Tweed Shire Council

Legal Services Officer

We are seeking a highly skilled and autonomous Legal Services Officer to join our Corporate Governance team, reporting to the Coordinator Property & Legal. This senior professional role involves managing a diverse and dynamic workload, requiring exceptional integrity, ethics, confidentiality, and diplomacy. The successful candidate will have strong interpersonal skills, highly developed communication abilities, and expertise in letter and report writing, as well as issue resolution. If you thrive in a fast-paced environment with shifting priorities and are committed to excellence in legal services, we encourage you to apply.

About the role:

• Manage a diverse and dynamic legal workload with shifting priorities in a highly autonomous role.
• Provide expert legal support within the Corporate Governance team, reporting to the Coordinator Property & Legal.
• Ensure a high level of integrity, ethics, confidentiality, and diplomacy in all legal matters.
• Utilise strong communication, letter and report writing, and issue resolution skills to support Council operations.
• Perform additional duties as directed, within the scope of the role, skills, and training.

What's on offer:

• a base salary ranging from $95,331 per annum with competency-based increments up to $109,716 per annum, plus 11.5% super
• 70 hour, 9 day fortnight
• training and development opportunities
• flexible work options for a healthy work/life balance
• generous employment conditions (we have too many to list - click here for more).

We are seeking:

• A Bachelor of Law degree and a current Legal Practising Certificate.
• Experience in providing legal advice to senior management on complex matters.
• Strong research skills, including legislative interpretation and the ability to present complex information clearly and objectively.
• Experience in property transactions, including purchases, disposals, compulsory acquisitions, leasing, and licensing.
• Knowledge of legislation and key legal issues relevant to local government portfolios.
• Excellent negotiation and commercial skills, with the ability to resolve land title issues and draft legally enforceable documents.

About us:

• Located on the picturesque far North Coast of NSW, bordering the Gold Coast.
• The Tweed is a vibrant, diverse location offering a lifestyle near the water, in a rainforest or on a farm.  
• Tweed Shire Council is committed to employment equity and diversity and encourages applications from people of all ages, abilities and backgrounds in both traditional and non-traditional roles.  We provide workplace adjustments for people with disability, and access to flexible work options. 
• Join an employer of choice. Professionals Australia (Local Government Engineers’ Association) has named Council the 2021 Employer of Choice for our great employment practices within NSW local government. 

Where it's located:

This position is based in Murwillumbah, and can be directed to work from any Council work site.

Position closes: 

Friday 28 at 12 noon sharp (NSW time).  Late applications will not be permitted.

Click here to view the Position Description 

TIPS for Addressing the Selection Criteria

Click here for more information on the Recruitment Process

Click here to view our Values

Pre-Employment Screening:

Tweed Shire Council conducts pre-employment assessments as part of its recruitment process. 

Job offers are not made until screening has been completed. Tweed Shire Council uses third-party providers to undertake:

• Pre-employment medical – some roles require a functional (physical) assessment, and all positions are subject to drug and alcohol screening (a positive test result means the recruitment process ends and your application will not be considered).
• Background screening - verifies that the information you have provided throughout the recruitment process is true and correct.  Click here for more information.

Reference Checks are undertaken by the panel. Your 2 referees should ideally be your current and most recent supervisors.  Your referees are not contacted unless you’ve been interviewed and are a preferred candidate.

How To Apply:

You must use your own email address, and not one used previously by another person that has applied for a position with council.

Once you start your online application, you cannot save and return to it later. 

1. Have your Resume document ready to go.
2. Fill out all questions below. Click 'Next'. 
3. You'll then be prompted to attach your resume and other documents (if applicable). Click 'Next'.
4. Review your application to confirm everything is correct. Click 'Confirm' to submit your application.

If you'd like to COPY and PASTE question fields into a separate Word document to work on over time, please find them listed below:

1. Do you hold a Bachelor of Law degree and a current Legal Practising Certificate? Please provide details.
2. Please describe your experience in providing legal advice to senior management. Provide an example of a complex matter you have advised on.
3. How do you approach legal research and legislative interpretation? Please share an example of how you have analysed and presented complex information clearly.
4. What experience do you have in property transactions, including purchases, disposals, compulsory acquisitions, leasing, and licensing? Please provide examples.
5. How familiar are you with legislation and key legal issues relevant to local government portfolios? Please describe how you have applied this knowledge in your work.
6. Please provide an example of a negotiation or commercial matter you have handled, particularly one involving land title issues or the drafting of legally enforceable documents.

SK97188A

OFFICE USE ONLY