Senior Legal Counsel - Commercial & IP

Senior Legal Counsel leading IP, commercial deals & governance in a fast-paced agri-tech commercialisation organisation with executive impact.

• Central legal role in a commercially driven innovation environment
• Advising on high-impact legal, commercial and governance decisions
• Senior Associate or Special Counsel level role

The opportunity

Exclusive to Burgess Paluch, this is a rare opportunity to join a commercially driven organisation at the center of agricultural research commercialisation and industry partnership development. The role offers genuine influence over how high-value research is translated into commercial outcomes at scale.

You will work in a high-trust, delivery-focused environment alongside experienced leaders across industry, research and investment, with exposure to complex commercial transactions and strategic initiatives.

The organisation offers flexible working arrangements, including hybrid working, flexible hours, part-time options and arrangements designed to support sustainable performance and work-life balance.

About the Role

The Senior Legal Counsel is a senior role responsible for providing authoritative legal, commercial and governance advice across the organisation. Reporting to the Head of Corporate Services, you will support the CEO, Executive Leadership Team and Board in managing legal risk, strengthening governance frameworks, and enabling confident, commercially sound decision-making. This may suit a lawyer at senior associate, special counsel, or senior legal counsel level.

This role sits at the centre of a fast-moving commercialisation and partnerships environment, supporting high-value collaborations between research, industry and investment stakeholders. It combines strategic advisory responsibilities with hands-on execution in a lean, commercially oriented legal function.

As a trusted advisor at executive level, you will play a key role in enabling commercial growth while safeguarding organisational assets, reputation and compliance obligations. You will also lead and develop a small legal, risk and governance capability, ensuring high performance and strong commercial alignment.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide high-quality legal, commercial and governance advice to the CEO, Executive Leadership Team and Board across IP, commercial, corporate, regulatory and governance matters
• Lead and oversee negotiation and execution of complex commercial agreements including R&D collaborations, licensing, joint ventures and investment structures
• Support IP strategy, technology transfer and commercialisation of research outcomes into market-ready solutions
• Drive enterprise risk management frameworks, including risk identification, assessment, mitigation and reporting to executive and Board level
• Advise on regulatory compliance, governance obligations and statutory reporting requirements
• Manage disputes, claims and sensitive legal matters, including oversight of external legal advisers
• Lead and develop a small legal and risk function, building capability in a commercially focused environment
• Contribute to strategic planning, investment decisions and organisational transformation initiatives

About You

You are a commercially astute senior lawyer with 7+ PQE and the confidence to operate at executive and Board level. You bring strong technical legal capability combined with a pragmatic, solutions-focused approach to enabling commercial outcomes.

You will have experience advising on complex commercial, governance and intellectual property matters, ideally in environments involving research, innovation, technology commercialisation, government-owned corporations or similarly complex stakeholder settings. Experience in IP commercialisation, licensing, technology transfer or collaborative R&D is highly regarded.

You are a strong influencer and communicator, able to build trusted relationships across industry, research and government stakeholders. You are comfortable operating in ambiguity, balancing commercial risk with opportunity, and supporting strategic decision-making at pace.

You bring strong governance and risk advisory capability, with experience supporting senior executives and Boards. You operate with integrity, sound judgement and a commercially grounded leadership style.

To Apply

To express interest/request a copy of the PD, contact Emily Moore on ***email_hidden***