Senior Manager, Legal Policy

About this role

• Drive legal policy ad legislative reform
• Ongoing opportunity to work with a high-performing and passionate team in the Victorian Public Service
• VPS Grade 6: $142,790 - $191,084 plus superannuation

The Department of Justice and Community Safety is seeking a Senior Manager, Legal Policy to provide a critical role within Policy and Strategy team.

About the Business Unit

Corrections Victoria (CV) is part of the Department of Justice and Community Safety (DJCS) and is responsible for the direction, management and operation of Victoria's adult corrections system, including both community and custodial corrections.

Policy and Strategy is a business unit within CV. Our mission is to drive systemic improvements in the corrections system by providing strategic, evidence-based advice. Policy and Strategy work closely with other CV business units to deliver a modern corrections system that is focused on human rights, rehabilitation and community safety. Policy and Strategy live the Victorian Public Service values in its work, with an emphasis on improving outcomes for people in contact with the system, and fostering a workplace culture that is kind, respectful and effective.

The Legal Policy Team, within Policy and Strategy, delivers legal policy advice and legislative and regulatory reform for the corrections portfolio to strengthen community safety, improve outcomes for CV clients and workforce, meet legal obligations, and manage systemic legal risks. 

About the Role

The Senior Manager, Legal Policy is responsible for leading and managing the Legal Policy team, driving legal policy and legislative reform for CV, and providing authoritative oversight across the team's work program. This includes people management responsibilities such as setting team direction, managing workloads and performance, and building team capability and wellbeing. The role also leads the development and coordination of new legislative and policy proposals, and the preparation and quality review of detailed and complex advice, reports and briefings.

The role operates within a complex and dynamic environment that requires a capacity to exercise sound judgement, and the ability to proactively develop and maintain effective relationships with key stakeholders, using influence and negotiation skills to support the provision of clear advice to support effective, timely actions.

Core to being successful in this role will be your ability to understand new subject matter quickly, demonstrate appropriate initiative, and your capacity to write accurate, timely and audience-appropriate documents and briefings.

Some of your duties will include:

• Lead, manage and develop the Legal Policy team, including setting clear direction, managing workloads and priorities, establishing performance plans, providing regular feedback, and supporting the professional growth and wellbeing of all team members.
• Provide high level, technical and authoritative strategic and innovative legal policy advice to departmental executives, Ministers and Cabinet on highly complex and potentially sensitive matters.
• Lead the development of legal policy to support operational service partners within CV.
• Lead, oversee and quality-assure the delivery of high quality and authoritative written materials by the team, including solutions focussed policy papers, reports, briefings, papers and presentations on legal policy and program issues and options for senior management, departmental executives, government and other key stakeholders.
• Proactively build and maintain positive relationships with key internal and external stakeholders and facilitate a partnership approach to working across the department, across government and with the community.

To learn more about this role before applying, please read the attached position description.

About you

To be successful in this role, you will have:

• Sound knowledge of and/or experience in Victorian government administrative processes, including Cabinet and legislative processes.
• Proven track record in providing public sector legal policy advice within a complex social policy environment.
• Knowledge of current policy direction, research and issues within corrections and the criminal justice system more broadly, or the ability to understand these issues quickly.
• Strong conceptual, policy and analytical skills with ability to analyse complex operational, policy and legal issues.
• Demonstrated experience in stakeholder engagement, including the ability to build and maintain productive working relationships with senior internal and external stakeholders, negotiate effectively, and influence outcomes across government and the community sector.
• Proven experience in people management, including leading and developing a team, managing performance, supporting wellbeing, and creating an inclusive team environment that enables staff to perform at their best.

Qualifications/requirements

• A tertiary qualification in law is highly desirable for this role.

How to Apply

Please click the Apply button on this advertisement. Applications should include a resume and covering letter. Attachments can be uploaded in .doc, .docx, .pdf, .txt or .rtf formats.

The successful candidate will be required to undergo pre-employment checks which may include a Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Check (NCCHC) and misconduct screening.

If you require adjustments to the recruitment and selection process, or require an alternative format to any of the application material, please don't hesitate to get in touch with the contact person listed on this ad.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION:

CHILD SAFE STATEMENT OF COMMITMENT:

The Department of Justice and Community Safety is committed to the safety and wellbeing of children and young people. We seek to prevent harm of any kind impacting children and young people and have zero tolerance for racism, child abuse and inequality. Children and young people's rights, relationships, identity, and culture must be recognised and respected, their voices heard, and their concerns acted upon. We aim to foster a culturally safe, child safe and child friendly environment for all children and young people we have contact with, deliver services to, or are impacted by our work.