Special Counsel, Housing Growth

Mission Australia; Sydney; Hybrid; AUD 180,000 - 280,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Salary packaging

Not-for-profit salary packaging

Employee benefits

Counselling support

Volunteer opportunities

Job summary

Mission Australia seeks a Senior Counsel, Housing Growth to lead the legal aspects of housing development, acquisitions, and financing. You will guide complex transactions, advise on governance, and work across Property and Finance teams with external partners.

The role requires 10+ years of senior legal experience in property and finance, with a focus on social housing or not-for-profit sectors. Office-based in Sydney with flexible work arrangements and strong stakeholder engagement.

Qualifications

• Bachelor of Laws or equivalent legal qualification and a current unrestricted practising certificate.
• Minimum 10 years’ post-admission experience with senior-level property development or complex transactional law.
• Strong experience in property development matters, including development agreements and planning approvals.
• Expertise in complex financing arrangements and government funding.
• Experience advising on tender and procurement processes in regulated environments.
• Excellent negotiation, drafting and contract management skills.
• Strong communication and stakeholder management with senior leaders and Boards.
• Experience in social housing or not-for-profit sector highly regarded.

Responsibilities

• Provide expert legal and transactional advice across the housing growth pipeline.
• Advise on complex property development, construction and acquisitions.
• Provide specialist advice on financing structures including debt and subsidies.
• Support tenders and procurement activities, including government bids.
• Lead negotiations with government agencies, developers and financiers.
• Identify and manage legal risks across high-value housing transactions.
• Provide legal advisory support to Boards on governance issues.
• Build relationships across Housing Growth, Finance and Property.
• Contribute to continuous improvement of legal operations and precedents.

Skills

Communication

Negotiation

Contract drafting

Stakeholder management

Legal advisory

Leadership

Education

Bachelor of Laws

Job description

• Full-Time Permanent Role
• Location: Sydney, NSW with Work from Home Options!
• Great Salary + Super + NFP Salary Packaging
• Salary Dependant on Skills and Experience

Life at Mission Australia

When you join the team at Mission Australia, you become part of a community who are determined to end homelessness and ensure people in need can thrive. United by our Christian purpose and values, we advocate for a fairer Australia, to meet the growing needs of people across the country. Together we’re building hope and possibility for all.

Find out more about us and our purpose.

Your opportunity

Behind every new housing development is the opportunity to create more safe, secure homes and stronger futures for people and communities.

As Special Counsel, Housing Growth with Mission Australia, you will bring your senior legal expertise to some of the organisation’s most significant and complex housing transactions, providing strategic advice across property development, acquisitions, construction, procurement and financing.

Working collaboratively with Housing Growth, Housing and Property teams and key external partners, you will help navigate complexity, manage legal and commercial risk and enable the responsible growth of social and affordable housing, supporting our vision of an Australia where everyone has a safe home and can thrive.

Your key responsibilities will be to:

• Provide expert legal and transactional advice across the housing growth pipeline, including developments, property acquisitions and portfolio growth initiatives.
• Advise on complex property development, construction and acquisition matters, including development agreements, construction contracts, joint ventures and planning approvals.
• Provide specialist advice on complex financing structures, including senior and subordinated debt, government funding, blended finance and intercompany arrangements.
• Support complex tenders and procurement activities, including government and community housing bids, expressions of interest and requests for proposal.
• Lead and support negotiations with government agencies, developers, financiers, joint venture partners and other key counterparties.
• Identify and manage legal and commercial risks across high-value housing transactions, providing practical and proportionate solutions.
• Provide legal advisory support to Boards on housing growth, corporate structuring, governance and regulatory matters as required.
• Build trusted relationships across Housing Growth, Finance, Property and other functions, while effectively managing relationships with external legal advisers.
• Contribute to continuous improvement across legal operations, including precedents, guidance materials, legal technology and more efficient ways of supporting a growing housing portfolio.

Requirements for success

• Bachelor of Laws or equivalent legal qualification and a current unrestricted practising certificate.
• Minimum 10 years’ post-admission experience, with substantial senior-level experience in property development, infrastructure, structured finance or complex transactional law.
• Strong experience across property development matters, including development agreements, construction contracts, acquisitions, joint ventures and planning approvals.
• Demonstrated expertise in complex financing arrangements, including debt facilities, government funding and subsidies, intercompany arrangements, security and blended finance structures.
• Experience advising on complex tender and procurement processes, particularly within regulated or government-funded environments.
• Exceptional legal technical capability combined with strong commercial judgement and the ability to translate complexity into practical, risk-proportionate advice.
• Highly developed negotiation, drafting and contract management skills across complex, high-value transactions.
• Strong communication, influencing and stakeholder management skills, with the credibility to provide strategic advice to senior leaders and Boards.
• Experience within social housing, community housing, affordable housing or the not-for-profit sector, along with experience advising subsidiary or SPV Boards, will be highly regarded.

Before starting work with us, you will need to undertake a national police history check, qualifications, and referee checks, and have a clearance to work with children/vulnerable people.

Your benefits

To ensure our employees feel valued, empowered, and celebrated, we provide a range of employee benefits including:

• Rewarding work – every day you know you’re making a real difference
• Not-for-profit salary packaging, reducing your tax (details via AccessPay)
• Free external, confidential counselling and access to chaplaincy support
• Volunteering opportunities
• Opportunity to purchase additional annual leave
• Extra leave including: Mission Australia Thank You Day & Work Anniversary Day off

Our culture

Our innovative and inclusive culture will ensure you feel valued at Mission Australia as you help Australians in need and develop in your career.

We prioritise the safety and wellbeing of everyone, both within our team and the individuals we serve.

We are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive working environment. We actively support and encourage people of all backgrounds; gender, age, ethnicity, race, cultural background, disability, religion, and sexual orientation to submit an application and aim to ensure that the recruitment and employee experience is as accessible and inclusive as possible. So, whoever you are, if you’re skilled and actively support our purpose and values, you would be welcome at Mission Australia.

If you live with disability and require support to submit your application

, please email [e-mail] or visit our Careers page for additional contact details.

We strongly encourage applications from people who identify as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander.

For culturally safe support or assistance with your application, please contact us at [e-mail]

Find out more about a career with Mission Australia.

How to apply

Click ‘Apply’ and send your application today!

As a committed Circle Back Initiative employer, we will respond to your application.

Applications are shortlisted as they are received. Please apply as soon as possible to be considered. Thank you