Legal Counsel (Work Health & Safety) - CSIRO - ExecutiveCareer

First listed on: 16 November 2022

Legal Counsel (Work Health & Safety)

 

Acknowledgement of Country

CSIRO acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the land, sea and waters, of the area that we live and work on across Australia. We acknowledge their continuing connection to their culture and pay our respects to their Elders past and present. View our vision towards reconciliation

The Opportunity

  • Provide expert legal support, with a key focus on work health and safety
  • An indefinite position in a supportive and flexible work environment
  • Leverage your legal expertise to be a trusted advisor at CSIRO

The Enterprise Legal Team is part of the Governance function within CSIRO’s Operations Group and is responsible for providing strategic legal advice and practical legal support to CSIRO’s Board, Executive, Business Units and Enterprise Support Services.

CSIRO has an opportunity for a Legal Counsel to provide high-quality legal advice in the focus area of work health and safety (WHS). You’ll support the requirements of internal clients, taking into account CSIRO’s regulatory compliance obligations and strategic objectives, and use your technical knowledge and experience to deliver accurate and solutions-focused legal services.

If you are an experienced legal professional with strong expertise in WHS, this role could be your next challenge. Bring your wealth of knowledge and experience to CSIRO; a purpose-lead organisation creating tomorrow today!

Your duties will include:

  • Providing legal advice, documentation and support in relation to a wide range of WHS matters including:
    Advice under the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Cth) and other regulatory regimes in respect of notifiable incidents, applicable duties, legislative interpretation, and the application of legislative requirements to the day-to-day activities of CSIRO staff.
    Managing interactions and investigations with regulators and other relevant stakeholders, primarily Comcare but also in relation to the highly-regulated areas of gene technology, biosecurity, radiation safety, chemical safety etc.
  • Providing legal services that are accurate, clear, timely, practical, risk-adjusted and solutions-focused and which take into account strategic priorities, applicable law and relevant CSIRO and Commonwealth policy considerations.
  • Developing an understanding of CSIRO’s strategic objectives, business operations, internal and external stakeholders, political context, relevant industry partners and regulatory interactions. 
  • Demonstrating legal leadership in the area of WHS through handling requests, providing practical advice and participating in relevant internal education, compliance programs and working groups.    
  • Building relationships with key internal clients to help position the Enterprise Legal Team as a “trusted advisor” in CSIRO. 
  • Contributing to the ongoing legal education of internal clients in legal areas, including WHS law.
  • Maintaining confidentiality when dealing with personal and commercially sensitive information. 
  • Other duties as directed.

Location: All Australian locations negotiable, with Canberra or Melbourne preferred. 
Salary: AU$121k - AU$142k plus up to 15.4% superannuation
Tenure: Indefinite, Full-time.
Reference: 90582

To be considered you will need:

Pre-requisites

  • A degree in law from an Australian tertiary institution, or a comparable overseas qualification, which is appropriate to the classification and duties of the Legal Counsel (Work Health & Safety) role.
  • A current Australian practising certificate or entitlement to hold an Australian practising certificate.
  • A minimum of approximately four years of post-admission experience, in the legal practice area of WHS, either in private, in-house and/or government role(s)

Essential

  • Demonstrated strong technical knowledge and applied post-admission experience in the legal practice area of WHS, including:
    - providing WHS advice and support to organisation staff in respect of research and other activities;
    - promoting and supporting compliance with relevant legislation, Government policy and organisational strategy; 
    - supporting the development and implementation of improved WHS policies, processes, guidelines, education programs and training materials. 
  • With limited technical supervision, the ability to work efficiently and effectively as a WHS legal adviser and, in partnership with relevant in-business teams, to support the legislative and regulatory compliance, strategic objectives and operations of CSIRO.  
  • Proven ability to anticipate and manage problems in ambiguous situations, develop appropriate solutions based on thorough evaluation and interpretation, and defend the conclusions with reasoned arguments.
  • High-level written and oral communication skills and the capacity to identify and influence critical stakeholders to gain support for new proposals/ideas/requirements.
  • Demonstrated ability to foster and develop strong relationships with internal and external stakeholders.
  • A record of adherence to professional ethics and standards. 

Desirable 

  • Post-admission experience advising on workers compensation, employment law, industrial relations, FOI and/or privacy law.
  • Post-admission experience working in or advising research organisations, universities, independent statutory agencies (State or Federal) or other government entities.

For full details about this role please review the Position Description

Eligibility

Applications for this position are open to Australian/New Zealand Citizens and Australian Permanent Residents. Appointment to this role is subject to provision of a national police check and may be subject to other security/medical/character requirements.

Flexible Working Arrangements

We work flexibly at CSIRO, offering a range of options for how, when and where you work. 

Diversity and Inclusion

We are working hard to recruit people representing the diversity across our society, and ensure that all our people feel supported to do their best work and feel empowered to let their ideas flourish. 

About CSIRO

At CSIRO Australia's national science agency, we solve the greatest challenges through innovative science and technology. We put the safety and wellbeing of our people above all else and earn trust everywhere because we only deal in facts. We collaborate widely and generously and deliver solutions with real impact. 


Join us and start creating tomorrow today!

How to Apply

Please apply on-line and provide a cover letter and CV that best demonstrate your motivation and ability to meet the requirements of this role.

Applications Close

23rd December 2022, 11:00pm AEDT