Interim Counsel / Senior Counsel

Go Fractional; Sydney; On-site; AUD 200,000 - 320,000; Full time

Job summary

Vow is seeking an experienced Counsel/Senior Counsel to cover parental leave on a fixed-term contract from Oct 2026 to July 2027. You will support day-to-day legal across the business, focusing on commercial contracts, regulatory matters, and IP, while collaborating with external counsel as needed.

The role is a hands-on generalist, coordinating with Commercial, Regulatory, People and Finance teams, ensuring timely contract execution and a smooth transition back to the permanent Legal Counsel.

Qualifications

• Admitted to practise law in Australia with current practising certificate (or eligible).
• 5+ PQE across in-house and/or private practice.
• Strong drafting, reviewing and negotiating NDAs, supply and customer agreements.
• Experience handling regulatory and IP matters in a regulated sector is an advantage.
• Proactive, pragmatic adviser who translates risk into practical guidance.

Responsibilities

• Draft, review and negotiate commercial contracts including NDAs, supply and MTAs.
• Support regulatory work and product approvals in new markets.
• Manage trademark portfolio with external IP advisers.
• Maintain contract templates and legal playbook for the business.
• Be the first point of contact for day-to-day legal questions and escalate when needed.
• Provide ad hoc corporate and commercial support and participate in WHSC.

Skills

PQE 5+ years

Commercial contracts

Regulatory exposure

IP/trademark management

Strong stakeholder comms

Ambiguity and action bias

Education

Australian practising certificate

Job description

The role

(We are open to this role being full or part time)

We're looking for an experienced Counsel / Senior Counsel to provide parental leave cover on a fixed-term contract, running 10 months from October 2026 to the end of July 2027. You'll be Vow's day-to-day legal support across the business, keeping our commercial, regulatory and IP work moving while our permanent Legal Counsel is on leave.

The focus is continuity. You'll pick up a live pipeline of commercial contracts and ongoing regulatory work as we expand into new markets, trade mark management, and the steady stream of ad hoc legal and commercial questions that come with a fast-moving biotech. You'll know when to resolve something yourself and when to route it to our external counsel, who will support on matters requiring specialist input.

You'll work closely with teams across the business, from Commercial and Regulatory to People and Finance, translating legal risk into clear, practical guidance. This is a hands-on role for a confident generalist who can hit the ground running with minimal onboarding and keep things running smoothly through to a clean handover.

The experience you will bring

• Admitted to practise law in Australia, with a current practising certificate (or eligible to obtain one).

• 5+ years' post-qualification experience (PQE), gained in house, in private practice, or a combination of both.

• Strong commercial contracts capability: drafting, reviewing and negotiating NDAs, supply agreements, material transfer agreements (MTAs), and customer and commercial agreements.

• Comfortable self-manging a varied workload and knowing when to escal...

• A pragmatic, commercial approach. You translate legal risk into clear, practical advice that helps the business move, not just a list of what could go wrong.

• Exposure to regulatory work is an advantage, ideally in food, health, biotech, or another regulated environment, particularly around product approvals and market entry.

• Familiarity with IP and trade mark management, including working with external IP advisers.

• Excellent organisation and prioritisation.

• Strong communication and stakeholder skills. You can explain risks and trade-offs clearly to non-lawyers at all levels of the business.

• Comfortable with ambiguity and a bias to action. You make sensible decisions with incomplete information and iterate.

You will

• Draft, review and negotiate Vow's commercial contracts, including NDAs, supply agreements, material transfer agreements (MTAs), and customer agreements with restaurants and commercial partners.

• Support Vow's regulatory work as we pursue product approvals in new markets, advising on the legal aspects of regulatory submissions and market entry.

• Manage Vow's trade mark portfolio and IP matters, liaising with our external IP advisers.

• Maintain and apply Vow's contract templates and legal playbook, keeping documents such as the tasting waiver current and fit for purpose.

• Act as the first point of contact for day-to-day legal and commercial questions from across the business, resolving what you can and referring specialist or complex matters to external counsel.

• Be a visible, accessible legal resource, so people across Vow know where to go for support.

• Keep legal matters organised and tracked, and provide regular updates on the status of key work to the business.

• Provide ad hoc legal support on corporate and commercial matters as they arise.

• Participate in and contribute to the Vow Work Health and Safety Committee (WHSC) in line with its charter.

What success looks like in this role

In your first few weeks you'll have got up to speed on Vow's live legal matters, the contract pipeline, our templates and playbook, and our external counsel relationships. You'll have met the key people across the business who rely on legal support, and picked up a clean handover so nothing drops during the transition.

By a couple of months in, you'll be running the legal function independently and confidently. Contracts will be turning around promptly, regulatory and IP work will be progressing, and the business will feel no gap in legal support. People across Vow will know you're their go-to for legal and commercial questions.

By the end of the contract in July 2027, you'll have kept Vow's legal work moving throughout the cover period, progressed matters cleanly, and prepared a clear, well-documented handover for the returning Legal Counsel. Files will be in order, matters will be up to date, and there will be no loose ends.