Senior Legal Counsel

The Royal Women's Hospital; Melbourne; Hybrid; AUD 121,000 - 134,000; Part time

Benefits offered by this job

Salary packaging benefits

Employer superannuation

4 weeks annual leave

Flexible, hybrid working

Job summary

The Royal Women's Hospital in Parkville is seeking a Senior Legal Counsel to provide expert, timely legal advice across medico-legal, privacy, consent, contract, health, research and governance matters within a high‑risk clinical environment.

A typical day includes advising hospital management, representing the hospital in litigation and regulatory reviews, coordinating with external counsel, assisting the FOI team, and drafting or negotiating agreements to protect the hospital’s interests while

Qualifications

• Current practicing certificate as an Australian Legal Practitioner issued by the Legal Services Board of Victoria
• Admitted as Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Victoria
• Minimum of 5 years post-admission experience in health law

Responsibilities

• Provide legal guidance to hospital management, staff and departments on a wide range of legal issues
• Represent the hospital in litigation, including VCAT, OVIC reviews, coronial investigations, settlements and mediations
• Manage and oversee relationships with external legal counsel and other service providers, ensuring cost-effective delivery
• Advise on FOI, patient confidentiality and information sharing, including release of medical records
• Conduct legal research and stay updated on health law developments to mitigate risk
• Provide legal literacy and training to staff on issues relevant to their roles
• Review, draft and negotiate contracts and other legal documents to protect the hospital’s interests

Skills

Legal advice

Medico-legal expertise

Litigation management

Privacy & FOI expertise

Risk management

Job description

Are you an existing employee of the Women's? If so, please log into SuccessFactors from the intranet and select Home > Careers to apply and view all available roles, including internal-only roles.

Part time (.5 FTE), 3 years fixed term role

Parkville location with flexible, hybrid working

$121,274 - $133,842 (pro-rata for part time) + salary packaging + super + 4 weeks annual leave

The Royal Women’s Hospital is one of Australia’soldest and most distinguishedtertiary hospitals dedicated to improving the health and wellbeing of women and newborns, offering specialised services within maternity, neonatal and women’s health. Our goal is to be the best place to work, learn and contribute, and to provide exceptional experiences for our patients and consumers.

About the team

The Office of the General Counsel ensures the Women’s operates successfully within the complex regulatory and legislative framework in which it delivers services. The role is responsible for providing full service legal advice across a range of strategic and operational issues with a focus on effectively managing legal risk.

About the role

As an Senior Legal Counsel you will play a key role in supporting the strategic and operational objectives of the Women's by providing expert, timely and pragmatic legal advice. You will work within a sensitive, high-risk clinical and research environment, the role addresses a wide range of legal issues, including medico-legal, privacy, guardianship, contract, health, reserach and governance matters.

A regular day will see you:

• Provide legal guidance and support to hospital management, staff and departments on a wide range of legal issues
• Represent the hospital in legal proceedings, including litigation, VCAT proceedings, OVIC reviews, coronial investigations, settlement conferences and mediations
• Manage and oversee relationships with external legal counsel and other service providers, ensuring cost-effective and efficient delivery of legal services
• Work closely with and support the FOI team, advise on patient confidentiality and privacy matters, including FOI compliance, information sharing scheme and release of medical records
• Conduct legal research and stay abreast of developments in health law and regulations to ensure compliance and mitigate legal risk
• Provide legal risk awareness and legal literacy through training and education to the Women’s staff on legal issues relevant to their roles and responsibilies
• Review, draft, and negotiate contracts, agreements, and other legal documents to protect the Women’s interests and minimize risk

About you

You’ll bring with you:

• A current practicing certificate as an Australian Legal Practitioner, issued by the Legal Services Board of Victoria and you are admitted to practice as a Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Victoria.
• Minimum of 5 years of post admission experience practicing law, preferably with a focus on health law.
• Strong expertise in medico-legal and Coroner’s Court litigation matters health law, privacy, FOI, and risk management
• Strong understanding of the legal framework of the public health sector and understanding of the social, ethical and financial issues associated with the delivery of public health services.

At the Women’s you will enjoy a culture that is collaborative, supportive and passionate about learning. We have a strong sense of purpose, and engage in meaningful work every day. We offer our people a range of rewarding benefits, including:

• Up to $11,660 in salary packaging benefits, for living expenses, meals and holiday accommodation
• A suite of wellness initiatives designed to support you, including discounted financial, lifestyle and health options, and a comprehensive wellbeing program
• Public transport options at our doorstep and end of trip facilities for cyclists
• Onsite post office, eateries, retail stores and library services
• Breastfeeding and pumping rooms, and a range of daycare centres nearby
• Mentoring, learning and career development opportunities
• Four weeks annual leave, 17.5% leave loading, monthly ADO’s and purchased leave options
• Flexible, hybrid working arrangements

Inclusion and belonging

The Women’s celebrates, values and supports a diverse and inclusive environment which reflects our vibrant community. We encourage applications from anyone identifying as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander. We also welcome anyone who identifies as LGBTQIA+, linguistically, culturally and/or gender diverse, people with disability, and people of any age to apply for our roles. We are committed to gender equity principles, and our people have an awareness of and sensitive approach to violence against women and family violence matters. We are proudly Breastfeeding Association accredited and, as a child safe organisation, have a strong commitment to child safety and wellbeing.