Senior Manager, Legal

Future Fund Australia; Melbourne; On-site; AUD 200,000 - 260,000; Full time

Job summary

Future Fund Australia is seeking a Senior Manager, Legal to lead the delivery of commercial contracting and provide senior legal support for investment transactions. Reporting to the Head of Legal, the role blends technical legal work with people leadership and pragmatic commercial decision‑making in a complex, purpose‑driven organisation.

You will oversee a team of Legal Counsel, ensure timely, consistent advice aligned with business priorities, and partner with Procurement and stakeholders

Qualifications

• Law degree recognised for admission to legal practice in Australia.
• Admission as a legal practitioner in an Australian jurisdiction.
• Experience supporting public and private market investment transactions.
• Experience leading and supervising legal professionals in a complex environment.
• Strong drafting, negotiation and contract review experience.

Responsibilities

• Lead delivery of commercial contracting and investment‑related legal advice.
• Provide senior legal support for public and private market transactions.
• Lead drafting, review and negotiation of complex contracts.
• Advise on procurement, technology, SaaS and cloud arrangements.
• Manage external advisers and legal expenditure.
• Partner with stakeholders to understand objectives and provide practical, commercial advice.

Skills

Stakeholder management

Drafting and negotiation

Legal analysis

Collaborative leadership

Education

Law degree recognised for admission to legal practice in Australia

Job description

Job Application Due Date

27/10/2026

About Future Fund

At the Future Fund, we’re for future minds – like yours. The new investors and creators who thrive on different thinking and doing it together. Those who glimpse opportunity before it strikes and step up every day to grab it.

The Future Fund is Australia’s Sovereign Wealth Fund, managing over $355 billion across seven public asset funds with the same purpose: growing Australia’s future. We are a global investor and work closely with world leading investment organisations to access the best investment ideas.

Where others see challenges, we see more interesting investment experiences. Every person, every skillset, every mindset is an asset. We’ve got every future generation to consider, yet our approach to investing is incredibly pure: we think about it deeply, and daily. Ours is a culture where great people grow the future together, with the rare ability to work collaboratively, think freely, and make a real difference.

Are you Futureminded? Let’s create what’s next.

The Opportunity

We are seeking an experienced and commercially minded Senior Manager, Legal to join our Legal team.

Reporting to the Head of Legal, this role has a balanced focus across two key areas: leading the delivery of commercial contracting legal advice and providing hands‑on legal support for public and private market investment transactions.

You will provide operational leadership across the commercial contracting function, overseeing Legal Counsel and ensuring advice is timely, consistent and aligned with business and investment priorities. You will also act as an escalation point for complex or high‑risk contracting matters and work closely with Procurement and stakeholders across the organisation.

Alongside these leadership responsibilities, you will remain actively involved in investment transactions, providing senior legal support across transaction structuring, negotiation and execution.

This is an opportunity for an experienced lawyer who enjoys combining technical legal work with people leadership, stakeholder engagement and pragmatic commercial decision‑making in a complex, purpose‑driven organisation.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the delivery of practical, commercially focused legal advice across commercial contracting and investment‑related matters.
• Provide senior legal support for public and private market investment transactions, including transaction structuring, negotiation and execution.
• Lead the drafting, review and negotiation of complex and high‑risk commercial contracts.
• Advise on procurement, technology, professional services, consultancy, data, software, SaaS and cloud arrangements.
• Act as an escalation point for complex or sensitive matters managed by Legal Counsel.
• Manage legal risk in line with the organisation’s risk appetite, policies and applicable legal obligations.
• Oversee external legal advisers and legal expenditure, promoting value for money and effective service delivery.
• Partner with business and investment stakeholders to understand their objectives and provide practical, commercially grounded advice.
• Build strong relationships with Procurement, business leaders, external service providers and relevant government agencies.
• Lead, coach and develop members of the commercial contracting function, supporting performance, capability development and workload prioritisation.
• Contribute to policy development, governance and continuous improvement across the Legal function, including areas relating to emerging technologies.
• Support compliance with applicable legislation, internal policies and the Commonwealth Legal Services Directions.

About You

You are a senior legal professional who combines strong technical capability with commercial judgement, a practical mindset and a collaborative leadership style.

You will bring:

• A law degree recognised for admission to legal practice in Australia.
• Admission as a legal practitioner in an Australian jurisdiction and eligibility to hold a practising certificate.
• Practical experience supporting public and private market investment transactions, including structuring, negotiating and executing transactions.
• Strong commercial contracting experience, including procurement, technology, consultancy, professional services, data, software, SaaS and cloud agreements.
• The ability to coach and guide other lawyers and quality‑assure their advice.
• Confidence acting as an escalation point for complex, sensitive or high‑risk legal matters.
• Experience managing legal risk and overseeing external legal advisers.
• An understanding of applicable legal and regulatory requirements, including the Commonwealth Legal Services Directions.
• Experience leading and supervising legal professionals in a complex or regulated environment.
• Strong stakeholder management, drafting and negotiation skills.
• The ability to analyse complex issues and provide clear, practical and commercially focused advice.
• A collaborative and approachable style, with the credibility to influence stakeholders across different levels of the organisation.

We Are For Everyone

At Future Fund, we are better for our differences. Every person, every skillset, every mindset is an asset. We want everyone to feel comfortable bringing their authentic selves to work. Which is why we’re looking for future minds like yours. Your past experiences help us expand our collective knowledge, add value and create something better. When doing your job means Australia has more money to invest in renewables, education, healthcare and medical breakthroughs – there’s a tangible impact to what we do. And we want you to be part of it.

Are you Futureminded? Learn more about us at our LinkedIn Life page.

The Future Fund acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of the lands and waters on which we live and work. We pay respect to Elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as we work to create meaningful change for reconciliation.