Legal Counsel

Location: Hybrid - CBD (World Square) and WFH
Commencement Date: Immediate start or by negotiation
Closing Date: Thursday, 28 March 2024
Capacity: Full-time, permanent
About the role
The Governance and Legal Directorate are responsible for overseeing Sydney Catholic Schools (SCS) governance framework, its legal and child protection functions, along with system-wide communications.
Legal Counsel is responsible for providing expert senior legal advice and the effective management of legal and contractual risks. The role reports to SCS General Counsel and supports SCS in understanding and meeting its legislative obligations. This role has operational and strategic responsibilities, including providing strategic support to the SCS General Counsel, supervising the legal work of SCS lawyers and paralegals, and mentoring and supporting their professional development.
Accountabilities will include, but are not limited to:

• having the necessary skills and experience to be a subject matter expert on all school-related law;
• representing the SCS Legal Team with internal and external stakeholders, representing SCS in the management of disputes, at courts and tribunals and liaising with regulators;
• mentoring and advising SCS lawyers and paralegals as their first referral point, including reviewing their work, advice and correspondence, working closely with the General Counsel to manage the day-to-day work of the team and identify and remediate operational and strategic legal risks to SCS;
• ensuring SCS compliance with regulatory requirements and advising the General Counsel and the Director of Governance and Legal on corporate advisory and corporate governance matters and identifying and escalating risks accordingly;
• providing quality, timely and independent legal advice to SCS leadership and staff;
• drafting and negotiating agreements and legal documents as required and other duties as directed from time to time.

Why work for Sydney Catholic Schools
In joining Sydney Catholic Schools (SCS), you will be part of the largest Catholic education
community in NSW, with a unified vision and shared resources, encompassing over 145 schools and over 74,000 students. We enable job mobility across the system, diverse career opportunities and an
extensive suite of professional development programs.
SCS is recognised for outstanding student achievement, with 9 schools in the top 100 of the HSC rankings and 17 schools placing in the top 150. We focus on enabling a quality preschool to post-school learning journey for every child, supported by a team of dedicated educators and caregivers.
In addition, we offer:

• a competitive annual salary of $179,799 plus superannuation;
• salary packaging of up to $15,900 annually;
• up to 25% discount on school fees for parents of SCS students;
• ongoing training and development opportunities;
• discounts on gym classes and memberships, activewear, healthy meals, and wellbeing products;
• ex-gratia leave between Christmas and New Year; and
• a generous Employee Referral Program.

About you
To be successful in this position, you must possess:

• a minimum of six years post-admission experience in law;
• demonstrated strong knowledge of corporation, commercial, employment and/or family law;
• a commercial and strategic approach;
• demonstrated ability to work independently and with a broad range of internal and external stakeholders;
• proven exceptional communication, interpersonal and relationship-building skills;
• proactive and results-driven, with demonstrated high attention to detail;
• proven track record of providing accurate and effective Legal Counsel;
• demonstrated exceptional negotiation and consultation skills;
• demonstrated strong leadership and relationship management skills;
• demonstrated exceptional time management skills, ability to prioritise competing demands and work effectively in a high volume environment;
• experienced in leading or mentoring others; and
• willingness to respect, support and uphold the mission, ethos and teachings of the Catholic Church and the values of Sydney Catholic Schools.

Application process
To apply for this position please click the APPLY button and follow the prompts.
To support your application, you will be required to provide the following:

• your current CV; and
• your cover letter.

If you encounter technical issues or for any general enquiries please contact the People & Culture Services team on (02) 9568 8297 (8am-5pm, Mon-Fri).
Statement of Commitment to Child Safety
Click here to access SCS' Statement of Commitment to Child Safety and join us in creating a culture of child safety and wellbeing.
Working With Children Check (WWCC)
This role is classified as child-related work and therefore requires a WWCC clearance prior to commencement of employment.