Senior Legal Counsel - Property

Sydney Airport; Sydney; On-site; AUD 180,000 - 260,000; Full time

Job summary

Sydney Airport is seeking a Senior Legal Counsel, Property to join our in-house team. You will provide commercially focused legal services on retail, commercial property transactions, development and environment matters, reporting to the Head of Legal Services.

The role emphasizes high-value transactions, proactive risk management, drafting, and stakeholder engagement across the business. A strong background in property law and a practising certificate are essential.

Qualifications

• Minimum 7 years post-admission legal experience in property law, from top-tier or mid-tier firms or in-house.
• Qualified lawyer with current practising certificate.
• Strong ability to balance commercial and legal risk.

Responsibilities

• Provide high quality legal services on retail and commercial property matters.
• Advise on development and environment issues and regulatory submissions.
• Draft occupancy agreements and correspondence; manage litigation.
• Coordinate with internal stakeholders and external advisers.
• Monitor regulatory changes and update templates.
• Review Board papers and cost-controls on external costs.
• Lead cost-effective engagement of external legal advisers.
• Support corporate policies and initiatives across the business.

Skills

Negotiation

Drafting

Stakeholder communication

Commercial acumen

Time management

Property law

Education

Law degree

Practising certificate

Job description

At Sydney Airport, the future of air travel is shaped by you.

As a team, we connect the world. More than just a hub of activity and boundless energy, we’re creating a destination of amazing experiences. Like seeing wonderful moments unfold in front of you, knowing "I made that possible!".

Dynamic. Fast-paced. We thrive in a place where fresh challenges land daily. Backed by positive and supportive team players and inspiring leaders, we adapt to change. Driven to grow. Owning every action. To do things better.

As smart, problem-solvers, we are always learning and growing. And that’s easier to do alongside passionate experts, as we collaborate across teams readily sharing our knowledge.

Each day is a new journey, as we bring an exciting vision to life. With significant capital investment in new, improved infrastructure, there’s never been a better time to expand your potential at Sydney Airport. The range of responsibilities and diverse pathways you can take on with us, are surprising.

We are SYD. United in the pride that comes with welcoming the world at Australia’s premier gateway.

About the role

We are currently seeking a highly skilled and experienced Senior Legal Counsel, Property to join our dynamic, high performing in-house legal team at Sydney Airport.

In this role, you will provide commercially focused legal services, relating primarily to property law. You will have the opportunity to work on interesting, complex and varied work, including high value and complex retail and commercial property transactions, and be a key member of a high performing, respected and valued legal team. You will also advise on environment and some planning matters.

Reporting to the Head of Legal Services, the successful applicant will work relatively autonomously with all levels of the business to ensure the most beneficial outcome for Sydney Airport.

Key Responsibilities:

• Provide high quality and efficiently delivered legal services in respect of retail and commercial property, development and environment legal matters, including providing advice, negotiating and drafting occupancy agreements and correspondence, litigation management, and government submissions.
• Proactively anticipate legal risks related to Sydney Airport's activities and inform key internal stakeholders.
• Prepare submissions to government on regulatory matters.
• Negotiate with third parties and their lawyers.
• Stay updated on legislative and regulatory changes and provide training to staff.
• Review Board and Board committee papers.
• Maintain and update legal templates.
• Monitor and contribute to the development of corporate policies and initiatives.
• Brief external legal advisors as needed, managing their services efficiently and cost-effectively to ensure the delivery of high-quality legal services.
• Monitor and manage external legal costs.Perform other duties as assigned by your manager.

What you’ll bring:

• Minimum 7 years post-admission legal experience in a top-tier or mid-tier law firm specialising in property law and/or experience in a similar in-house role.
• Law degree and current practising certificate.
• Commercial acumen with the ability to appropriately balance commercial and operations imperatives with legal risk.
• Demonstrated ability to act in high value and complex property transactions.
• Exceptional written, drafting and negotiation skills.
• Ability to communicate and build relationships with stakeholders at all levels.
• Ability to manage tight timeframes, competing priorities and pressure.
• Proactive, able to drive property projects.
• Preference for in-house experience (as employee or secondee).

What we offer

To find out more about the amazing work environment here at SYD, be sure to check out the Join us section of Sydney Airport's website, where you can also see more about our flexible culture and work practices, alongside our other Employee benefits, or take a look at our LinkedIn Sydney Airport: Life page.

Make it Amazing

SYD is an Equal Opportunity Employer and encourages all suitably qualified applicants to apply, including First Nations Australians, and people from culturally diverse backgrounds.