• Job Type:
• Category: Legal
• Location: Wellington (Te Whanganui a Tara)
• Date Advertised: 05-FEB-21
• Job Reference: APA/1510198
• Job Title: Solicitor – Legislation
• Business Unit:
• Division:
• Summary:

• Offering a unique perspective into the Justice sector
• Opportunity to build on your legal advisory and legislation experience
• Permanent full-time Wellington based position supported by flexi working

‘Kotahi anō te kaupapa, ko te oranga o te iwi’  –  ‘There is only one purpose to our work:  the wellness and wellbeing of our people.

Ara Poutama Aotearoa is New Zealand’s largest core government department. It faces complex challenges in managing a growing prison population, and many more people serving community-based sentences. Doing this in a way that protects the public, while also striving to rehabilitate and reintegrate people, requires the development and implementation of new ideas.

As part of our organisation’s ongoing commitment and response to an increasingly complex legal environment, our Legal Services Unit are pleased to announce a newly created Level 2 Solicitor role within the Legislation Team.

We are seeking an experienced solicitor who is capable of supporting the innovation required for the department to succeed in its mission. This will often mean not taking legal queries, proposals or problems at face value, and looking below the surface to ascertain what the real issues are and how they are best addressed. Your advice will be put into practice quickly, and tested in court at a frequency and to a degree that is unusual in most departments. In addition to advising on core areas such as the Corrections Act 2004, the Sentencing Act 2002 and the Parole Act 2002, you will have the opportunity to advise on a wide variety of other areas including such diverse fields as privacy, official information, human rights, health law, telecommunications, and resource management/planning.

You will be intimately involved in solving specific problems, as well as working closely with policy and operational staff to tackle systemic problems and grasp opportunities. This may involve working within existing law or, where necessary, reforming the law.

Your specific duties would include drafting secondary legislation, instructing the Parliamentary Counsel Office, attending Select Committee, supporting Ministers during Parliamentary debates and assisting Crown Counsel in defending judicial review applications.

Ngā pūkenga me ngā wheako | Skills and experience

If you are motivated by the opportunity to take on interesting and challenging work in a people centred organisation, then we want to hear from you. Within your application you, the panel will look for evidence and/or examples of how you meet the following lead requirements:

• Holds a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) and current eligibility for a NZ Law Society practising certificate;
• Demonstrable experience providing advice, including in relation to legislative proposals;
• Awareness of the operational, cultural, political and social environment in which the Legal Services Unit and Ara Poutama Aotearoa as a whole, operate;
• Effective people and relationship management skills – the ability to engage readily with people, to listen, adopt a customer service ethos, and maintain collaboration;
• Cultural competence – familiarity with the Te Tiriti o Waitangi and its application to the work of government agencies, and respect for Maori values and beliefs;
• Knowledge of Te Reo and Tikanga would be an advantage for our working environment.

Tono ināianei | Apply Now

To apply, upload a tailored CV and a cover letter (PDF) that describes your motivation for the role and that highlights your relevant skills and experience. Alignment to our kaupapa, including our over-arching strategy Hōkai Rangi, is critical to your success – we ask that you provide examples which reflect and demonstrate our organisation values. 

The closing date for applications is 9pm on Sunday 21 February 2021.  Interviews will take place at our Wellington National Office.

The salary for this role starts from $75,829 up to $107,052 based on demonstrable skills and expertise.

If you want to find out more about a career with us, visit careers.corrections.govt.nz or email our team at Two recruitment@corrections.govt.nz.