Head of Legal

Sigma Executive; Melbourne; On-site; AUD 180,000 - 280,000; Full time

Job summary

Sigma Executive is supporting a major Australian infrastructure organisation to appoint a Head of Legal in Melbourne. Reporting to the General Counsel, you will lead the legal function while staying hands-on with complex commercial matters.

You will mentor a national team, oversee governance and privacy issues, drive legal operations and AI-enabled processes, and provide strategic advice to senior leadership.

Qualifications

• Significant post-admission experience in a sophisticated corporate or in-house setting.
• Proven ability to lead and develop lawyers and legal teams.
• Broad commercial legal experience in infrastructure, energy, utilities or asset-intensive sectors.
• Strong commercial judgment balancing risk with business objectives.
• Experience advising senior executives and building trusted relationships.
• Ability to manage priorities and allocate work across a national team.
• Interest in legal operations, technology and AI to improve service delivery.
• Strong communication and stakeholder management skills.
• Collaborative, pragmatic leadership with a hands-on approach.

Responsibilities

• Lead, mentor and develop a dispersed team of legal professionals.
• Oversee workflow, priorities and allocation of legal resources.
• Remain actively involved in complex legal and commercial matters.
• Provide strategic advice to senior executives and stakeholders.
• Support significant commercial, infrastructure, procurement and operations matters.
• Oversee governance and company secretarial matters.
• Lead privacy and regulatory matters across the organisation.
• Partner with business on emerging legal, regulatory and risk issues.
• Drive improvements in legal processes and use of technology.

Skills

Senior in-house

People leadership

Commercial negotiation

Governance & compliance

Privacy knowledge

Regulatory affairs

AI in law

Stakeholder management

Strategic advisory

Corporate law

Job description

Our client is a major Australian infrastructure organisation with a significant national footprint and a diverse portfolio of critical assets.

Operating within a complex, highly regulated environment, the organisation works across major infrastructure, commercial and operational activities and continues to invest in its assets, technology and long-term growth.

As the business continues to evolve, an opportunity has been created for an experienced senior legal leader to join the organisation as Head of Legal.

About the role

Reporting directly to the General Counsel and forming part of the senior leadership structure, the Head of Legal will take responsibility for the day-to-day leadership and management of the legal function.

This is not a traditional Head of Legal role where you step away from the legal work.

You will combine people leadership, legal strategy and hands-on commercial legal advice, working closely with the General Counsel, senior executives and business leaders across a complex national organisation.

You will:

• Lead, mentor and develop a geographically dispersed team of experienced legal professionals.
• Manage workflow, priorities and resource allocation across the legal function.
• Remain actively involved in complex legal and commercial matters across the business.
• Provide strategic and pragmatic advice to senior executives and key business stakeholders.
• Support significant commercial, infrastructure, procurement and operational matters.
• Oversee corporate governance and company secretarial matters across a complex corporate structure.
• Provide leadership oversight across privacy and related regulatory matters.
• Partner with the business on emerging legal, regulatory and commercial risks.
• Drive continuous improvement across legal processes, systems and ways of working.
• Lead the adoption and integration of legal technology and AI to improve the delivery of legal services.
• Work closely with the General Counsel to continue developing the capability, structure and strategic direction of the legal function.

About you

This opportunity will suit an established senior in-house lawyer who enjoys leading people but still wants to remain close to the business and the legal work.

You will ideally possess:

• Significant post-admission experience within a sophisticated corporate or in-house legal environment.
• Demonstrated experience leading, mentoring and developing lawyers and legal teams.
• Broad commercial legal experience, ideally gained within infrastructure, energy, utilities, resources or another complex asset-intensive environment.
• Strong commercial judgement and the ability to balance legal risk with broader business objectives.
• Experience advising senior executives and building trusted relationships across an organisation.
• The ability to manage competing priorities and allocate work effectively across a national team.
• Exposure to corporate governance and company secretarial matters, although listed-company experience is not essential.
• An interest in legal operations, technology and AI and how these can improve the effectiveness of an in-house legal function.
• Strong communication, stakeholder management and influencing skills.
• A collaborative, pragmatic and solutions-focused leadership style.

Importantly, you will be someone who enjoys remaining hands-on. While this is a significant leadership position, the successful candidate will continue to provide substantive legal and commercial advice rather than operating purely as a people manager.

This is an excellent opportunity to step into a genuine legal leadership position within a major Australian organisation, working closely with an experienced General Counsel and playing an important role in shaping the future direction and capability of the legal function.