- Significant leadership position based in Australia
- Exciting career opportunity supporting our dynamic business
- Strategic advisory and complex business engagements
- Work from Brisbane or Perth
The Opportunity
The Chief Counsel Projects & Procurement will lead an integrated team of global lawyers providing legal support to our Projects and Procurement organisation.
This role requires strong senior leadership experience and innovative solutions to the variable and complex stakeholder issues arising at all levels of the value chain. The role is required to use superior judgment, cultural sensitivity, and negotiation skills on the best process forward to achieve the desired outcome.
About The Role
- Providing outstanding leadership to a global team of over 30 high calibre lawyers from diverse cultural backgrounds and geographies.
- Structuring and advising on complex multi-stakeholder negotiations with internal and external parties
- Optimising and effectively managing the time and cost of internal and external legal resources for Projects and Procurement matters.
- Being a proactive member of the cross-functional teams involved in structuring new transactions or partnerships with external stakeholders relating to new projects and spearheading creative solutions.
- Ensuring adherence to the highest standards of compliance in order to build and protect Rio Tinto’s reputation.
- Leading global legal initiatives to excel in contracting through a range of tools including digitalisation and automation.
- Engage with government authorities, regulatory bodies, and industry associations to influence and respond to legislative and policy developments affecting mining projects.
- Support negotiations with Indigenous groups, landowners, and local communities to ensure sustainable and legally compliant project development.
- Manage relationships with external legal counsel and coordinate legal strategies on project-related matters.
- Provide prevention-focused legal strategies to minimize disputes related to project development.
- Support litigation, arbitration, and regulatory investigations in collaboration with external counsel when necessary.
- Assist in resolving land access, environmental, and contractual disputes that may arise during the project lifecycle.
- Providing strong support to MDs and SLTs of Projects and Procurement teams and ensuring that the legal teams promote efficient ways of working to improve commercial outcomes.
What you’ll bring
To be successfully considered for this role, you will preferably have
- Significant experience PQE with In-house legal leadership at a senior level in a major multinational business preferably in mining, infrastructure, or major capital projects.
- Strong background in contract law, regulatory compliance, environmental law, and Indigenous/community agreements.
- Experience negotiating complex, high-value contracts and project financing arrangements.
- Deep understanding of mining industry regulations and government approval processes.
- Ability to work in a fast-paced, high-stakes environment with cross-functional teams.
- Strong leadership, stakeholder management, and communication skills.
- Knowledge of cross-border mining regulations, ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) considerations, and international financing structures.
- Exposure to emerging markets and complex regulatory environments.
- Proven leadership skill and ability to manage and develop remote international teams and to work collaboratively within a matrix organisation.
- Excellent international stakeholder management skills with a record in improving business outcomes.
- Pragmatic attitude to the handling of risk, ability to prioritise and delegate effectively.
- Ability to anticipate issues, and be proactive and creative, focusing on improvements and solutions.
- Excellent interpersonal skills, enjoy and is at ease interacting with people at all levels, creating an inclusive and diverse workforce
What We Offer
Be recognised for your contribution, your thinking and your hard work, and go home knowing you’ve helped the world progress.
- Work on high-profile, world-class mining projects with a global leader in the industry.
- Influence legal strategy at a senior level and help shape the company’s project development approach.
- Be part of a diverse, collaborative, and high-performing team in a dynamic global environment
- A work environment where safety is always the number one priority
- Career development & education assistance to further your technical or leadership ambitions
- A competitive base salary reflective of your skills and experience with annual incentive program
- Ongoing access to family-friendly health and medical programs, pension and savings plans
- Attractive share ownership plan
- Leave for all of life’s reasons (vacation/annual, paid parental, sick leave)
- Exclusive employee discounts
Applications close on
Wednesday 19th March 2025 (Rio Tinto reserves the right to remove advertised roles prior to this date)
About Rio Tinto
Rio Tinto is a leading global mining and materials company. We operate in 35 countries where we produce iron ore, copper, aluminium, critical minerals, and other materials needed for the global energy transition and for people, communities, and nations to thrive.
We have been mining for 150 years and operate with knowledge built up across generations and continents. Our purpose is finding better ways to provide the materials the world needs – striving for innovation and continuous improvement to produce materials with low emissions and to the right environmental, social and governance standards. But we can’t do it on our own, so we’re focused on creating partnerships to solve problems, create win-win situations and meet opportunities.
Every Voice Matters
At Rio Tinto, we particularly welcome and encourage applications from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, women, the LGBTI+ community, mature workers, people with disabilities and people from different cultural backgrounds.
We are committed to an inclusive environment where people feel comfortable to be themselves. We want our people to feel that all voices are heard, all cultures respected and that a variety of perspectives are not only welcome – they are essential to our success. We treat each other fairly and with dignity regardless of race, gender, nationality, ethnic origin, religion, age, sexual orientation or anything else that makes us different.
