Solicitor in Charge - Grade VI - Civil Law Service for Aboriginal Communities

Ongoing Full-Time position
Excellent opportunity for an experienced leader to provide leadership and management of CLSAC and collaboration with Aboriginal communities.
Based in the Central Sydney Office with travel as required to regional and remote areas


About us

Legal Aid NSW helps people with their legal problems. We can help people with most areas criminal law, family law and every day civil law legal issues. We give legal advice, help at court and do family dispute resolution. We can do this over the telephone or at one of our 28 offices.


About CLSAC

The Civil Law Service for Aboriginal Communities (CLSAC) is a dynamic interdisciplinary statewide team within the Civil Law Division, dedicated to providing targeted and holistic legal services to remote and regionally located Aboriginal clients and communities. Our interdisciplinary team offers legal assistance, caseworker support, financial counselling, and community legal education.


We collaborate with Aboriginal communities and community workers to empower them in addressing civil law issues and partner with various legal and non-legal services. Additionally, we run the Aboriginal Women Leaving Custody (AWLC) program, which supports Aboriginal women in custody by addressing their civil law needs, reducing housing barriers, and mitigating factors contributing to ongoing disadvantage.


About the role

Provide senior leadership and management of the Civil Law Service for Aboriginal Communities and contribute to the strategic direction of the Civil Law Division.


About you

Are you an experienced lawyer and manager with a passion for working with Aboriginal clients and communities? Do you have the capability to lead a large and diverse workforce and legal practice? If so, we want you on our team!


We are seeking a collaborative and strategic leader with a proven track record in establishing cooperative arrangements with both internal and external stakeholders. The successful applicant will bring innovative solutions and strong legal experience to help CLSAC achieve its vision of contributing to self-determining communities that are culturally and socially strong, healthy, and equipped to handle civil justice issues.


In this role, you will have the opportunity to:


Provide leadership and expert guidance to legal officers and other staff to ensure the delivery of culturally responsive, high quality legal services and compliance with Legal Aid NSW policies, guidelines and practice management standards.

Promote a collaborative team environment.

Develop, deliver, monitor and review service delivery plans

Manage change impacting the team

Manage resourcing and develop staff

Develop and maintain effective relationships with internal and external stakeholders

Contribute to strategic law and policy reform issues impacting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities

Contribute to the Civil Law Executive and leadership of the Civil Law Division

If you are committed to making a difference and have the skills and experience we are looking for, we would love to hear from you!


We may use this recruitment to create a talent pool for similar ongoing or temporary vacancies we have over the next 18 months.


WHY YOU SHOULD JOIN LEGAL AID NSW!


We are committed to diversity and inclusion


We are committed to creating a culturally safe and genuinely inclusive organisation and workplace for everyone who works and interacts with us. We strive to be a place where people from diverse backgrounds want to work, where voices and cultures are valued and where people feel valued, welcomed, respected and heard.


We want a workforce that reflects our clients, so we can deliver a service that meets the needs of the community. We welcome applications from people with diverse backgrounds — including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, people with disability, the LGBTQI+ community, culturally diverse people and other diverse communities.


We acknowledge, support and accommodate the diverse access needs of people with visible and invisible disabilities. If you need an adjustment to participate in the recruitment process, or you’d like information about what we can do to help you, please contact our team at erecruitment@legalaid.nsw.gov.au.


Other benefits of working with us


You will have access to training, development and mentoring opportunities.

We are an accredited Flex Ready certified employer and are recognised as leaders in the area of flexible work. Most of our staff work flexibly — for example, from home some of the time or in a way that helps them balance family and work life.

The essential requirements for this role


You must:

be admitted or be eligible for admission as a legal practitioner in NSW

be able to provide a current and unrestricted NSW Practising Certificate before you start work with us

Have legal qualifications

be willing to do a Criminal Record Check and Working with Children Check

hold Australian or NZ citizenship, Australian Permanent Residency (for ongoing vacancies) or a valid visa to work in Australia (for temporary vacancies)

Comprehensive understanding and knowledge of working with Aboriginal clients and communities

Driver’s Licence

Be able to travel to regional and remote areas

How to apply


You MUST submit your application online. If you submit your application late or by email it will NOT be accepted.


Your application must include:

your resume (no more than 5 pages)

cover letter (no more than 2 pages). In your cover letter, address the following 2 targeted questions:

Describe your approach to leading a diverse team of legal and non-legal staff to deliver best practice, culturally responsive legal services to Aboriginal people and communities.

Describe how your skills and experience will enable you to develop key relationships with internal and external stakeholders to improve service delivery to Aboriginal people and communities


Make sure your application is complete and you have answered all questions before you submit.


Do you need help to apply?

It’s important to properly prepare before you apply for a role. Here is some other information to help you:


If you have questions about the role, you can contact the Hiring Manager Jackie Finlay on (02) +21+ 5661or email: Jackie.Finlay@legalaid.nsw.gov.au

If you are an Australian Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander and are thinking about applying, you can contact the Aboriginal Services Branch to arrange a confidential conversation about any questions you may have.

The Role Description sets out the responsibilities of the role.

The focus capabilities and key accountabilities in the role description indicate what is expected at that level. Being familiar with these will help you understand what the panel will be looking for in the successful candidate.
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