Senior Corporate Counsel, Sustainability & Energy

Senior Corporate Counsel, Sustainability & Energy

• Join an encouraging leadership group, committed to your growth and development

• Work at the intersection of decarbonisation, renewable energy and human rights

• Influence globally significant sustainability and energy portfolios

We’re Finding Better Ways™ to provide materials the world needs, now and in the future. Our values – care, courage and curiosity – guide how we work and how we treat each other.

About the role

All progress begins with pioneers. At Rio Tinto, it begins with you.

We are seeking a Senior Corporate Counsel, Sustainability & Energy to provide integrated legal support across Rio Tinto’s global Sustainability (including Community & Social Performance (CSP) and Human Rights) and Energy Development portfolios.

Reporting to the Chief Counsel Disputes, Closure & Sustainability this role operates at the intersection of decarbonisation, renewable energy development, human rights, ESG regulation and stakeholder risk. You will work closely with the Energy Development team, Sustainability and CSP leadership, Climate Change SMEs, Product Group Legal teams and other members of Legal, Governance & Corporate Affairs to deliver strategic, commercially grounded legal advice across a globally significant portfolio.

Key Accountabilities

Energy Development & Decarbonisation

• Provide legal support to the global Energy Development team and other teams implementing Rio Tinto’s decarbonisation strategy

• Advise on commercial structuring, governance frameworks and risk mitigation for green energy initiatives.

• Conduct and support legal due diligence on renewable supply and emissions-reduction projects.

• Advise on regulatory requirements impacting energy strategy and implementation.

• Manage external counsel across jurisdictions in a cost-efficient manner.

• Support dispute resolution and risk management arising from energy and decarbonisation projects.

Sustainability, CSP & Human Rights

• Act as a key legal adviser to Sustainability and CSP teams on human rights, Indigenous relations and ESG-related risk.

• Provide specialist support to high-risk assets, including advice on:

  • Human rights impact assessments and privilege strategy

  • Grievance and remedy mechanisms

  • FPIC and Indigenous agreement-making

  • Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights

• Support internal reviews of incidents or processes where legal privilege and risk management considerations arise.

• Review and advise on sustainability policies, standards and executive-level papers for ExCo and Board committees.

• Lead or coordinate legal review of sustainability disclosures, including Modern Slavery Statements and related reporting.

• Support Third Party Risk Management processes, including human rights and modern slavery contractual protections.

ESG Regulatory & Risk Monitoring

• Monitor emerging ESG and human rights regulatory developments (e.g., due diligence legislation, modern slavery regimes, ESG reporting requirements).

• Assess legal readiness and advise on implementation strategies.

• Identify trends in human rights litigation and sustainability-related enforcement risk.

• Provide strategic, proactive advice to minimise legal exposure and enhance governance frameworks.

Cross-Functional Integration & Leadership

• Work seamlessly across Product Group Legal and Corporate Legal to ensure consistent advice and risk alignment.

• Build strong relationships with Energy Development, Sustainability, Climate Change, Procurement, and Risk teams.

• Support capability building within the Sustainability and Energy portfolios.

• Mentor junior lawyers where appropriate and contribute to team development.

• Participate in relevant Sustainability or CSP leadership forums to maintain visibility of emerging risks.

What You Will Bring

You are a commercially astute and strategically minded lawyer with the ability to operate across both transactional energy work and complex sustainability risk environments.  You will bring:

• 10+ years’ post-qualification experience in a leading law firm and/or multinational in-house environment

• Strong experience in energy, infrastructure or large-scale project development, ideally including renewable energy.

• Experience advising on ESG, sustainability, human rights or regulatory risk (desirable but not essential if energy background is strong).

• Demonstrated ability to negotiate and structure complex commercial arrangements.

• Strong analytical capability and sound commercial judgement.

• Experience managing cross-border matters and external counsel.

• Ability to work independently while leveraging internal and external networks effectively

• Excellent communication and collaboration skills, with the ability to engage effectively across cultures and functions.

• A proactive, solutions-focused mindset and the ability to manage multiple complex matters concurrently.

• A values-led approach aligned with Rio Tinto’s Care, Courage and Curiosity.

What we offer

Be recognised for your contribution, your thinking and your hard work, and go home knowing you’ve helped the world progress.

• A work environment where safety is always the number one priority

• A permanent position working directly for Rio Tinto

• A competitive base salary reflective of your skills and experience with annual incentive program

• Comprehensive medical benefits including subsidised private health insurance for employees and immediate family

• Attractive share ownership plan

• Company provided insurance cover

• Extensive salary sacrifice & salary packaging options

• Career development & education assistance to further your technical or leadership ambitions

• Ongoing access to family-friendly health and medical wellbeing support

• Leave for all of life’s reasons (vacation/annual, paid parental, sick leave)

• Exclusive employee discounts (banking, accommodation, cars, retail and more)

• Possible domestic relocation assistance

About the team

This role will report in the Chief Counsel, Closure & Sustainability.

Where You’ll Be Working

You will be based in Brisbane or Perth (Australia). Travel will be required as reasonably necessary.

#gts

About Rio Tinto

Rio Tinto is a leading global mining and materials company. We operate in 35 countries where we produce iron ore, copper, aluminium, critical minerals, and other materials needed for the global energy transition and for people, communities, and nations to thrive.

We have been mining for 150 years and operate with knowledge built up across generations and continents. Our purpose is finding better ways to provide the materials the world needs – striving for innovation and continuous improvement to produce materials with low emissions and to the right environmental, social and governance standards. But we can’t do it on our own, so we’re focused on creating partnerships to solve problems, create win-win situations and meet opportunities.

Respect and Inclusion

At Rio Tinto, we particularly welcome and encourage applications from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, women, the LGBTI+ community, mature workers, people with disabilities and people from different cultural backgrounds.

We are committed to an inclusive environment where people feel comfortable to be themselves. We want our people to feel that all voices are heard, all cultures respected and that a variety of perspectives are not only welcome – they are essential to our success. We treat each other fairly and with dignity regardless of race, gender, nationality, ethnic origin, religion, age, sexual orientation or anything else that makes us different.

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