Tenancy Practice Lead

• Sydney based
• Permanent, full time with part time considered
• Supervision: Assistant Principal Solicitor

Redfern Legal Centre

Redfern Legal Centre is a non-profit community legal centre that promotes social justice and creates change. We provide free legal advice, legal services and education to people experiencing disadvantage in New South Wales. We drive innovation and change through policy and law reform work to address inequalities in the legal system, policies and social practices that cause disadvantage.

We provide effective and integrated free legal services that are client focussed, collaborative, non-discriminatory and responsive to changing community needs - to our local community as well as state-wide. Our specialist legal services focus on tenancy, credit, debt, and consumer law; financial abuse; employment law; international students; First Nations justice; and police accountability, and provide outreach services, including through our health justice partnership.

Position Overview

Redfern Legal Centre’s Inner Sydney Tenancy Advice and Advocacy Service is a busy and dynamic service for First Nations tenants and tenants experiencing disadvantage in social, community and private housing across Inner Sydney. The service works to prevent homelessness and to ensure tenants have safe, secure and affordable housing.

The Tenancy Practice Lead liaises with stakeholders including the Tenants Union NSW and our Tenancy Advice Service colleagues, government and industry. The Tenancy Practice Lead is responsible for management of the service, conduct of tenancy casework, community legal education and driving policy and law reform on housing justice issues.

The role requires excellent stakeholder skills, strong organisational skills and knowledge of tenancy law in New South Wales.

Position Responsibilities

• Manage the Inner Sydney Tenancy Advice and Advocacy Service practice to ensure the delivery of high-quality, accessible, trauma informed and culturally appropriate tenancy advice and casework;
• Work with Management and Intake to develop and oversee client management systems, intake criteria, conflict checks, service provision including ethical and practice management issues, and data collection;
• Supervise tenancy lawyers and advocates, secondees and volunteer lawyers;
• Work with management to deliver funding reports including data and other reports and maintain strong relationships with relevant funding bodies;
• Work collaboratively with the tenancy team, sector colleagues and RLC management to identify systemic policy and law reform issues, draft and finalise policy and law reform submissions, and engage in advocacy and media work to drive positive change to laws, practice and policies that impact tenants in NSW;
• Engage with stakeholders (including the Tenants Union and tenant advocacy services in NSW, government and housing providers) on issues relevant to tenants in NSW including through attendance at relevant meetings, conferences and events;
• Develop and maintain relationships with pro bono partners to increase the reach and capacity of the service;
• Coordinate the design and delivery of community legal education, legal publications and resources to increase capacity in the community sector to understand and refer tenancy matters;
• Provide high-quality tenancy advice, casework, information and referrals;
• Contribute to Redfern Legal Centre through attendance at staff meetings and stakeholder events, contribution to board and funding reports, assistance with intake including intake supervision shifts, and contribution to the effective implementation of our Reconciliation Action Plan.

Knowledge, skills and experience

Essential

• At least five years’ experience in tenancy advice and casework or other relevant experience.
• Demonstrated commitment to social justice, the objectives of community legal centres and tenants’ rights.
• Demonstrated ability to lead and manage others.
• Demonstrated experience in driving law reform and policy work and developing and delivering community legal education.
• Understanding of legal practice management requirements and ability to develop systems and processes to support this;
• Demonstrated ability to maintain stakeholder relationships including with sector colleagues, government and industry;
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills including high attention to detail;
• Experience in delivering services to people experiencing disadvantage, First Nations people and linguistically diverse communities.

Desirable

• Law degree or other relevant tertiary qualifications.

Conditions

Salary and benefits: $141,635 - $152,083 p.a. (pro rata for part-time) depending on qualifications and experience.

Superannuation and annual leave loading are paid in addition to this, and salary packaging is available.

Redfern Legal Centre offers a 35-hour working week, time-in-lieu options, and a paid end-of-year closure of two weeks (including public holidays), on top of four weeks' annual leave. We are a flexible workplace and offer external debrief supervision and a generous training, conference and professional development budget.

As a Public Benevolent Institution, Redfern Legal Centre can offer staff generous salary packaging options. The tax savings for a staff member who chooses to take full advantage of the salary packaging option can increase their take-home salary by up to $6,000 per annum.

Applications

Applications close: 9am, on the closing date.

Redfern Legal Centre is a diverse and inclusive workplace. We strongly encourage applications from First Nations applicants, people from diverse cultural backgrounds and people with disability.

Your application should be no more than six pages long and include a cover letter, your resume, and responses to the selection criteria in the position description. Please lodge your application in the link provided.

Inquiries should be directed to Sam Lee: sam@rlc.org.au using the subject line: Tenancy Practice Lead enquiry via EthicalJobs.