Senior Legal Counsel

Defence Housing Australia is looking for two Senior Legal Counsel to join our Legal Services Team in providing legal advice and assistance to the Chief General Counsel and other staff on a broad range of legal matters affecting DHA. These positions can be based in Canberra, Melbourne or Adelaide, depending on the preference of the successful applicants.  

About your team:
Defence Housing Australia (DHA) is a corporate Commonwealth entity that is a Government Business Enterprise. DHA has two shareholder ministers – Ministers of Defence and Finance. DHA was established to provide housing and housing related services to the Australian Defence Force and their families.

Working as part of the Legal Services team, Legal Officers provide legal advice and assistance to the Chief General Counsel, General Counsel, and other staff on a broad range of legal matters affecting DHA. DHA Legal Services’ mission is to enhance DHA’s operations through our role as a trusted advisors within the business. In giving legal advice, we adopt the approach, “simplicity on the other side of complexity”.

While each staff member has their own primary responsibilities and duties, staff must be team-focused and responsive to changing issues and priorities.

The key duties of the position include:

As a Senior Legal Counsel, you will be expected to provide advice on a broad range of legal matters including dispute resolution, administrative and government law, leases, commercial contracts (drafting and advice) including design and construct development contracts.

We are particularly interested in candidates with backgrounds in any of the following: planning and environment law; general commercial and contract law; real estate and property; dispute resolution, or general government / public law. 

For this role, you will be required to:

• Demonstrate ability to provide high quality legal advice on matters relevant to the work.
• Demonstrate ability to work effectively both independently and as part of a team.
• Demonstrate ability to build proactive working relationships with internal and external stakeholders.
• Demonstrate excellent written communication and interpersonal skills.
• Hold a degree from an Australian tertiary institution or comparable overseas qualification, be admitted in Australia as a legal practitioner and be eligible to hold and maintain a practicing certificate (including a restricted practicing certificate) in the jurisdiction in which they practice.

Eligibility

Employment with DHA is conditional on successful applicants demonstrating that they are an Australian citizen, meeting the required medical standards, and obtaining and maintaining a security clearance at the required level.

Notes

Remuneration:
An Individual Flexibility Arrangement (IFA) may be considered for the successful candidate(s), in recognition of the specialist skills and expertise required for the roles.

Benefits of this role include:

• 15.4% superannuation
• Work-life balance
• Generous leave entitlements 

For more detail on what we offer, visit the Defence Housing Australia website.

How to apply:
Apply now via our online careers site with your current resume and a 500-word pitch, as outlined in the position description. We recommend you read the Australian Public Service Commission’s Cracking the Code guidance on how to write your response. Additionally, you should consider the expected behaviours described in the Australian Public Service Commission’s Integrated Leadership System at this role’s level.

Order of merit:
Any merit pools established from this merit-based process will be valid for 18 months from the date of advertising. This merit pool may be used throughout this period to fill similar positions in the event positions become vacant.

Inclusion and Diversity:
DHA is committed to building an inclusive and diverse workforce. We welcome applications from across our community including, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, women, people with disability, people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, those who identify as LGBTIQ+, ex-defence members, mature aged employees and carers.

Applications close: AEST 11:55 pm 3 July 2024

Getting to know the Defence Housing Australia

At Defence Housing Australia, we provide quality housing and related services to Defence members and families. In doing this, we support the operational, recruitment and retention goals of the Department of Defence. To meet our Defence housing obligations, we are active in Australian residential housing markets, acquiring and developing land, and constructing and purchasing houses. Our staff are located in 19 offices in regional centres and nearby Defence outposts throughout Australia.