Senior Legal Counsel - Commercial

MAKE IT AMAZING

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 team and the role

The Government Relations, Sustainability and Legal (GSL) business unit supports Sydney Airport across a broad range of corporate and operational matters. The Legal Team, which sits within GSL, provides end-to-end legal support to the business, including contracting, dispute resolution and compliance advice.
We are seeking an experienced Senior Legal Counsel (Commercial) to join our high-performing in-house legal team at Sydney Airport.

In this role, you will provide commercially focused legal services across a diverse range of commercial matters, supporting primarily the Aviation Growth & Group Strategy team which is responsible for managing commercial relationships with SYD’s airline customers and identifying and driving strategic growth opportunities. You may also assist the Commercial and Operations teams. You will deliver timely and cost-effective legal advice either directly to the business or through the management of external legal advisors to support strong commercial outcomes.

This is a broad and varied role offering exposure to high value and complex commercial contracts including with SYD’s airline partners, strategic transactions, marketing activities, technology and data-sharing arrangements and commercial initiatives that help shape the future of Sydney Airport.

Reporting to the Head of Legal Services, you will work with a high degree of autonomy while collaborating closely with Legal Counsel and stakeholders across the business. You will build strong relationships with senior leaders and business partners, while also engaging with external advisors, airlines, customers, contractors, consultants and government agencies as required.

In this role, you will have the opportunity to

• Provide timely, proactive and commercially focused legal advice across a broad range of commercial matters, including drafting and negotiating contracts, advising on high value transactions and strategic initiatives, preparing correspondence and supporting dispute resolution processes
• Partner with stakeholders primarily in the Aviation Growth & Group Strategy team, and also the Commercial, Operations and other business functions to support commercial outcomes
• Negotiate directly with counterparties and their legal representatives to achieve practical and commercially balanced outcomes
• Identify, assess and manage legal risk across Sydney Airport's operations and strategic initiatives
• Gain exposure to  technology, data-sharing, consumer law, and marketing activities across the business as required
• Monitor legislative and regulatory developments impacting Sydney Airport and provide practical guidance to stakeholders
• Deliver training, workshops and presentations to build legal awareness and capability across the organisation
• Review and update legal precedents and templates to ensure they remain current, practical and written in plain English
• Manage external legal advisors, monitor legal spend and ensure external matters are appropriately scoped and cost effective
• Contribute to continuous improvement initiatives within the Legal function and broader business processes

About you

• Hold a law degree and current practising certificate
• Bring significant post-admission legal experience, ideally 7+ years, advising on a broad range of commercial legal matters
• Demonstrate strong commercial contract drafting, negotiation and advisory experience
• Have experience supporting senior stakeholders and providing practical legal advice within a commercial environment
• Experience in an in-house legal team or as a secondee to a commercial organisation will be highly regarded
• Apply strong commercial judgement and balance business objectives with legal and regulatory risk
• Demonstrate highly developed interpersonal and communication skills, with the ability to deliver clear, practical legal advice through a commercial lens
• Manage a large number of competing matters and stakeholder priorities in a fast-paced environment
• Communicate clearly and effectively and build trusted relationships with a wide range of internal and external stakeholders
• Adapt to changing business needs and work collaboratively within a small, high-performing legal team
• Bring initiative, energy and a genuine desire to partner with the business to achieve commercial outcomes

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.