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

• Contribute expert legal support, with a key focus on privacy and governance
• An indefinite position, in a flexible and supportive work environment
• Leverage your legal expertise to make a difference 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 Service.

CSIRO has an opportunity for a Legal Counsel to provide high-quality legal advice in the focus area of privacy and governance. 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 privacy and governance, 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 high-quality, practical legal advice and support, tailored to meet the requirements and circumstances of internal clients and taking into account CSIRO’s strategic objectives and compliance obligations.  
• Developing an understanding of the business, strategic objectives, external regulators, stakeholders, political context and relevant industry partners of CSIRO generally. 
• Demonstrating legal leadership through, amongst other things, the provision of pragmatic advice and support and active participation in relevant internal education, compliance programs and working groups.  
• Demonstrating FOI, privacy and information law leadership through, amongst other things, handling requests, providing practical advice and supporting and participating in relevant internal education, compliance programs and working groups.  
• Exercising initiative and influence to build relationships with key internal clients and positioning the Enterprise Legal Team as a “trusted advisor” in CSIRO.
• Generating improved solutions to complex problems and resolving complaints efficiently and effectively using creativity, reasoning and experience.
• Maintaining confidentiality when dealing with personal and commercially-sensitive information. 
• Other duties as directed.

Location: All Australian CSIRO locations considered
Salary: AU$121k - AU$142k plus up to 15.4% superannuation
Tenure: Indefinite, Full-time.
Reference: 89821

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 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 private, in-house and/or government legal practice, in the area of privacy and information law

Essential:

• Demonstrated strong and extensive technical knowledge and applied post-admission experience in public information law, in particular; 
  - privacy law, including provision of advice and support in relation to the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth), the Australian Government Agencies Privacy Code, privacy threshold/impact assessments, development and administration of privacy management plans, handling of privacy complaints and compliance with mandatory data breach reporting obligations; and
  plus demonstrated knowledge and experience in one or more of the following additional areas:
  - FOI law, including providing advice and support in relation to the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth), responding to requests, overseeing the internal processes to respond to FOI requests, considering and responding to referral and decision review requests and handling (on behalf of CSIRO) appeals by applicants to the Office of the Information Commissioner; or
  general information law, including provision of advice and support in relation to responding to Public Interest Disclosures, Ministerial requests, Senate Orders to Produce, Parliamentary questions on notice, subpoenas and litigation discovery orders.
• The ability to work effectively in a team environment, with the ability and confidence to work independently under minimal supervision.
• 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 develop strong relationships with internal/external stakeholders.
• A record of adherence to professional ethics and standards. 

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

3rd January 2023, 11:00pm AEDT.