Head of Legal and Governance

He whakamārama mō te tūranga mahi | About the role 

As Head of Legal and Governance, you will provide strategic legal and governance leadership across Watercare, acting as a trusted advisor to the Board, Chief Executive and Executive Leadership Team. Reporting to the Chief Corporate Services Officer, you will lead the Legal and Governance function and ensure Watercare meets its statutory, regulatory and governance obligations while effectively managing legal risk across the organisation.  

This is a fixed-term opportunity through to 30th September 2027. 

Key responsibilities include: 

• Providing expert legal and governance advice to the Board, Chief Executive and Executive Leadership Team.  

• Leading the management of legal risk and overseeing significant legal matters across the business.  

• Monitoring legislative and regulatory changes and advising on impacts to Watercare.  

• Managing external legal providers to ensure quality, value and timely advice.  

• Acting as Company Secretary for Watercare and its subsidiary entities.  

• Supporting the Board and Committees through effective governance practices, including board papers, resolutions and meeting administration.  

• Leading responses to LGOIMA, Privacy Act requests and governance obligations.  

• Building strong relationships with Auckland Council, external legal organisations and key stakeholders.  

• Leading, developing and supporting a high-performing Legal and Governance team.  

Ngā pūkenga e rapu nei mātou | About you 

We're looking for an experienced legal leader who combines technical excellence with strong commercial judgement and exceptional stakeholder management skills. You will be comfortable operating at both a strategic and operational level and have the ability to influence and build credibility with senior leaders, executives and board members.  

To be successful in this role, you'll bring: 

• A current New Zealand Practising Certificate.  

• A law qualification and a minimum of 10 years' post-admission experience.  

• Proven experience providing legal and governance advice to boards and senior leadership teams.  

• Strong expertise in corporate governance, company secretarial practice, privacy and compliance matters.  

• Outstanding written communication, drafting and analytical skills.  

• Demonstrated people leadership experience, including coaching and developing high-performing teams.  

• A pragmatic and commercially focused approach to solving complex issues.  

• The ability to build trusted relationships and influence a broad range of stakeholders.  

• High levels of integrity, professionalism and sound judgement.  

• Chartered Governance Professional status or a similar governance qualification will be advantageous.  

• Experience across both private practice and in-house environments would be highly regarded