Our team

Justice Connect believes in a world where legal support is within everyone's reach. In the face of rising levels of unmet legal need, our 2028 strategy sees us put people first, innovating to build our communities' skills, knowledge, and confidence, and grow access to legal support.

Our Not-for-profit Law program provides free and low-cost legal help to community organisations, particularly those that are smaller, volunteer-run, or working with communities experiencing disadvantage. We support these organisations across a broad range of legal issues, from governance and charity law to employment, privacy, and work health and safety, so they can focus on the work that matters most to the communities they serve.

We're looking for a senior legal leader who brings deep expertise in not-for-profit law and a genuine commitment to supporting community organisations. You'll thrive in this role if you're someone who gets satisfaction from lifting the capability of a legal team, maintaining high standards of legal quality, and finding ways to increase the impact of legal services for the sector.

Justice Connect values flexibility. While this role is advertised as full-time, we will consider reduced FTE for the right candidate and are open to discussing how the role can be structured.

Our ideal candidate

You will bring to the team experience in the following areas:

• Legal leadership and supervision, with the ability to supervise lawyers, review legal advice, and oversee legal practice quality across a program.
• Strong technical legal expertise and understanding of legal issues affecting not-for-profit organisations, particularly those that are smaller and/or volunteer-run, including governance, charity law, employment, privacy, and WHS.
• People leadership experience, with a track record of managing, motivating, and developing staff and volunteers.
• Clear communication and training skills, including the ability to provide plain-language legal advice and deliver training to non-legal audiences.
• Strategic thinking and collaboration, with the ability to identify service improvements, influence others, and work collaboratively across teams.

Required qualifications:

• Australian legal practitioner.
• Eligible to hold a principal practising certificate.
• At least 5 years of unsupervised practice.

Expertise that would further support our team:

• Experience in law reform and advocacy work.
• Experience working or volunteering in a not-for-profit or social enterprise.
• Experience delivering legal training to non-legally trained audiences.

Candidates will need to demonstrate commitment to Justice Connect's vision, strategy and values.

What you will achieve in the role

In this role, you'll work to:

• Maintain a high-quality legal practice by overseeing legal advice, legal accuracy, and file quality across Not-for-profit Law.
• Support and develop the legal team, including through professional development, supervision of legal work, and coaching of lawyers and secondees.
• Support community organisations to access legal help by overseeing intake, eligibility, and referral pathways and supporting effective legal service delivery across Justice Connect's 50+ member law firms.
• Contribute to sector and law reform outcomes through legal research, advocacy, and attendance at stakeholder and sector forums and events.
• Shape organisational and strategic initiatives by contributing to practice management, organisational learning, and strategic opportunities for service delivery.

A week in this role

This is a senior legal leadership role focused on maintaining legal quality, supervising and developing lawyers, guiding service delivery strategy, and ensuring community organisations receive high-quality, timely, and practical legal support.

If you were here last week, you would have:

• Reviewed complex legal advice and provided supervision and guidance to lawyers on matters involving governance obligations and charity law compliance.
• Assessed client enquiries, eligibility decisions, and pro bono referrals to Justice Connect's member law firms.
• Met with lawyers and secondees to coach, support, and develop capability.
• Reviewed legal training materials and resources being developed for community organisations.
• Conducted legal research and contributed to a law reform submission on an issue affecting the not-for-profit sector.
• Participated in a Justice Connect practice management discussion and identified an opportunity to improve legal service delivery for the sector.

What we offer

If you want your next role to have purpose, support your growth, and help you build meaningful connections, Justice Connect is the place to work.

We're committed to creating an environment where people thrive. Our benefits include:

• A flexible hybrid working model (minimum 40% in-office across the month)
• Salary packaging to make part of your income tax-free
• Ongoing learning and development opportunities: face-to-face, online, and on demand
• 5 weeks annual leave (pro rata), leave loading
• Gifted leave between Christmas and New Year over the end-of-year closure period
• 15 days paid personal leave per calendar year (pro rata)
• 10 days paid study leave per calendar year (pro rata)
• 5 days paid, and 5 days unpaid cultural leave per calendar year (pro rata)
• Access to Employee Assistance Program (EAP) support for you and your immediate family
• Free flu vaccinations
• An inclusive and diverse culture that values continuous improvement, innovation, and sustainability

Salary

$135,669.48 per annum (pro-rata depending on FTE) + 12% superannuation + 17.5% annual leave loading

As a not-for-profit, Justice Connect is able to offer salary packaging, which allows you to enjoy part of your salary tax-free, increasing your take-home pay.

• Up to $15,900 per year on everyday living costs, including rent, mortgage, groceries, bills and personal loan repayments
• Up to $2,650 per year on meals and entertainment

Our salary packaging partner, Smart, will assist successful candidates in setting up and managing their arrangements.

How to apply

Please upload your resume and a cover letter outlining your skills and experience that will help you achieve success in this role.

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis as they are received.

Important role information

• Reports to: Manager, Not-for-profit Law
• Collaborates with: Not-for-profit Law Head, Managers, Lawyers, Paralegals, and Justice Connect Practice Management Group
• Location: Level 5, 446 Collins Street, Melbourne or Level 5, 175 Liverpool Street, Sydney (hybrid working model, 40% time in the office across the month)
• Employment type: Full time, ongoing (reduced FTE considered)
• Hours: 37.5 hours per week (1 FTE)