Strategic leadership role in a growing insurance business | Workers compensation focus | Sydney CBD

Your new company

This well-established specialist insurance and claims management organisation supports employers and injured workers across the personal injury sector. Its purpose-led work focuses on helping people navigate complex claims and achieve better outcomes. The division manages a diverse portfolio of workers’ compensation claims and works closely with employers, brokers, regulators and other scheme stakeholders.

Your new role

This newly created position provides leadership and oversight of the division’s legal function. Reporting to a senior operational leader, you will lead a team of legal managers and specialists responsible for supporting complex and litigated workers’ compensation claims.

This is a strategic leadership position without an individual caseload or billable-hours requirement. You will be responsible for setting the legal strategy, developing the team and ensuring the function delivers consistent, practical and commercially sound outcomes.

Your responsibilities will include

- Setting and leading the legal strategy in line with regulatory, scheme and business priorities
- Providing senior technical oversight of complex and high-risk matters, including work injury damages, whole person impairment, statutory disputes, industrial deafness, recovery and fatality claims
- Leading, coaching and developing legal managers and specialists
- Overseeing the performance, capability, governance and risk profile of the legal function
- Managing external legal panels across cost, quality, performance and service delivery
- Working closely with claims, technical and operational leaders to align legal and claims strategies
- Building senior relationships with employers, brokers, regulators and scheme stakeholders




- Representing the organisation in relevant regulatory and industry forums
- Improving legal processes, systems and operating models, including supporting the adoption of technology and AI-enabled tools.

What you'll need to succeed You will be an experienced lawyer with strong technical knowledge of NSW workers’ compensation law and the confidence to provide strategic direction across complex and litigated claims.

You will also have

- A minimum of 5 years’ post-qualification experience, including substantial experience in workers’ compensation
- Strong knowledge of NSW workers’ compensation legislation, regulatory requirements and end-to-end claims frameworks
- Demonstrated leadership experience, or solid indirect leadership experience combined with the capability to step into a broader leadership position

You will also be comfortable operating autonomously and working with senior stakeholders across claims, technical, operational and regulatory environments. What you'll get in return

This role offers an experienced workers’ compensation lawyer the opportunity to move away from the day-to-day conduct of matters and take on broader leadership, strategy and operational responsibility. You will join a growing specialist insurance division with a collaborative, energetic culture and a strong focus on professional development, recognition and employee wellbeing.

What you need to do now

If you're interested in this role, click 'apply now' to forward an up-to-date copy of your CV. Alternatively, you can email your CV to Tina Kokkalis at [email protected] or call her on (02) 8062 6111 for a confidential discussion.

If this job isn't quite right for you but you are looking for a new position, please contact us for a confidential discussion about your career.

At Hays, we value diversity and are passionate about placing people in a role where they can flourish and succeed. We actively encourage people from diverse backgrounds to apply.

📌 In-House Legal Group Manager - Workers Compensation (Sydney)
🏢 Hays
📍 Sydney