Legal Counsel, ANZ

About Us

As a leading provider of high-quality food and beverage ingredients, we work with farming communities across the globe to grow, source and produce ingredients that are good for consumers, farmers, and the world around us.  We supply household food brands and manufacturers worldwide with cocoa, coffee, dairy, nuts and spices ingredients which are often grown on our own farms and estates and sourced from hundreds of thousands of farmers across ~50 countries. Along with our diverse manufacturing and innovation capabilities, this means we can provide ingredients for a range of products, from a plant-based latte mix to an almond based snack bar or a dairy-free ice cream.  Making a positive impact on people and planet is a core component of our Purpose, to be the change for good food and a healthy future. With a deep-rooted presence in the countries where our ingredients are grown, we are closer to farmers, enabling better quality, and more reliable, traceable, and transparent supply. And whoever we’re with, whatever we’re doing, we always make it real.

Overview of the role

We’re looking for a commercially astute lawyer who loves drafting and negotiating complex agreements. In this role, you’ll shape contracts that drive our food and agribusiness operations, advise on risk management, and collaborate with global stakeholders. If you enjoy balancing legal precision with practical business outcomes, this is your opportunity to make an impact. 

Key Responsibilities

• Draft, review and negotiate a wide range of commercial agreements applicable to food and agribusiness sectors, including services, sales, distribution, supply, procurement, logistics/warehousing and confidentiality agreements.
• Provide advice and manage matters in a wide variety of legal disciplines including corporate law, agri-business, ESG, real estate transactions, environmental/health/safety matters, litigation, and data privacy among other business legal matters.
• Promote and embed the ofi Global Legal Team’s policies, practices and selected priorities through interactions with executives and key stakeholders.
• Work on cross-functional projects within the legal department or the ANZ businesses.
• Assist in the development of policies and practices based on global and regional legal requirements.
• Stay current on legal and regulatory issues affecting the company and the industry and provide training and updates to stakeholders regarding same.
• Assist with the management of external legal counsel.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Qualification & other requirements

• Admission as an Australian lawyer with a current Victorian practicing certificate (or ability to qualify for one).
• Permanent full-time mid-level lawyer, 4-7 years PAE with commercial law experience gained in-house and/or at a top-tier law firm.
• Knowledge of food industry regulatory frameworks (labelling, sustainability, ESG) and/or agriculture is desirable.
• Strong generalist skill set including experience in drafting and negotiating complex commercial agreements.
• Highly organised, and commercially astute with the ability to deliver clear, business-oriented legal advice which balances legal risk with commercial outcomes.
• Team player who can collaborate with an internal team, but also the ability to work autonomously when required with minimal supervision and administrative support.
• Must be eager to learn new areas of the law and be strongly committed to learning ofi’s businesses.
• Collaborative and approachable, with the ability to build trust quickly with stakeholders and legal colleagues.
• Resilient, adaptable and comfortable working in a dynamic, global matrix organization.
• Some domestic and international travel may be required.

ofi is an equal opportunity employer and values diversity. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to racial or ethnic origin, color, age, religion or belief, sex, nationality, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.

Applicants are requested to complete all required steps in the application process including providing a resume/CV in order to be considered for open roles