Senior Legal Counsel

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Cochlear’s mission is to help people hear and be heard. As the global leader in implantable hearing solutions, Cochlear is dedicated to helping people with moderate to profound hearing loss experience a world full of sound. We aim to transform the way people understand and treat hearing loss and innovate to connect people with future technologies. Our employees tell us that the number one reason they enjoy working for Cochlear is the opportunity to make a difference to people’s lives. Learn and grow with us as we tackle the most complex challenges in helping more people to experience a lifetime of hearing.

The Opportunity

Cochlear has an opportunity for a permanent, full-time Senior Legal Counsel based in our Macquarie University, Sydney office. This is a senior individual-contributor role within Legal, Compliance and Secretariat (LCS), with primary responsibility for partnering with Global Strategic Marketing.

Reporting to the Deputy General Counsel - R&D, IP & Global Strategic Marketing, you will act as a trusted legal adviser to marketing and business stakeholders at all levels. You will independently lead complex, high-value and sensitive matters, translating legal and regulatory complexity into clear, commercially informed options and recommendations.

Your portfolio will mainly focus on advertising, competition and consumer law, commercial contracting, and supporting brand and marketing-related disputes. You will also identify and help the business manage emerging risks and recurring issues, shape practical legal solutions, and lead improvements to LCS knowledge, processes and technology-enabled service delivery.

Responsibilities include

• Act as the lead day-to-day legal business partner for Global Strategic Marketing, building trusted relationships with senior stakeholders while providing independent advice and constructive challenge.

• Independently advise on complex and higher-risk advertising, promotional and product-claim matters, including claim substantiation, Australian competition and consumer law, the Therapeutic Goods Advertising Code and the interaction of legal, regulatory and reputational considerations.

• Frame material risks, trade-offs and practical options so accountable business leaders can make informed decisions; escalate matters based on significance, uncertainty and enterprise impact.

• Lead the drafting and negotiation of complex or strategically important commercial arrangements, including services, consultancy, sponsorship, talent, marketing, content acquisition, licensing and collaboration agreements.

• Provide commercially focused intellectual property advice and design contractual positions that protect and enable Cochlear’s brands, content, technology, data and other rights.

• Lead or manage marketing-related disputes and regulatory or competitor challenges, coordinating internal stakeholders and external advisers, maintaining privilege and controlling scope, quality, timing and cost.

• Monitor relevant legal, regulatory and market developments and translate them into practical implications for Cochlear’s strategic priorities.

• Identify recurring issues and root causes, and develop guidance, precedents, training and process improvements that improve consistency, speed and stakeholder experience.

• Use data, systems, automation and approved AI tools responsibly to improve visibility, knowledge management and legal service delivery.

• Coach junior colleagues on legal reasoning, drafting, stakeholder management and delivery, and contribute actively to a high-performing, collaborative LCS culture.

What makes this opportunity unique?

• This is an opportunity to take genuine ownership of a visible global marketing legal portfolio. You will be embedded in strategic and operational decision-making, advise senior stakeholders on issues where legal, commercial, regulatory and reputational considerations intersect, and influence outcomes through clear judgement and practical solutions.

• You will help shape product launches and marketing initiatives, lead significant commercial and contentious matters, and turn insights from individual matters into scalable guidance, processes and capability for the broader business and LCS team.

Working in a collaborative global environment, you will contribute to Cochlear’s mission while developing the breadth, influence and leadership expected of a Senior Legal Counsel.

About You

• You are an experienced commercial lawyer who combines technical depth with independent judgement, curiosity and a strong understanding of how a global regulated business operates.

• You communicate complex or ambiguous issues in plain language, are comfortable delivering constructive challenge, and remain practical and solutions focused.

• The role is suited to a lawyer already operating with substantial autonomy who is ready to lead complex matters, influence senior stakeholders, improve how legal support is delivered and coach others, while continuing to deepen expertise across strategic marketing, commercial, intellectual property and contentious work.

Essential

• Qualified to practise law in Australia (unrestricted), with approximately 8-12 years’ relevant post-qualification experience (or equivalent demonstrated capability).

• Strong technical experience in Australian competition and consumer law, particularly advertising, marketing claims, comparative claims, substantiation and promotional materials.

• Demonstrated ability to independently lead complex legal matters and draft and negotiate complex or strategically important commercial agreements.

• Sound judgement in ambiguous situations, including the ability to integrate legal, commercial, regulatory and reputational considerations and make escalation decisions proportionate to risk.

• A track record of building trusted relationships with senior stakeholders, influencing decisions and delivering clear, independent and practical advice, including where constructive challenge is required.

• Strong portfolio and project management skills, including prioritising competing demands according to risk and business impact and coordinating cross-functional inputs.

• Experience managing external legal advisers with accountability for scope, quality, timing and cost.

• Commitment to knowledge sharing, coaching others and improving team capability and service delivery.

Desirable

• In-house experience in medical devices, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, technology or another complex regulated industry.

• Experience advising a sophisticated marketing function on the Therapeutic Goods Advertising Code, digital and social media, intellectual property, privacy or related global marketing issues.

• Experience leading or materially managing disputes, regulatory challenges, competitor claims, intellectual property or product liability matters.

• Experience designing and embedding practical guidance, templates, training, intake or approval processes that reduce repeat issues and improve stakeholder experience.

• Experience using legal technology, data, automation or AI responsibly to improve legal service delivery.

• Experience coaching or developing junior lawyers and contributing to change or continuous-improvement initiatives.

If you feel that you have the skills and experience to be successful in this role and take on new challenges to build your career with Cochlear, please start your application by clicking the apply button below.

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How we recognise your contribution

At Cochlear we value and welcome the unique contributions, perspectives, experiences, and backgrounds of our employees and aim to build a culture that celebrates and leverages these differences, creating a sense of belonging and enabling our people to realise their full potential. Through our internal program