Legal Counsel / Senior Legal Counsel - 18-month FTC

RWE Renewables Australia Pty Ltd.

To start as soon as possible, full time, fixed term

Functional area: Legal / Compliance

Your Role

We are seeking an experienced Legal Counsel / Senior Legal Counsel to join our Australian Legal Team for an 18-month fixed-term contract.

We are looking for an experienced, highly motivated and commercially minded legal counsel who is confident working across an international renewables business. You will be a member of the Australian Legal Team and will also work closely with Legal Counsel across OPEA’s European markets. You will build strong relationships with the business and other support functions to deliver practical, holistic and streamlined legal support.

Main Responsibilities

• Draft and negotiate major project contracts, including EPC, ECI, OEM supply, turbine supply, BOP, battery supply and integration agreements and other equipment and services contracts.
• Advise on procurement strategy, tender processes, contractor selection and contracting models, including EPC and split-scope arrangements.
• Provide legal and commercial advice throughout project delivery, including contract administration, variations, payment claims, extensions of time, delay, liquidated damages, defects, warranties, force majeure and change in law.
• Manage and advise on construction claims and disputes, including contractor claims, delay and disruption, defects, security of payment and dispute resolution.
• Support the business with construction and operational contracts and work closely with project teams to manage contractual risk and performance.
• Support project financing and partnering transactions, including lender due diligence, bankability reviews and alignment of project contracts with financing requirements.
• Assist with PPAs, CIS, grid connection arrangements and other key project agreements.
• Provide practical advice on Australian regulatory and grid-related matters relevant to renewable energy projects.
• Work with internal stakeholders and external counsel to deliver commercially focused legal solutions.
• Contribute to legal team initiatives including contract standardisation, precedent development and process improvement.

Role Requirements

Essential

You will be an experienced Australian projects lawyer with strong commercial judgement and a practical, solutions-focused approach.

You will have:

• At least 7 years’ post-admission experience.
• Australian legal qualifications and admission to practise in an Australian state or territory, or eligibility to obtain admission.
• Significant experience in construction, procurement and/or major project contracting.
• Experience across both front-end contracting and, favourably-viewed but not essential, back-end contract administration, claims and disputes.
• Experience with EPC and/or split-scope contracting, ideally in the energy, infrastructure or major projects sectors.
• Strong drafting, negotiation and contract management skills.
• commercial, analytical and communication skills, with the ability to work effectively with senior stakeholders and multidisciplinary project teams.
• A proactive, collaborative and business-oriented approach.
• The right to work in Australia and willingness to travel from time to time, including occasional international travel.

Preferred

The following is highly regarded, but not essential:

• Project finance experience, particularly lender due diligence and bankability requirements.
• Renewable energy experience (if not we expect experience in energy, infrastructure or other major projects environments).
• M&A experience.
• Experience in the commercialisation of energy.
• Regulatory experience, particularly familiarity with the NER.

This position may be based in Melbourne or Sydney with regular and frequent regional travel requirements to project sites. Regional locations will be considered for the right candidate.

Your Benefits

We’re committed to creating an inclusive and supportive workplace where our people can thrive, grow their careers and feel valued. Our benefits are designed to support you both professionally and personally, including:

• Hybrid and flexible working arrangements, as an accredited Family Friendly Workplace, supporting a healthy balance between work and life.
• Up to 26 weeks paid parental leave, plus additional paid leave for neonatal care, pregnancy loss, and fertility treatment.
• Opportunities for professional development and career growth, including professional memberships, learning and development, conferences, and study assistance.

A range of health, wellbeing, and financial benefits, including 24/7 Employee Assistance Program, private health insurance discounts, salary packaging, and novated leasing.

Apply with just a few clicks: ad code 93648, application period: [[cust_ApplicationDeadline]]

Any questions? Contact HR: Lee Harbin, [email protected]

We look forward to meeting you. Of course, you can find us on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and Xing, too.

We value diversity and therefore welcome all applications - regardless of gender, disability, nationality, ethnic and social origin, religion/belief, age, sexual orientation, and identity. #inclusionmatters

RWE Renewables Europe & Australia is a leading player in the renewable energy sector with over 30 years of experience. We currently operate onshore wind farms, solar plants and battery storage systems with around 5 gigawatts of installed capacity in our core markets in Europe and Australia.

Supported by a workforce of around 2,000 employees, we continue to expand our renewable generation capacity in a value-accretive way. Our expertise spans the entire project lifecycle: we develop, plan, finance, build and operate our projects. With a strong project pipeline, we are working with communities to create a long-term value for everyone, today and for the future.