General Counsel (1740) Kelburn, Wellington Central, New Zealand
- Are you attuned to student behavior and wellness complexities?
- Can you handle complex legal and ethical issues with senior leadership experience?
- Do you possess commercial insight to navigate ambiguity and manage commercial risk for optimal outcomes?
Mō Te Herenga Waka - About Our University
Te Herenga Waka - Victoria University of Wellington is a global-civic university with our marae at our heart. This iho draws off our heritage and is further defined by our tūrangawaewae, in particular Wellington, Aotearoa, and the Asia-Pacific, all of which are expressed in our position as Aotearoa New Zealand's globally ranked capital city university.
Kōrero mō te tūranga - About the role
Te Herenga Waka - Victoria University of Wellington is currently recruiting for the General Counsel on a permanent, full-time basis. The role will be responsible for providing excellent strategic and operational legal advisory services, including independent legal advice, to the Council, Timu Whakarae - Vice-Chancellor, Te Hiwa - Senior Leadership Team, Te Ama - Deans, Tumuaki - Heads of School, Manutaki - Central Service Unit Directors and other managers.
The role is responsible for the direct provision of legal advice and support as well as contracting external legal services when necessary.
Ō pūmanawa - About you
You will:
- Be an experienced senior leader that can deal with complex legal and ethical issues and interact with the Manukura - Chancellor and Timu Whakarae - Vice-Chancellor on sensitive and confidential matters.
- Have a high degree of commercial savvy and lead through ambiguity and areas of commercial risk to get the best possible commercial outcomes for the University.
- Have a sensitivity to complex issues regarding student behaviours and wellness and are excellent with people including the ability to influence and manage conflict.
- Provide strong attention to detail, and self-management skills.
- Be an effective leader of legal professionals, coaching your team of legal, policy and information experts to deliver a high quality of service that is always cognisant of the environment.
- Can remain calm under pressure and thrive working with a diverse range of stakeholders.
Key Requirements:
- Relevant tertiary legal qualifications.
- Excellent leadership, executive presence and team working skills.
- Hold and maintain a current New Zealand practising certificate as a Barrister and Solicitor.
- Significant PQE and proven range of practical legal experience in a large and complex organisation.
- Demonstrated previous success in a senior legal position with similar or equivalent responsibilities in the tertiary sector.
- Proven understanding of legal principles and practices with experience of providing these as practical advice to organisational leaders and managers.
- Commercial acumen and contracting and risk management experience.
- Proven experience in managing relationships and ability to persuade and influence others.
- Ability to maintain high standards of professionalism and objectivity.
- Demonstrated high levels of oral and written communication skill.
Ētahi kōrero hai āwhina i a koe - Why you should join our team
Our team is a group of highly effective professionals, who though diverse in speciality and talent, work together to enable Te Herenga Waka - Victoria University of Wellington to achieve it’s strategic goals. We keep the organisation safe and provide the physical and digital foundations on which it operates. Even though we are a back office function we keep people at the heart of everything we do.
Close Date for Vacancy: 07 August 2024. We can only consider applicants who are citizens or residents of New Zealand or Australia or on a current working visa. Applications from recruitment agencies are not accepted.
Contact Details for Vacancy: If you have any questions regarding this role please get in touch with Tina Wakefield (tina.wakefield@vuw.ac.nz, 021 224 6866). But applicants should follow all steps listed below.
Important - Application Steps and information
Download and complete the University Application Form, please include the position title and reference number (General Counsel, #1740). Then, please combine your cover letter, CV, and the University Application Form into a single file (preferably in pdf format). Click Apply and follow the process to enter your contact details and attach your combined file (CV, cover letter and the University application form) using the “CV/Resume” button.
If you are unable to combine your documents or have further supporting documents, please email these to erecruit@vuw.ac.nz stating the reference number and position title from the advert in the subject line.