Senior Legal Counsel - Head of Legal, Asia

The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) is recruiting for the Singapore-based role of Senior Legal Counsel – Head of Legal, Asia. In this role you will head the legal support for CBA Asia, supporting Singapore, Japan and China branches, which forms part of CBA’s Institutional Banking and Markets (IB&M) Legal team (IB&M Legal).

See yourself in our team:

As a key member of IB&M Legal and CBA Asia you will provide expert advice and assistance to CBA’s Asia business.

IB&M Legal is part of Legal and Group Secretariat (L&GS), which is responsible for delivering an integrated and consistent approach to the CBA’s Group’s external and internal legal risk management and corporate secretarial affairs. IB&M Legal provides expert legal advice and assistance to the IB&M business. We partner with the IB&M business units and international branches, including CBA Asia, to assist them in attaining their strategic goals and ensuring legal risks are appropriately recognised and managed.

 Do work that matters:

In a full-time role, you will provide high value legal, strategic and management services and advice and represent L&GS in Asia businesses and committees. Your main responsibilities will include:

• Providing high-value and timely legal advice and services, including providing insight into complex legal issues, undertaking transactional work, preparing documents, negotiating agreements, instructing counsel and liaising with businesses, principally in global markets, institutional lending and commodities.
• Adhering to the CBA’s legal policies and frameworks, proactively identifying and mitigating against legal risks.
• Developing and maintaining a detailed understanding of, and expertise in, the CBA’s legal practices and risk appetite and applying this knowledge to provide strategic and high-value legal services
• Representing IB&M Legal in CBA Asia legal and management affairs and demonstrating the ability to liai.se, collaborate and influence across the CBA, including with senior leaders.
• Maintaining a deep understanding of L&GS’s strategy and ensuring that the strategy is, through collaboration where appropriate, executed successfully in the IB&M business and CBA Asia Branches.
• Establishing and maintaining effective and appropriate working relationships with the CBA’s business units and external contacts, with a primary focus on providing legal support and advice to IB&M, and Asia Branches.
• Contributing to a team culture through excelling in customer service, simplifying processes and identifying opportunities for continuous improvement where applicable.
• Providing thought leadership on how legal risk is managed.
• Assisting in provision of information and training seminars to the businesses on relevant or emerging legal issues.
• Ensuring the Asia legal function operates effectively, efficiently and collaboratively with other areas within L&GS around the world.

We’re interested in hearing from people who have:

• 10+ years of experience as a legal professional, with substantial experience advising on complex commercial transactions across Asia. Experience in Singapore is a plus and strongly preferred.
• Qualified legal practitioner (admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction in Asia-Pacific or a common law jurisdiction).
• Strong experience operating in banking and finance, preferably in both top tier law firms and in-house.
• Demonstrated executive presence and influencing skills.
• Excellent knowledge of relevant laws, regulations and current issues applying to banking and finance.
• Excellent technical legal skills, including the ability to grasp quickly, negotiate and resolve issues in complex finance and financial markets matters, and provide succinct advice.
• Strong awareness of the legal and regulatory environment affecting financial markets and derivatives.
• Sound understanding of best practice for delivery of legal services.
• Significant experience in drafting and providing legal advice in relation to: (a) institutional lending and leasing (b) products trading on financial markets generally, including commodities (c) structured financing transactions (d) derivatives transactions and documentation and (e) commercial transactions.

Advertising End Date: 27/08/2026