The Senior Legal Counsel role is responsible for providing legal advice across the Virgin Australia Group on a wide range of employment law and industrial relations issues, to represent the Group as an advocate in employment and industrial tribunals and to manage employment and industrial litigation matters on behalf of the Group.
The successful applicant is expected to provide strategic, commercial and timely advice to the business on a wide range of issues, be proactive in their approach to supporting the business, work autonomously, manage competing priorities, provide training and to assist colleagues, other members of the Group Workplace Relations team and other teams in relation to complex legal issues as required.
Key responsibilities:
- Manage litigation effectively and in a manner which minimises external legal spend and impact to the business as far as possible;
- Represent the Group in conferences and appear as advocate in employment and industrial tribunals (including the Fair Work Commission, Federal Court of Australia, Australian Human Rights Commission and state tribunals);
- Interact with the business and other members of the Workplace Relations and People Teams division professionally and respectfully;
- Keep the General Manager, Workplace Relations and and other executives updated in a timely and efficient manner on litigation matters and other matters of importance to the Group;
- Identify and proactively work to resolve employment legal issues arising across the Group, involving appropriate stakeholders as required;
- Identify and communicate in a timely way with the business and relevant stakeholders on employment and industrial relations law updates (including changes to legislation and case law) which impact on the Group;
- Design and deliver or arrange training to the People Team and the business on employment and industrial relations legal issues
About you:
Joining our team, you will have a minimum of 7 + years post admission experience in employment and industrial relations law including more recently in a senior position either at a law firm or in-house and have a broad experience which includes managing litigation and appearing as an advocate in employment and industrial relations tribunals.
Additional skills & experience:
- Advising on discrimination risks and complaints, employment entitlements, industrial issues, enterprise bargaining strategy, enterprise bargaining agreement interpretation, termination of employment, redundancy and restructures, managing complaints, executive employment issues and drafting policies and contracts;
- Strong communication and stakeholder engagement skills;
- An ability to work autonomously and effectively manage competing priorities;
- Strong problem solving skills
Virgin Australia Group is a major Australian airline group that operates domestic and international passenger services, charter and cargo services, and the award-winning loyalty program Velocity Frequent Flyer. The Group has been a competitor in the Australian aviation landscape for more than 20 years.
2021 is an exciting time for Virgin Australia as our tourism industry begins to recover from the impact of COVID-19. The Group took flight under new ownership last year, with a renewed sense of identity and focus on its mid-market heartland. We are ramping up our flying schedule as border restrictions ease, refreshing our offering to our core customers, and continuing to deliver the uniquely Virgin customer experience Australians know and love.
Ready to spread your wings?
Boarding for this opportunity won’t last long – register your interest today by submitting an application via the link.
Virgin Australia is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to creating an inclusive culture and supportive environment for our people.
A note from us to recruitment agencies
We politely ask that you avoid making any approaches or sending any unsolicited CVs to our Recruitment Team or Managers across the business. Virgin Australia is not responsible for any fees related to unsolicited CVs.