Legal Counsel

Acenda Life; Sydney; Hybrid; AUD 150,000 - 230,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid working

Wellbeing resources

Job summary

Acenda Group seeks a commercially minded lawyer to join its Corporate Legal team in a hands-on in-house role focused on life insurance, funds and investment management within a dynamic financial services business.

You’ll act as trusted advisor to senior leaders, delivering proactive legal support across product development, regulatory matters and commercial contracting, while navigating complex regulatory landscapes to enable growth.

Qualifications

• 3–7 years' PQE as a lawyer in financial services, funds or investment management.
• Unrestricted NSW practising certificate.
• Experience or exposure to superannuation, life insurance, or broader financial services.
• Commercially minded with ability to balance legal risk and business opportunity.
• Strong stakeholder engagement and ability to influence senior leaders.

Responsibilities

• Provide clear, commercially focused legal advice across life insurance funds and investment management.
• Partner with senior stakeholders to identify risks early and deliver practical outcomes.
• Support development and distribution of products while meeting legal/regulatory requirements.
• Contribute to key transactions, investments and strategic initiatives.
• Translate complex legal concepts into actionable guidance for non-legal teams.
• Strengthen governance and compliance with evolving regulatory obligations.
• Build trusted relationships across the business as a go-to investments legal expert.
• Collaborate within the Corporate Legal team to deliver high-quality support on multiple priorities.

Skills

Funds / investment management

Stakeholder engagement

Commercial acumen

Regulatory awareness

Superannuation exposure

Job description

At Acenda Group, everything we do is driven by a clear purpose: to help our customers and their families live, save and retire with confidence. We bring together some of Australia and New Zealand's most trusted life insurance brands. With over 176 years of combined heritage and deep expertise across our local markets, our Group includes Acenda Life, Resolution Life Australasia, and Asteron Life New Zealand. Backed by the global strength of Nippon Life, we are one of the largest life insurance businesses across Australia and New Zealand. More than two million customers rely on us for life insurance, wealth protection and retirement solutions that support their confidence at every stage of life. We're building an inclusive, dynamic and future focused business. Joining us means stepping into a period of integration and growth, where your work will help shape our future. If you're energised by change and motivated by purpose, this is your moment to make an impact.

The Opportunity

Join a dynamic Corporate Legal team and play a pivotal role in shaping the legal strategy behind an evolving financial services business. This is a fantastic opportunity for a lawyer to gain broad exposure across life insurance, funds, investment management, and superannuation within a commercially focused environment.

In this role, you'll act as a trusted advisor to senior leaders and key stakeholders, delivering proactive, solutions-driven legal support across product development, distribution, regulatory matters, transactions, investments, and commercial contracting. You'll be empowered to think strategically, influence decision-making, and help navigate complex legal landscapes while ensuring the business continues to innovate and grow.

We're looking for a commercially minded lawyer with experience in funds or investment management, ideally complemented by exposure to superannuation, life insurance, or broader financial services. Strong stakeholder engagement skills, a sharp eye for detail, and the ability to balance competing priorities in a fast-paced environment are essential.

This is an exciting opportunity to step into a hands-on, varied in-house role where your legal expertise will directly impact business outcomes. If you thrive in a collaborative, high-energy environment and are eager to broaden your scope across financial services, we'd love to hear from you.

How will you make an impact?

Provide clear, commercially focused legal advice that supports strategic business decisions across life insurance, funds, and investment management.

Partner closely with senior stakeholders to identify risks early and deliver practical, solution-oriented outcomes.

Support the development and distribution of products by ensuring legal and regulatory requirements are met without slowing innovation.

Contribute to key transactions, investments, and strategic initiatives, helping the business execute with confidence.

Translate complex legal and regulatory concepts into simple, actionable guidance for non-legal stakeholders.

Strengthen governance and compliance by proactively advising on evolving regulatory obligations.

Build trusted relationships across the business, becoming a go-to for investments legal matters.

Work collaboratively within the Corporate Legal team to deliver consistent, high-quality legal support.

Manage multiple priorities effectively in a fast-paced environment, ensuring deadlines are met without compromising quality.

Drive continuous improvement in legal processes, contributing to greater efficiency and value across the function.

About you

You are a qualified lawyer with 3-7 years' PQE, with a strong foundation in funds or investment management.

You hold an unrestricted NSW practising certificate.

You bring experience (or exposure) to superannuation, life insurance, or broader financial services, and are motivated to deepen your expertise in this space.

You're commercially astute, able to balance legal risk with business opportunity and provide pragmatic, solutions-focused advice.

You communicate with clarity and confidence; and can effectively influence and engage senior stakeholders.

You have a sharp attention to detail and consistently deliver high-quality, accurate work.

You're proactive, adaptable, and comfortable operating in a fast-paced, evolving environment.

You can work autonomously while also being a collaborative and supportive team player.

You build strong relationships with ease and are trusted as a reliable partner across the business.

You're highly organised, with the ability to manage competing priorities and meet deadlines in a dynamic setting.

Join us in building confidence- for our customers, our communities and each other.

Your work makes a real impact. Everything we do helps our customers and their families live, save and retire with confidence, and your contribution will directly support that purpose.

You'll help drive meaningful change. As an inclusive, dynamic and adaptable organisation, we offer a unique opportunity for you to grow while shaping the future of our organisation.

You'll feel supported and included. Our team culture is flexible, collaborative and people‑centred, with hybrid working to help you balance life and work.

By making things simpler. We help our people operate efficiently, adapt easily and spend more time on meaningful work that drives personal and organisational growth.

We celebrate success. Our incentive and recognition programs ensure great work is acknowledged and rewarded.

Your wellbeing comes first. We offer tools, resources and benefits that support your whole self, including additional lifestyle leave.

We celebrate the diversity of our customers and community, and we embed diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging into how we do business. We encourage applications from people of all backgrounds, cultures, experiences, and identities.

Should an applicant be the preferred candidate, background checks (including Federal Police Checks, Employment checks, ASIC banned and disqualified persons and Bankruptcy checks) will be completed prior to the candidate's employment being confirmed. The outcomes of the background checks do not automatically bar candidates, however they will be assessed against the inherent requirements of the position.