Position Description
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Title:
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Solicitor/Senior Solicitor (Commercial)
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Business Unit:
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Corporate Services
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Directorate:
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Legal Services
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Reports to:
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Manager, Agriculture, Forestry & Corporate Law
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Location:
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Wellington or as advertised
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Approved by:
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Chief Legal Adviser/Director Legal Services
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Date:
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November 2024
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Let us introduce ourselves
Ko wai mātou
New Zealand Public Service Commission
Ka mahitahi mātou o te ratonga tūmatanui kia hei painga mō ngā tāngata o Aotearoa
i āianei, ā, hei ngā rā ki tua hoki. He kawenga tino whaitake tā mātou hei tautoko i te Karauna i runga i āna hononga ki a ngāi Māori i raro i te Tiriti o Waitangi. Ka tautoko mātou i te kāwanatanga manapori. Ka whakakotahingia mātou e te wairua whakarato ki ō mātou hapori, ā, e arahina ana mātou e ngā mātāpono me ngā tikanga matua o te ratonga tūmatanui i roto i ā mātou mahi.
In the public service we work collectively to make a meaningful difference for New Zealanders now and in the future. We have an important role in supporting the Crown in its relationships with Māori under the Treaty of Waitangi. We support democratic government. We are unified by a spirit of service to our communities and guided by the core principles and values of the public service in our work.
Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI)
The Ministry for Primary Industries works to safeguard New Zealanders’ way of life well in the future. To ensure this, we have a vision where New Zealand is the world’s most sustainable provider of high-value food and primary products. Our organisational strategy sets the direction we need to take to achieve this vision and ensure the success of the food and primary industries for the benefit of all New Zealanders. For more information on our current strategy, see Our Strategy.
As we deliver on our key outcomes of Prosperity (Tōnuitanga), Sustainability (Kauneke Tauwhiro), Protection (Whakangungu), and Visible Leadership (Ngā Manukura), we work hard to deliver for New Zealand. Using our key working styles, we always strive to be open, agile, engaging and proactive.
Our commitment to Diversity and Inclusion
To mātou kaingākau mo ngā rerekētanga me te tāpititanga
At MPI we respect the individual and want everyone to feel they can bring their whole selves to work every day. For more information on what Diversity and Inclusion looks and feels like at MPI, refer to - Our Diversity and Inclusion
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What is the purpose of this position?
Te whainga poto o tēnei tūranga
MPI’s Solicitors and Senior Solicitors are responsible for providing high quality, timely and practical legal advice to staff throughout MPI. They may handle a complex and demanding workload with a high degree of autonomy, with the supervision and assistance of more senior colleagues as appropriate. This may include effectively translating strategy and policy into legislation, interpretating legislation to deliver robust legal opinions and advice, representing MPI in the District Court and/or drafting and managing of commercial contracting arrangements.
The work of a Solicitor/Senior Solicitor (Commercial) focuses on contracts, funding agreements and other commercial arrangements, but sometimes extends to work on public law issues, compliance with corporate obligations and legislation.
What do Solicitors/Senior Solicitors (Commercial) do?
Ngā kawenga mahi
Prepare and present well researched, contextualised and high-quality legal advice on operational/policy/corporate matters and legislation.
Draft and review funding agreements, contracts reflecting other commercial arrangements and tender documents.
Advise on whether contractual and funding proposals are compliant with government procurement rules and rule of law principles.
Build and maintain relationships with clients, Crown Law Office, external legal providers and other government departments and organisations.
Provide legal advice that identifies and provides options for managing legal risk and work in a way that supports business partnerships with branches and directorates.
Provide advice and act as instructing solicitor in litigation involving the Ministry.
Contribute to the maintenance of accurate and up to date internal information management systems (e.g. contingent liability register, precedent filing system, wiki, reporting).
While solicitors/senior solicitors are employed by the Ministry, they will be required to obtain practising certificates, and to comply not only with their obligations as public servants, but also their professional obligations as officers of the Court, and obligations under the Lawyers and Conveyancers Act 2006, and the relevant Rules of Conduct and Client care.
Additional Responsibilities for Senior Solicitors
Subject to the team they are part of Senior Solicitors are expected to undertake a number of additional responsibilities that represent minimum expectations for seniors.
These expectations must be substantially met in the judgement of the Legal Services management team for someone to be considered for progression to Senior Solicitor. This does not mean staff who are not Senior Solicitors are excluded from undertaking any of these responsibilities.
The additional responsibilities expected at Senior Solicitor level are:
- Provide legal advice to senior managers within the Ministry, taking the Ministry’s broader strategy into account (including, where appropriate, whole of government issues).
- Provide leadership and direction on commercial and contractual matters. This includes providing advice on the management of legal risks and on commercial legal opportunities that may arise as contracts are developed and negotiated.
- Provide leadership and direction on operational matters. This includes advice on management of legal risks and on opportunities for operational improvements.
- Contribute to the planning and management of legal resources, including involvement in the development of business plans as appropriate.
- Identify improvement opportunities in area of practice and ensure operating procedures are based on best practice.
- Establish and build strong working relationships at all levels of the Ministry.
- Lead projects which include team members and others throughout the Ministry as required.
- Provide leadership, mentoring and coaching within Legal Services.
- Assist managers with identifying mentoring, training and development needs for the team within the designated areas of expertise, skill or knowledge and work with the manager to see these needs are met.
- Assist managers to proactively establish, maintain and monitor effective quality assurance mechanisms within the designated areas of expertise, skill or knowledge.
- Retain and instruct external counsel as required, while thinking strategically about the Ministry’s litigation objectives.
General (Solicitors and Senior Solicitors)
Ngā korero Whānui
Respond to the changing needs of the Ministry, performing other tasks as reasonably required.
Participate in responses (using the New Zealand Coordinated Incident Management System) if required and support others to participate in response as required.
Maintain a strict sense of professional ethics, maintain confidentiality and privacy, and abide by the Ministry’s Code of Conduct.
Work in a safe way and take reasonable care to ensure that you do not adversely affect that health or safety of yourself or others.
Understand the risks involved with your work and the controls in place to manage these risks.
Participate in Health and Safety training and provide feedback to Health and Safety representatives and/or management on Health Safety and Wellbeing matters as required.
Ensure all incidents including near misses are reported in MPI’s incident reporting system.
This position description is not intended to be an exhaustive list of tasks, but to act as a guide as to the main duties and responsibilities of the position. In particular, commercial lawyers may need to work with colleagues to provide advice on public law issues or assist with the development of legislation. The content of this position description will be subject to regular review in conjunction with the job holder.
Who would you be working with?
Ko wai ō hoa mahi?
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Internal
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Nature of the relationship
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Manager
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To support the Manager in providing high quality advice and to proactively monitor and report any risk.
For guidance in individual development and planning.
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Other Legal Managers and teams
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To facilitate mentoring, sharing of advice, ideas and initiatives and for peer review.
To provide surge capacity as may be required by other Legal teams or to allow for further development opportunities.
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Branch management
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To liaise between business and the corporate groups to contribute to Branch and Legal strategy development, business planning and implementation.
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Corporate Services managers and staff
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To understand the corporate requirements and translate these for branch managers/staff.
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Other managers and staff in the Ministry
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To share information and represent interests of branch as appropriate.
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External
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Nature of the relationship
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Ministers offices
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For support of the Minister(s) and collaboration on ministerial servicing processes and relevant issues if required.
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Stakeholder / industry groups
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To inform, share information, liaise on key matters, and represent the interests of the Ministry.
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Service providers
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Build effective business partnerships.
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Other government agencies
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To inform, share information, liaise on key matters, and represent interests of the Ministry including through collaborative projects.
Develop and operationalise partnership programmes that can deliver mutually agreed outcomes.
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Māori stakeholders, Iwi, Hapu, organisations
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To facilitate active collaboration, build knowledge, and capture Māori knowledge/information as inputs to work.
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Dimensions of the position
Ngā ahuatanga ō tēnei turanga
Delegations of Authority for all positions with a requirement to make decisions on behalf of MPI are detailed in the ‘HR and Finance Delegations’ documentation: HR and Finance Delegations.
FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
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MPI operating expenditure
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By agreement with your manager and in accordance with the annual budget.
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Non-departmental expenditure
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By agreement with your manager and in accordance with the annual budget.
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Capital expenditure
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By agreement with your manager and in accordance with the annual budget.
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PRE-EMPLOYMENT CHECK
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To fulfil the requirement of this position, the following pre-employment checks are required:
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New Zealand criminal conviction history check (Ministry of Justice)
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SECURITY CLEARANCE
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To fulfil the requirement of this position a security clearance classification to the following level is required
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Confidential
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Who are we looking for?
Ko te tangata mo tēnei tūranga?
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Qualifications
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Essential
Relevant tertiary qualification in Law and a current Practising Certificate (or able to be issued Practising Certificate before commencing work).
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Experience and knowledge
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Essential – Solicitor/Senior Solicitor generally
Demonstrated successful and appropriate experience in all key competencies including:
- Knowledge of or a demonstrated interest in gaining knowledge of legislation administered by the Ministry.
- Knowledge of or an interest in gaining knowledge of legislation relevant to all government departments – e.g. Official Information Act, Privacy Act.
- Managing internally focussed relationships.
- A strong track record of achievement of results.
- A can-do attitude with attention to detail and strong on successful delivery of work.
- Managing internal relationships while demonstrating excellence in execution.
- Understanding of the machinery of government, the Crown’s obligation to Māori, and the role and work of the Ministry.
- Working effectively with government agencies.
Desired – Solicitor/Senior Solicitor generally
- Knowledge of the Ministry business environment, its strategic priorities, strengths, and weaknesses.
Additional experience required for Solicitor/Senior Solicitor (Commercial)
Relevant recent experience as described below: for solicitors, 2+ years; for senior solicitors, 7+ years
- Essential: experience of drafting contracts and advising on contractual terms as an in-house lawyer in a government department, other public sector agency, or corporate legal team; or in a law firm
- Desirable: experience of advising on New Zealand public sector procurement rules and/or public sector funding grants
- Desirable: experience of advising on contractual disputes, managing commercial litigation, and instructing counsel
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Skills
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Essential
- Mentoring.
- Aligning with strategy and planning.
- Strong analytical skills.
- Clear judgement and an ability to recognise and understand the implications of advice.
- Communication and presentation skills.
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Capabilities
Ngā taumata mātou
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COMMON CAPABILITIES – expected in all MPI roles
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Engaging
Te Whai Wāhitanga
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- Connects with others
- Listens
- Reads people and situations
- Interacts appropriately in different situational / social / cultural settings
- Communicates tactfully
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Honest and Courageous
He Pono, He Māia
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- Shows courage
- Shows decisiveness
- Acts with integrity
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Resilient
He Manawaroa
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- Is adaptable
- Remains effective under pressure
- Demonstrates composure
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Results Focus
He Aro ki ngā Hua
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Self-Aware Learner
He Ākonga Kiri Mōhio
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- Seeks feedback on own performance
- Self-assesses
- Adapts approach
- Shows commitment to development
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Tikanga Māori
Tikanga: the dynamics of doing what is right / rite so as to respect, and not transgress, the mana, integrity and honour of anyone in a given context; Māori: the indigenous people of the land
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- Applies Māori culture and language to work
- Draws on Māori culture to enrich one’s work
- Applies Māori knowledge and values within a government and Crown context
Refer to relevant Career Pathway Māori Cultural Competency for role-specific expectations.
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CAPABILITIES – specifically relevant to this role
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Judgement and Decision-Making
(Standard level for Solicitors, Advanced level for Senior Solicitors)
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Is astute; makes timely decisions that stand up to scrutiny; is comfortable proceeding when faced with uncertainty and incomplete data if circumstances demand it.
What it looks like at the Standard Level:
- Considers options and likely consequences: thinks broadly before deciding.
- Able to give rationale for decisions: can give reasons and explain the logic for decisions.
- Is able to make decisions in uncertain situations: makes decisions even when the outcomes are uncertain.
- Makes timely decisions, balancing the desire for complete information with the need to progress important or urgent matters: shows good judgement; neither rushing to a decision, nor delaying overlong when faced with multiple / uncertain options in a time-limited setting.
What it looks like at the Advanced Level:
- Demonstrates astute judgement and decision making in senior roles and high-stakes situations.
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Works Collaboratively
(Standard level for Solicitors, Advanced level for Senior Solicitors)
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Understands wider context, focuses on organisational priorities, works across boundaries, shares information, and makes connections for better outcomes.
What it looks like at the Standard Level:
- Understands the context: is aware of wider organisational context and decision-making processes.
- Focuses on priority work: understands the wider priorities and aligns efforts accordingly.
- Shares information: proactively keeps others informed and provides them with information relevant to their work.
- Builds trust with other teams/groups: takes steps to earn and maintain trust with other teams; spends time with others to understand and support them in achieving their priority objectives.
- Works across boundaries: proactively communicates and collaborates across team / group boundaries.
- Supports others to succeed: finds opportunities for own group to contribute to the success of other groups and teams.
What it looks like at the Advanced Level:
- Demonstrates collaboration at an organisational / sector level.
- Fosters collaboration across groups and/or the organisation.
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Solves Problems
(Standard level for Solicitors, Advanced level for Senior Solicitors)
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Finds and implements effective solutions to problems.
What it looks like at the Standard Level:
- Takes steps to fully understand the problem and contributing factors: ensures there is a clear problem definition before moving to find a solution.
- Explores different solution options and possible side effects: thinks widely and does not rush into first apparent solution.
- Selects and implements solutions that are effective: considers cost-benefit analysis of potential solutions and potential unintended consequences before deciding how to proceed.
- Involves stakeholders and ensures that solutions meet their needs.
What it looks like at the Advanced Level:
- Demonstrates problem solving skills in complex, high-stakes situations.
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Communicates with impact
(Standard level for Solicitors; Advanced level for Senior Solicitors)
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Communicates in a clear, persuasive, and effective way
What it looks like at the Standard Level:
- Communicates clearly: tailors messages so that they are clear, succinct, and resonate with their different audiences.
- Influences others: asks questions to understand others’ concerns; presents a clear and convincing rationale for what is being proposed.
- Communication achieves intended purpose: audience feels well-informed or is influenced toward desired action.
What it looks like at the Advanced Level:
- Demonstrates 'presence': others listen to and respect what is said, even if not agreeing.
- Gains active participation and/or support for initiatives, from senior leaders, staff, and other relevant senior stakeholders.
- Communicates clearly with a very wide range of audiences, such as community stakeholders, organisation senior leaders, senior external stakeholders, and staff.
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ADDITIONAL CAPABILITIES
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Customer and Stakeholder Connection
(Standard level for Solicitors and Senior Solicitors)
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Thinks from stakeholder / customer perspective, understands their interests and consults in order to achieve best outcomes.
What it looks like at the Standard Level:
- Thinks about broader context: understands and articulates interdependencies when making decisions.
- Knows stakeholders / customers: knows and understands the groups and individuals - within and outside the organisation - who have an interest in your work.
- Consults widely: connects with stakeholders and customers - internal and external - early and often to ensure the best outcomes.
What it looks like at the Advanced Level:
- Demonstrates extensive understanding of different stakeholder perspectives in complex, external sector settings, and an ability to relate to, and consult effectively with such stakeholders.
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Plans and Organises
(Standard for Solicitors and Senior Solicitors)
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Plans, prioritises, and organises work of self / others; to deliver on short and long-term objectives across the breadth of their role without placing others under undue pressure.
What it looks like at the Standard Level:
- Manages and delivers on work priorities: breaks work into chunks; creates realistic timeframes for each stage of work; anticipates and addresses roadblocks and problems; communicates and coordinates with others as required; evaluates and reviews outcomes against plan.
- Purposeful about use of time: prioritises what is important; strikes an effective balance between proactive and responsive work activities.
What it looks like at the Advanced Level:
- Demonstrates planning and organising skills in large and complex projects / situations involving many people and groups in a medium-long time frame with significant resource challenges.
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Inquiring and Analytical
(Advanced for Solicitors and Senior Solicitors)
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Shows curiosity, flexibility, and openness in analysing and integrating ideas, information, and differing perspectives
What it looks like at the Standard Level:
- Thinks analytically and critically: gets to the heart of issues and uncovers underlying causes; clearly describes their analytical process and rationale.
- Shows curiosity: looks for feedback; explores options; encourages others to critique their ideas.
- Shows awareness, and minimises impact, of bias: insightful about the strengths and weaknesses of their analysis and approach; mitigates impact of potential biases.
What it looks like at the Advanced Level:
- Brings well-developed analytical thinking together with an openness to creative approaches to complex situations across the organisation / sector.
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GROUP-SPECIFIC / TECHNICAL CAPABILITIES – from career pathways
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Integrity
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- Acts honestly in accordance with moral or ethical principles
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Technical/Functional
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- Has the functional and technical knowledge and skills to do the job at a high level
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RESPONSE TECHNCIAL EXPERT CAPABILITIES
– for Tier 5 / 6 managers / staff likely to be involved in a response function in their area of expertise
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Solving Problems
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Identifies solution given available information
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Anticipating Problems
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Forecasts and detects errors, gaps, and potential flaws
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Professionalism
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Acts in accordance with job related values, principles, and standards
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Dealing With Ambiguity
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Comfortably handles unclear or unpredictable situations
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Handling Pressure
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Remains calm, composed, and focussed on the work in ongoing high-pressure situations
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