretation and administrative law, regulatory actions and investigations
• 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 policies and delivering training to the department
• Coordinating freedom of information requests and providing privacy and secrecy advice
• Providing administrative and financial support services to the Division.

The Job

Senior Legal Officers draw on their experience to provide high quality legal services. These positions are leadership roles driving the vision and direction as set out by the Principal Legal Officers and the Senior Executive within the Legal Division.

In this role you will:
• Use your technical legal expertise to provide clear, concise, and practical legal advice that meets the needs of the client
• Work on complex and sensitive matters with a significant degree of autonomy
• Work in a team within the Division which specialises in a particular area of law, or which services a particular area of the department
• Ensure knowledge of and compliance with legislative, financial and administrative frameworks, government decision-making processes and agency guidelines and regulations
• Work with client areas to understand their business and be their main point of contact for their legal needs
• Settle routine and moderately complex work prepared by other lawyers
• Supervise and mentor junior lawyers where appropriate
• Help identify where external advice is required and prepare documentation seeking quotes and engaging external legal providers
• Assist the Principal Legal Officer with management of the team by making suggestions, contributing to team discussions, and identifying areas for innovation.

Knowledge and experience
• We thrive when our teams are made up of people from different backgrounds, cultures, genders, education, training, and skills.
• People who work for us will be collaborative, solutions-focused.
• Candidates will have a degree in Law and will be admitted to practise or eligible for admission to practise in 2024.

Skills and capabilities

The successful candidate will:
• Demonstrate technical legal expertise and provide clear, concise, and practical legal advice that meets the needs of the client
• Identify and analyse complex issues or problems, developing strategic advice or solutions which demonstrate sound judgement and an awareness of the context in which they are operating
• Understand priorities and adapt when those priorities change, take responsibility for their work load, and understand when to escalate issues
• Build effective relationships with internal and external stakeholders as a trusted in-house adviser
• Work collaboratively and cooperatively as a member of a team, contributing to ideas, coordinating projects, suggesting improvements, and leading and developing other team members as appropriate.

Flexible employment arrangements are available with the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water.