Who are we?

The future of energy is digitised, decarbonised, and localised. At SmartestEnergy Australia (SEA), we need revolutionary thinkers to help our customers make the most of this new landscape, thinking differently to find smart solutions to complex problems. Formed in 2020, we’re an agile business driven by entrepreneurial thinking. As a subsidiary of the Marubeni Corporation and SmartestEnergy Limited UK, we also have strong investment and infrastructure behind us.

SEA is a virtual gentailer. We retail, trade and originate energy without owning any generation assets. Our business runs across three interconnected areas:

• Retail: we sell electricity to commercial and industrial customers under long-term PPAs and supply agreements, helping large businesses manage energy cost and meet sustainability targets;

• Trading: we participate in the NEM wholesale market, including BESS tolling arrangements and ISDA-based structured products, actively managing our portfolio position; and

• Origination: we source and structure deals directly with independent renewable generators across wind, solar and battery storage, building a contracted portfolio that underpins our retail and trading books.

The legal and commercial work that sits across all three is genuinely complex, and this role sits right at the centre of it.

We have our corporate office in Sydney CBD and another office in Melbourne. Further expansion is planned for 2026 and beyond which means global career opportunities for you, with plenty of potential to explore new markets.

Flexibility is vital to success in our business and many of our staff work flexibly in many ways, including part-time, remotely or a mix of remote/office. Please talk to us about what flexibility means to you and don’t let anything stop you from applying. When you join our Team, you will have the opportunity to contribute and make an impact every single day.

This role is based in our Sydney or Melbourne office with Hybrid working arrangement.

Role Purpose

Reporting to senior legal leadership, the Legal Counsel (Energy Contracts & Origination) provides dedicated legal and contract management capability across SEA’s active PPA portfolio, BESS tolling agreements, structured commercial transactions as well as our C&I business and trading desk.

The role owns the full BAU contract management function across SEA's active PPA portfolio and BESS tolling agreements, including notice management, conditions precedent tracking, pricing mechanism implementation and registration, and provides direct legal drafting and advisory support to the Counsel & Structuring Manager across commercial contracts, structured transactions and business-wide legal matters.

Key Responsibilities:

Legal

• Draft, negotiate and review PPAs, energy supply agreements, ISDAs and structured commercial contracts in support of the front office teams across Trading, Origination and Retail.

• Draft and coordinate contract amendments, ancillary documentation and counterparty correspondence across the portfolio.

• Provide NEM/NER regulatory advisory support, identifying regulatory obligations, advising on compliance and escalating accordingly.

• Provide legal support to senior legal and commercial leadership across broader corporate and business matters.

Contract Ownership & Implementation

• Own end-to-end contract lifecycle management across the PPA and BESS portfolio. From notice compliance and CP tracking through to pricing mechanism implementation and counterparty coordination.

• Proactively monitor pre-construction risks, milestone windows and shareholder reporting obligations, escalating ahead of critical deadlines and acting as the central coordination point across Trading, Origination and external counterparties.

• Own and maintain SEA's central contract register as the single source of truth for all contractual obligations, building institutional contract management capability across the business through knowledge-sharing and practical guidance.

Experience:

Essential

• Law degree and current practicing certificate.

• Commercial legal experience in private practice or in-house, with demonstrated ability to draft, negotiate and review commercial contracts with appropriate independence. Minimum of 2-5 years PQE considered.

• Proven ability to manage multiple concurrent obligations, notice periods and contractual deadlines with precision.

• Comfortable working at the interface of legal, commercial and operational functions.

Preferred

• Experience in energy, infrastructure, project finance or resources.

• Demonstrated experience managing conditions precedent and milestone frameworks and coordinating contract execution across multiple counterparties.

• Exposure to ISDA agreements, trading documentation or structured energy contracts.

• Familiarity with AEMO registration processes, NEM market structures and NER obligations.

A note on experience level

We are open to candidates across a range of experience levels. We anticipate the role will suit lawyers with 3–5+ years PQE, but we welcome applications from candidates across a range of experience levels.

Knowledge:

• Sound understanding of commercial contract law, including notice provisions, conditions precedent, pricing mechanisms, representations and warranties, and termination rights.

• Working knowledge of PPA structures, energy supply agreements, ISDAs and structured energy contract frameworks in the Australian NEM.

• Understanding of AEMO registration requirements and the AEMO participant obligations framework.

• Understanding of market pricing mechanisms and their contractual implementation.

What we offer:

• Genuine hybrid and flexible working conditions

• Competitive base salary & yearly bonuses

• Leave Benefits - Paid Parental, Service, Wellbeing & Birthday leave

• Employee Assistance Program - SONDER

• Employee Health and Wellbeing Platform - WHEREFIT

• Personal development and coaching opportunities.

• EV Salary Packaging Benefit

• A small, senior team. Real deal exposure from day one, without the hierarchy

Diversity:

Celebrating our inclusive and diverse culture is core to what we do. We value everybody irrespective of background, disability, religion, gender identity, sexuality, or ethnicity.

We know that for our business to thrive we need diverse talent with a range of backgrounds, skills, and capabilities in each of the countries in which we operate. We view diversity as one of the key enablers that helps our business to grow.

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