General Counsel & Company Secretary

Compliance & Risk Management Recruitment; City of Melbourne; On-site; AUD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Australian Mutual Bank seeks a General Counsel & Company Secretary to lead its legal function and provide governance support to the Board from Melbourne. This is a senior, influential role for an experienced leader with strong regulatory and commercial acumen.

You will advise the Board, manage major contracts and regulatory matters, and drive governance maturity across the organisation while partnering with senior management to enable strategic initiatives.

Qualifications

• Significant experience as General Counsel, Head of Legal, Deputy General Counsel or equivalent senior legal leader in a financial services or highly regulated environment.

Responsibilities

• Lead the organisation's legal function and provide strategic legal advice across the business.
• Act as a trusted adviser on complex legal, regulatory and commercial matters.
• Identify and manage legal risk while enabling appropriate commercial outcomes.
• Support the Board and governance framework, ensuring high-quality Company Secretariat activities.

Job description

Melbourne | Banking | Senior Legal & Governance Leadership

An established Australian Mutual Bank is seeking an experienced General Counsel & Company Secretary to lead its legal function and provide high-quality governance and Company Secretariat support to the Board.

This is a senior and influential appointment suited to an experienced General Counsel, Head of Legal or senior legal leader with strong experience operating within a regulated financial services environment.

The role will provide strategic and commercial legal advice across the organisation while also supporting the effective operation of the Board and its governance framework.

The Role As General Counsel & Company Secretary, you will be responsible for providing trusted, commercially focused legal advice across a broad range of corporate, commercial and regulatory matters.

Working closely with senior management and the Board, your responsibilities will include:

• Lead the organisation's legal function and provide strategic legal advice across the business.
• Act as a trusted adviser on complex legal, regulatory and commercial matters.
• Identify and manage legal risk while enabling appropriate commercial outcomes.
• Advise on financial services legislation, regulatory obligations and emerging legal issues.
• Manage significant commercial contracts, agreements, disputes and other corporate legal matters.
• Manage relationships with external legal advisers and ensure external counsel is used effectively.
• Provide advice and support to senior management on strategic initiatives and organisational change.
• Perform the responsibilities of Company Secretary and provide high-quality governance support to the Board.
• Advise directors and senior stakeholders on corporate governance requirements, directors' duties and related obligations.
• Maintain appropriate corporate governance frameworks, policies and statutory records.
• Support regulatory and statutory reporting requirements.
• Continue to enhance the maturity and effectiveness of the organisation's legal and governance capability.

About You

You will be an experienced senior legal professional with the judgement, commercial acumen and stakeholder capability to operate effectively with senior management and Board-level stakeholders.

Ideally, you will bring:

• Significant experience as a General Counsel, Head of Legal, Deputy General Counsel or equivalent senior legal leader.
• Strong commercial and corporate legal experience gained within financial services or another highly regulated environment.
• Sound knowledge of the Australian financial services regulatory environment.
• Experience within an APRA-regulated organisation is essential.
• Strong exposure to Boards, senior executives and corporate governance.
• Company Secretary experience or experience supporting Board and governance activities.
• The ability to translate complex legal and regulatory matters into clear, pragmatic commercial advice.
• Strong judgement and the confidence to appropriately challenge and influence senior stakeholders.
• Excellent communication and relationship-management skills.
• Relevant tertiary legal qualifications and current Australian practising credentials.

The Opportunity

This is an opportunity to take ownership of a broad senior legal mandate while developing a close working relationship with senior management, the Chair and Board.

The successful candidate will combine strong legal capability with commercial judgement, executive-level influence and credible Board governance experience.