Employment Law Lead, Australia & New Zealand

About Accenture

Accenture is a global professional services company with leading capabilities in strategy, consulting, digital, technology, and operations. We work with clients in more than 120 countries, combining deep industry expertise with innovation to help organizations build their digital core, optimize operations, accelerate growth, and enhance citizen and employee experiences.

Within Accenture, Corporate Functions play a critical role in enabling the business to operate at scale, with integrity, and in compliance with local and global requirements. The Legal & Commercial Services function is a trusted advisor to the business, helping to manage risk, enable transformation, and support Accenture’s growth through pragmatic, commercially focused legal solutions.

Job Summary

The Employment Law Lead, Australia & New Zealand is the employment law subject‑matter expert for the region, with end‑to‑end accountability for employment law strategy, risk management, and compliance across Accenture’s Australian and New Zealand operations.

This role provides strategic leadership and escalation support on complex, high‑risk, and business‑critical employment matters, while partnering closely with HR Leadership, Employee Relations, senior business leaders, and global Legal teams. The role plays a key part in shaping Accenture’s people strategy in the region, supporting workforce transformation, and ensuring employment practices are legally compliant, scalable, and aligned with Accenture’s global standards.

Key Responsibilities

Reporting into the APAC Employment Law Lead, this is an exciting opportunity to work directly with key stakeholders across a workload that is both interesting and varied.

Strategic Leadership & Regional Ownership

• Serve as the primary employment law advisor for Accenture in Australia and New Zealand.

• Provide trusted counsel to senior leadership and HR executives on complex, sensitive, or high‑impact employment matters.

• Shape and drive the employment law strategy for ANZ, balancing legal compliance, commercial outcomes, and Accenture’s culture and values.

• Manage and oversee external counsel relationships with law firms as appropriate, including budget management.

Employment Law Advisory & Risk Management

• Lead and oversee advice across the full employee lifecycle, including recruitment, employment contracts, remuneration and incentives, performance management, disciplinary action, and terminations.

• Ensure compliance with Australian federal and state/territory employment laws and New Zealand employment laws.

Disputes & Investigations

• Provide strategic advice on workplace investigations, grievances, misconduct matters, and complex employee relations issues.

• Lead the management of employment‑related disputes and litigation, working closely with internal litigation teams and external counsel.

Collaboration, Transformation & Global Alignment

• Partner with HR, Employee Relations, and business leaders to support diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, reasonable adjustments, workplace safety, and employee wellbeing programs.

• Collaborate with regional and global Legal and HR teams to ensure local employment practices align with Accenture’s global policies and risk frameworks.

• Provide employment law advice on corporate transactions, including pre‑acquisition due diligence, workforce transfers, and post‑merger integration across ANZ.

Capability Building & Leadership

• Deliver training to HR and business stakeholders on employment law developments, emerging risks, and best practices.

• Monitor legislative, regulatory, and case law developments in Australia and New Zealand, proactively advising the business on impacts and required actions.

Basic Qualifications

• Juris Doctor (J.D.) or Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) from an accredited institution.

• Admitted to practice law in Australia (and/or New Zealand).

• Minimum 8–10+ years’ post‑qualification experience specialising in employment law, with demonstrated senior‑level advisory responsibility.

• Deep expertise in Australian employment law and strong working knowledge of New Zealand employment law.

• Proven experience advising on complex, high‑risk, and strategic employment matters, ideally in a large, matrixed organisation.

• Exceptional stakeholder management skills, with the ability to influence and advise senior leaders.

• Strong commercial judgement, drafting, negotiation, and decision‑making capability.

• Ability to operate autonomously while leading collaboratively across local, regional, and global teams.

• English is required due to regular engagement with stakeholders across Australia, New Zealand, and Accenture’s global footprint.

Preferred Qualifications

• Significant in‑house employment law experience within a large multinational or professional services organisation.

• Experience leading employment law strategy across multiple jurisdictions simultaneously.

• Track record of supporting large‑scale workforce transformation, restructures, or regulatory‑sensitive change initiatives.

Compensation

Compensation at Accenture varies depending on a wide array of factors, including office location, role scope, skill set, and level of experience. As required by local law, Accenture provides a reasonable range of compensation based on full‑time employment.

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement for Australia and New Zealand:

At Accenture, our intention is to foster a culture and a workplace in which all of our people feel a sense of belonging and are respected and empowered to do their best work. 

We encourage applications from all people with the relevant skillset, and we are committed to removing barriers to the recruitment process and employee lifecycle. All employment decisions shall be made without regard to age, disability status, ethnicity, gender, gender identity or expression, religion or sexual orientation and we do not tolerate discrimination. If you require any accommodations or adjustments for interviews and/or at work, please reach out to exectalent@accenture.com or contact us at +61 2 9005 5000 (Australia) or +64 44666056 (New Zealand). 

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