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.

Our core ethical values are respect, responsibility, fairness, integrity, and empathy. These core ethical values are demonstrated in our commitment to sustainability, wellbeing, inclusivity, equity, diversity, collegiality, and openness. With, and as, tangata whenua, we value Te Tiriti o Waitangi, rangatiratanga, manaakitanga, kaitiakitanga, whai mātauranga, whanaungatanga, and akoranga.

Kōrero mō te tūranga - About the role

Te Herenga Waka - Victoria University of Wellington is currently recruiting for a Principal HR Legal Counsel to be a member of the Employment Law and Employment Relations ('EL and ER';) team, within the University's Human Resources team. This is permanent full-time position (40 hours per week).

The Principal HR Legal Counsel will provide senior-level legal, strategic and operational advice and support in relation to employment matters, as well as collective bargaining expertise and advice, to the Director, Human Resources, Vice-Chancellor, SLT members, Deans, Heads of School, CSU Directors, Managers and HR staff. The role supports and deputises for the Manager, EL and ER on the full range of matters within the Manager, EL and ER's portfolio of employment law and employment relations responsibilities.

Ō pūmanawa - About you

The success candidate will have a broad range of practical experience in employment law/relations gained in either a tertiary, private or public sector environment.

Key requirements include the following:

• Relevant tertiary qualifications. A law degree with current practicing certificate is required
• Proven understanding of human resources principles and practices
• Proven experience in managing relationships and ability to persuade and influence others
• Proven experience in preparing and strategising for, and leading, collective bargaining
• Excellent oral and written communication skills including presentation and negotiation skills
• Experience producing high quality reports and documents using Microsoft Office