Counsel / Senior Counsel

Job description

ABOUT US Vow is on a mission to improve the lives of billions with animal products, made without animals. We're bringing together cutting edge innovations in science, engineering, culinary and design to create new foods and products that consumers can choose selfishly because it's nutritious and delicious, and we're doing so in a sustainable way. THE ROLE (We are open to this role being full or part time) We're looking for an experienced Counsel / Senior Counsel to provide parental leave cover on a fixed-term contract, running 10 months from October 2026 to the end of July 2027. You'll be Vow's day-to-day legal support across the business, keeping our commercial, regulatory and IP work moving while our permanent Legal Counsel is on leave. The focus is continuity. You'll pick up a live pipeline of commercial contracts and ongoing regulatory work as we expand into new markets, trade mark management, and the steady stream of ad hoc legal and commercial questions that come with a fast-moving biotech. You'll know when to resolve something yourself and when to route it to our external counsel, who will support on matters requiring specialist input. You'll work closely with teams across the business, from Commercial and Regulatory to People and Finance, translating legal risk into clear, practical guidance. This is a hands-on role for a confident generalist who can hit the ground running with minimal onboarding and keep things running smoothly through to a clean handover. THE EXPERIENCE YOU WILL BRING - Admitted to practise law in Australia, with a current practising certificate (or eligible to obtain one). - 5+ years' post-qualification experience (PQE), gained in house, in private practice, or a combination of both. - Strong commercial contracts capability: drafting, reviewing and negotiating NDAs, supply agreements, material transfer agreements (MTAs), and customer and commercial agreements. - Comfortable self-manging a varied workload and knowing when to escalate specialist matters to external counsel. - A pragmatic, commercial approach. You translate legal risk into clear, practical advice that helps the business move, not just a list of what could go wrong. - Exposure to regulatory work is an advantage, ideally in food, health, biotech, or another regulated environment, particularly around product approvals and market entry. - Familiarity with IP and trade mark management, including working with external IP advisers. - Excellent organisation and prioritisation. - Strong communication and stakeholder skills. You can explain risks and trade-offs clearly to non-lawyers at all levels of the business. - Comfortable with ambiguity and a bias to action. You make sensible decisions with incomplete information and iterate. YOU WILL - Draft, review and negotiate Vow's commercial contracts, including NDAs, supply agreements, material transfer agreements (MTAs), and customer agreements with restaurants and commercial partners. - Support Vow's regulatory work as we pursue product approvals in new markets, advising on the legal aspects of regulatory submissions and market entry. - Manage Vow's trade mark portfolio and IP matters, liaising with our external IP advisers. - Maintain and apply Vow's contract templates and legal playbook, keeping documents such as the tasting waiver current and fit for purpose. - Act as the first point of contact for day-to-day legal and commercial questions from across the business, resolving what you can and referring specialist or complex matters to external counsel. - Be a visible, accessible legal resource, so people across Vow know where to go for support. - Keep legal matters organised and tracked, and provide regular updates on the status of key work to the business. - Provide ad hoc legal support on corporate and commercial matters as they arise. - Participate in and contribute to the Vow Work Health and Safety Committee (WHSC) in line with its charter. WHAT SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE IN THIS ROLE In your first few weeks you'll have got up to speed on Vow's live legal matters, the contract pipeline, our templates and playbook, and our external counsel relationships. You'll have met the key people across the business who rely on legal support, and picked up a clean handover so nothing drops during the transition. By a couple of months in, you'll be running the legal function independently and confidently. Contracts will be turning around promptly, regulatory and IP work will be progressing, and the business will feel no gap in legal support. People across Vow will know you're their go-to for legal and commercial questions. By the end of the contract in July 2027, you'll have kept Vow's legal work moving throughout the cover period, progressed matters cleanly, and prepared a clear, well-documented handover for the returning Legal Counsel. Files will be in order, matters will be up to date, and there will be no loose ends. WHO WE ARE AND WHY JOIN We are building a diverse, mission-led dream team of "Vowzers." Our mission is to make food products for everyone. To do that well we need a workforce that's representative of the people we serve. We celebrate multiple approaches and points of view, so we're building a culture to match. Be yourself and come as you are. Work on cutting-edge technology. We're bringing together cutting-edge innovations in science, engineering, and food, to recreate the world's most tantalising and unique culinary experiences. All without compromising on ethics or our planet along the way. Since our inception in 2019, we have held the title of being the first startup to cultivate meat from the cells of an undomesticated animal, been called The Spaceship of the cultured meat industry by Forbes, and launched our first product under the brand Forged in some of the hottest restaurants in Singapore. Work with and learn from the best. Our team includes some of the world's top scientists, innovators, operators, and creatives with decades of industry experience. Despite our experiences though, we all strive to build, break, learn, and repeat. We see the impossible as temporary and strive to learn and support our company and fellow Vowzers' growth as much as possible. We're fully funded and ready to go. We are a growing Aussie biotech start-up backed by Blackbird Ventures, Square Peg Capital, Grok Ventures, Tenacious Ventures, P7 Ventures, Toyota Ventures, and PeakBridge VC. VOW PERKS AND BENEFITS - A meaningful role at a mission-led company. Step into a critical role and keep an ambitious, fast-moving biotech running while we change how the world eats. - An awesome converted warehouse "campus" in Alexandria. Vow operates a manufacturing and office space in Alexandria, complete with a fit-for-purpose lab, shower and towel service, bike rack, free snacks, and plenty of collaboration and chill zones. - Human and dog friendly office! An inclusive community and culture, in a welcoming office, complete with friendly "Vowzer" dogs! - A variety of social clubs. We encourage all our Vowzers to build the culture with us and share what you love by creating social clubs across the business. From book clubs to hiking groups, we're always looking for ways to learn and engage with our team.