- Join a world-class regulator and contribute to people and animal safety in Australia.
- Unique potential for work-life balance with relocation assistance and flexible working. Applications for remote working will be considered on a case-by-case basis in line with the APVMA Flexible Working Policy.
- Interesting and varied work in a small collegiate team.
- Two (2) positions available.
- Open to Australian citizens only.
Position summary
Do you enjoy working in a fast-paced collegiate environment, liaising closely with staff to achieve outcomes? Are you enthusiastic about utilising your strong legal and analytical skills in statutory interpretation and administrative law? Do you have a passion for developing and supervising junior legal officers, as well as the ability to deliver in-house legal training to support agency needs?
The Office of the Executive General Counsel assists the APVMA to deliver its statutory functions and exercise its powers in regulating agricultural chemicals and veterinary medicines in Australia, by providing expert legal advice and support, leading governance functions (including as secretariat for the Board), delivering APVMA’s compliance operations, facilitating and enabling legislative reform, strengthening operational capability, and enabling transparent engagement and communications. We work collaboratively to safeguard APVMA’s accountability, performance and public trust.
Under broad direction from the General Counsel, the Senior Legal Officer operates in a fast-paced collegiate environment, liaising closely with other staff to achieve agency outcomes. The position provides high quality, accurate legal advice and support to the Authority across all operational areas. The Senior Legal Officer will work directly under the General Counsel and will be provided with a wide variety of work involving statutory interpretation and administrative law.
The Senior Legal Officer will require strong legal and analytical skills, excellent communication skills, and experience in the key areas of law relevant to the APVMA in particular statutory interpretation and administrative law.
Working at the EL1 classification, the Senior Legal Officer will work with independence appropriate to that classification level, against established priorities, practices and methodologies to deliver quality legal outcomes.
Given the changing nature of the APVMA’s operating and legislative environment, the occupant will also need to develop an in-depth knowledge of the role and functions of the APVMA, retain an awareness of the legislation and legislative instruments administered by the Authority, and maintain expertise in relation to legal skills and legal system requirements.
More information on the position can be found in the Candidate Information Package below.
Our Ideal Candidate / Selection criteria
To be considered for these roles you will need the following essential criteria:
- Demonstrated ability to provide quality legal advice in a complex and sensitive environment with a strong focus on client service.
- Demonstrated ability to manage major programmes and contribute to strategic direction while maintaining an internal client focus.
- Sound knowledge of public administration with a particular focus on sound financial management and governance practices in the Australian Public Service.
- Strong people and negotiation skills, highly developed communication skills and the ability to work collegiately with a broad range of stakeholders from industry, government, and the wider community.
- Sound knowledge of and compliance with legislative frameworks, government decision-making and agency guidelines and regulations, solve complex problems and manage complex issues for internal and external stakeholders.
- Highly developed ability to work as part of a team, both giving and receiving feedback and working collaboratively to achieve common goals.
- Eligibility to obtain and hold a restricted Government practising certificate.
The following desirable criteria will also be assessed:
- Experience working as a lawyer within a Commonwealth legal and /or regulatory agency.
Contact Us
At the APVMA, we value your skills and potential. We provide a collaborative and growth-oriented environment where your contributions are recognized and appreciated. If the prospect of working for a world-class regulator sounds like you and you're ready to take the next step in your career, apply for this position today!
For further information on the position, please contact Paula Beaton, Senior Legal Officer on 02 6770 2560 or Paula.Beaton@apvma.gov.au.
We look forward to receiving your application and exploring the possibility of welcoming you to our team!
Please note that this role is being advertised as either ongoing or non-ongoing. If an offer of non-ongoing employment is made, the successful applicant could be employed for an initial period of up to 12 months, which may be extended in accordance with subsection 333E (1) of the Fair Work Act 2009. The merit pool established through this selection process, which is valid for a period of eighteen months from the date the vacancy was advertised, may also be used to fill future similar ongoing and non-ongoing vacancies.