Senior Legal Counsel- Employment

Take hold of a monster opportunity and join Australian Retirement Trust as our Senior Legal Counsel - Employment, where you'll influence workforce strategy, partner with senior leaders and deliver expert, pragmatic legal advice across complex employment and workplace relations matters in a high-impact environment.

Description

We're all about helping our members make the most of their money. And while they go after their goals, you can too. As a Senior Legal Counsel - Employment, you'll be a trusted advisor delivering strategic, solutions-focused legal advice across employment, industrial relations and people-related matters. You'll work closely with People & Impact and senior stakeholders to support workforce initiatives, manage legal risk and ensure compliance with legislative and regulatory obligations.

You'll play a key role in navigating complex employee relations matters, organisational change and disputes, while also contributing to broader corporate legal work aligned to our strategy. This is a role where your expertise and judgement will directly influence outcomes across the organisation.

This role is a permanent opportunity and is based in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne or Perth.

Responsibilities

Day to day, you'll:

• Provide expert legal advice across employment law, workplace relations and employee matters.
• Support complex employee relations matters including conduct, performance, investigations and grievances.
• Advise on restructures, redundancies and organisational change initiatives.
• Interpret industrial instruments and legislation to ensure compliance and mitigate risk.
• Support enterprise bargaining strategy, negotiations and documentation.
• Manage employment disputes and litigation including Fair Work Commission matters.
• Draft, review and negotiate employment-related contracts and agreements.
• Partner with People & Impact and senior leaders to deliver practical legal solutions.
• Instruct and manage external counsel to achieve effective outcomes.
• Mentor junior team members and contribute to continuous improvement initiatives.

Qualifications

It goes without saying you'll be a great communicator with top notch interpersonal skills. We'll also expect you to pick up problems and come up with quick, creative ways to solve them. It's quite likely you tick some of the following boxes too:

• You hold a law degree and a current unrestricted Australian practising certificate.
• Your experience includes extensive post-admission work in employment law.
• You'll bring deep knowledge of workplace relations, Fair Work and employment legislation.
• You're experienced advising on complex employee relations and organisational change matters.
• You have managed employment disputes and litigation with confidence.
• Your ability to influence senior stakeholders sets you apart.
• You'll excel at drafting, negotiation and delivering pragmatic legal advice.
• You're comfortable working closely with People & Impact teams and business leaders.

About us

Our 2.4 million members trust us to take care of over $330 billion in retirement savings. And we help them take charge of their finances and face the future with confidence. Our inclusive culture means you'll be valued and heard in a respectful workplace. We've created an environment where you can be yourself and do amazing work. It's that simple.

Everyone is welcome to apply. We value diverse thinking, cultures, perspectives, backgrounds, and abilities. Awaken your career at Australian Retirement Trust and apply now. Applications close 8th of July 2026.

We don't want to leave you with a monstrous wait. So, you'll hear from us after the closing date to find out whether you've made it through to the next round or not. Being fair and up-front is important to us - and recruitment is no different.

Why join us

Bring your potential to Australian Retirement Trust and unleash our monster possibilities:

• You'll get 14% super as standard, to help your future come alive.
• Build a career to be proud of through excellent training and development opportunities.
• Balance your work between in-person days at our purpose-built hubs and working from home.
• In the office, enjoy end of trip facilities, a yoga and multi-faith room, parent and carer rooms, quiet rooms, BrewHub coffee facilities, and collaborative team spaces.

We use technology, including artificial intelligence (AI), to support parts of our recruitment process - such as reviewing applications, supporting screening interviews, reference checking, and matching skills to roles. All final hiring decisions are made by people.

By applying, you agree to the use of these technologies as part of the recruitment process.