Career Opportunities: Lead Lawyer - Public Law Unit, HSL (4076)About the role This position is primarily accountable for leading a legal stream that provides specialist legal advice to support administrative decision making in the OHS context and OHS compliance activities.
The primary purpose of the Public Law Unit is to provide legal advice on WorkSafe's OHS administrative decision-making functions, conduct Coronial Inquests on behalf of WorkSafe and litigation involving administrative review of inspector decisions, and to maintain a liaison with the Coroners Court to support interagency operations.
The Unit also provides support to HSL's OHS & Operational Support Unit.
The OHS & Operational Support Unit provides end-to-end legal support in the development and operationalisation of occupational health and safety (OHS) law and policy.
It provides on-call legal advice to operational staff, provides legal advice to the business on the operational implications of legislative and policy decisions, assists in responding to stakeholder inquiries about matters of legal or operational policy, assists in developing and delivering training for operational staff, provides legal advice on the development of internal and external guidance documents and has conduct of legal proceedings to enforce inspector decisions.
Key accountabilities Lead a legal stream comprised of Senior Lawyers and Lawyers and mentor and work collaboratively with paralegals and administrative staff.
This includes working closely & collaborating with other Lead Lawyers, the Director of Health & Safety Legal and other key internal stakeholders, including WorkSafe's General Counsel.Provide operational support and direction to the employees in their stream, including development, support and day to day supervision of employees, as well as mentoring in the discrete jurisdictional and procedural issues that arise in administrative review litigation inquests and inquiries.
This includes support and development of both written legal and advice and court appearance work as a solicitor advocate.Identify and respond to high profile and sensitive matters which may carry organisational and/or reputational risk for WorkSafe.Ensure that legal advice prepared by the Unit aligns with WorkSafe's Strategic Priorities where appropriate.Provide instructions on litigation and resolution of matters in accordance with standing instructions, WorkSafe's Compliance and Enforcement Strategy, WorkSafe's Policy on Enforceable Undertakings, WorkSafe's obligations under the Victims Charter and the Victorian Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities.Actively advise on and, in some cases, oversee internal projects such as development or review of legislation, legal and operational policy, business strategy, internal and external guidance and training.Provide support to HSL's OHS & Operational Support Unit.About you You are a practicing lawyer with specialist knowledge of occupational health and safety law, public law and civil litigation.
You're an experienced leader with demonstrated experience leading in a legal environment.
You have strong communication and stakeholder engagement skills, which allows you to build and maintain strong relationships with a range of stakeholders both internal and external to WorkSafe.
Demonstrated specialist knowledge of occupational health and safety law, public law and civil litigation are required.
Familiarity with criminal law and procedure, human rights and privacy laws is preferred.Demonstrated experience in leading a professional team in a legal environment.Demonstrated experience in providing legal advice on sensitive matters in a compliance and enforcement context.Demonstrated experience in providing legal advice on the development of legislation, legal and operational policy and in an "on-call" capacity.Significant experience in conducting litigation, including in relation to the review of administrative decisions.Able to work as an effective member of a highly motivated, multi-disciplinary team, to meet timelines and effectively manage varying and complex workloads.Qualifications Admitted to practice as a Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Victoria with at least 7 years post admission experience.Admitted to practice as an Australian Lawyer.Eligible to hold a practising certificate as an Australian Legal Practitioner.Working with Us At WorkSafe, we aspire for every employee to feel connected, safe and valued in their team, for teams to feel valued in the workplace, and for WorkSafe to be valued in the community.
We believe that a diverse workforce is the key to delivering the best outcomes for the Victorian community and strongly encourage applications from all people, including First Nations people and people with disability, diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds, sexualities and genders.
What's next? Applications close at 11.00pm on Thursday 30th January 2025.
Click the link to apply, and join us in making a difference to Victorian lives.
Only people with the right to work in Australia may apply for this position.
You may be required to undergo a National Police Check (and/or Medical Assessment) as part of the recruitment process.
For further enquiries please contact Natasha Zaluski via email ******
About us WorkSafe's Strategy has our core purpose front of mind – reducing workplace harm and improving outcomes for injured workers.
We don't shy away from the importance of our purpose to the Victorian community, that's why we have a stated ambition to be world leading.
We want Victoria to be the safest place to work in Australia and one of the safest in the world; and we aspire to be a world leader in return to work after a workplace injury.
WorkSafe are striving to build a diverse workforce that reflects the Victorian community we serve.
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