• 12 month fixed term role
• Critical and influential role, tight knit collaborative team
• Opportunity to make a real impact

He angitūtanga: The opportunity

Auckland Council's Employment Relations Team is seeking a talented Senior Legal Counsel to join their team for an initial 12 months. This role sits within a dynamic and dedicated ER team, a centre of expertise within the wider People & Culture team. You will support and provide expert advice to the People & Culture function and the organisation on a wide range of employment relations scenarios.   

In this critical and influential role, you will partner with various stakeholders across the Council group to help work through the industrial and employment law implications of people-related initiatives.   You will also get to work on an interesting range of projects and Council initiatives.

Fundamental to Auckland Council's employment relations strategy is ensuring the Council maintain strong, collaborative relationships with their union partners and an important part of the role is working through what this means in a large, diverse organisation. Working with a high-performing collaborative team, you will ensure ER issues are resolved to achieve the best possible result for Council, the ratepayer, and employees, and those outcomes reflect Council's risk appetite and strategic goals.

He kōrero mōu: About you

• A minimum 7 years’ relevant experience from either a law firm or in-house advisory environment, combined with an in-depth knowledge of ER best practice and employment legislation, ideally in the New Zealand jurisdiction, and will hold a current practicing certificate
• Excellent understanding of employment related legislation (e.g. Employment Relations Act 2000, Holidays Act, Privacy Act, Human Rights Act, and similar legislation)
• Ability to provide wide-ranging advice on employment-related legal and policy matters across the organisation, and appear in mediations and before the Employment Relations Authority if necessary
• Comprehensive knowledge of the employment and industrial law jurisdiction
• Experience undertaking mediation, and Employment Relations Authority hearings
• Proven experience in managing the resolution of ER issues and disputes
• Excellent interpersonal and relationship skills
• With highly developed legal and organisational acumen, you will have a confident and collaborative working style
• You will be experienced in managing risk and finding pragmatic resolutions to employment issues
• You must be committed to working in partnership with unions and willing to explore alternative dispute resolution mechanisms. The experience you have already gained within the employment relations field, means you will be able to hit the ground running.

How to apply?

To apply for this role, click the 'Apply' or 'I'm interested' button, or for more information and a confidential discussion about whether this role might be suitable for you, please contact Carl Church on 0211 666 441or Sarah Hilton on 021 500 331 or carl.church@nicherecruitment.co.nz  or sarah.hilton@nicherecruitment.co.nz