Legal Counsel

Our Opportunity

Location: Perth, WA. Fortescue’s Perth office is located on the traditional lands of the Whadjuk people.

Roster: Monday to Friday with flexible working. Part-time is also a consideration.

We are seeking a commercially astute Legal Counsel to provide trusted legal support across Fortescue’s land access, tenure and related project development activities. This role will partner closely with leaders across tenure and access, approvals, projects and operations to deliver practical, risk-based legal advice that enables business outcomes while protecting Fortescue’s interests.

This is an outstanding opportunity for a high-performing mining lawyer who thrives in a dynamic in-house environment and brings strong resources-sector experience, sound judgement and the ability to influence at pace.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide strategic, commercially focused legal advice on mining access, land tenure and related project development matters.
• Draft, review, negotiate and advise on a broad range of access-related agreements, including land access deeds, compensation agreements, tenure-related arrangements, infrastructure/access agreements and other project-enabling agreements.
• Support project development and operational teams on legal issues relating to land access, tenure and approvals.
• Partner with internal stakeholders to manage mining access (Wardens Court) matters and access disputes, including overseeing external counsel where required.
• Monitor legal and regulatory developments relevant to mining and translate these into clear business guidance.
• Contribute to continuous improvement such as automation, templates, playbooks, processes and training to lift legal capability across the organisation.
• Support negotiation strategy and risk allocation on complex, high-value and business-critical transactions.
• Build trusted relationships across the business and act as a practical, solutions-oriented advisor to senior stakeholders.

Qualifications and Experience

• Bachelor of Laws or Juris Doctor, with current Australian practising certificate or eligibility to hold one.
• 5–10 years’ post-qualification experience, with strong experience in-house and/or top-tier or mid-tier private practice.
• Demonstrated deep legal experience in the mining sector is essential.
• Strong understanding of legal frameworks relevant to mining access and tenure, ideally including Western Australian mining law and related approvals processes..
• Proven ability to balance legal risk with commercial outcomes and deliver clear, concise advice to non-legal stakeholders.
• Strong negotiation, drafting and stakeholder management capability.
• Comfortable operating in a fast-paced, evolving environment with competing priorities.
• High integrity, sound judgement and a collaborative working style.
• Experience supporting large-scale mining operations, exploration or project development in Western Australia or comparable jurisdictions,
• Experience with project development or decarbonisation / energy transition initiatives.
• Exposure to cross-border or multi-jurisdiction legal matters.

About Us

Be part of something big. Fortescue is leading the world with our plan to decarbonise our iron ore operations, projects that harness renewable energy and the development of technology that will change our planet forever.

Our Commitment

Fortescue celebrates individual strengths and team members are encouraged to bring their whole selves to work. Our global workforce drives and promotes an inclusive culture, both within our organisation and throughout the communities we interact with. Diverse backgrounds include First Nations Peoples, people with disabilities, LGBTQ+ community, gender, neurodiverse, cultural diversity, all age groups, and those with an intersectional or multiple diverse characteristics. We encourage candidates from all backgrounds to apply.

https://fortescue.com/careers 

Internal Candidates / Current Contractors please apply via Success Factors Careers Portal. For further information on how to apply please visit the Fortescue Hub. 

Fortescue reserves the right to close applications early should a suitable pool of candidates be identified. Fortescue will never contact you to ask for payment of any kind, whether directly or through a third party.