Senior Legal Counsel - Commercial

Job Description:

Te Tari o te Tumu Whakarae | Vice-Chancellor’s Office
Located in Ōtautahi | Christchurch, Aotearoa | New Zealand

• Full-time 37.5 hours per week (1.0 FTE)
• Continuing (permanent) position
• Generous annual leave provisions and professional development opportunities

Kia hiwa rā, kia hiwa rā!
He hiahia, he pūkenga nōu ki te mahi a te Senior Legal Counsel? Nāia te pōwhiri nā Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha kia tono mai i te tūranga nei.

Āu Mahi | What You Will Do
An exciting opportunity for a full-time Senior Legal Counsel - Commercial in the Office of the Vice-Chancellor has arisen, to assist with providing commercial legal advice. You will receive guidance and support from the Deputy General Counsel. You will provide legal advice to the University Council, Vice-Chancellor, General Counsel/Registrar, Senior Leadership Team and University staff in relation to strategic, commercial, contractual, risk management and governance matters.

Mōu | Who You Are
You will have a LLB Bachelor’s Degree, a current practising certificate issued by NZLS, and significant knowledge and expertise in a broad range of commercial legal issues. In addition, you will be:

• a perceptive and proactive person who can provide timely advice across a full range of commercial and contractual matters
• excellent at relationship building with the ability to find pragmatic solutions to variety of technical problems
• an effective people manager with the ability to coach and develop team members
• able to manage competing priorities and a significant and diverse workload
• outstanding at writing and have excellent analytical and communication skills as well as strong judgment.

Applicants who are comfortable with technology, committed to teamwork, responsive and have a proven record of providing the highest quality client service, should apply today!

Mahi Ngātahi | Who You Will Work With
The General Counsel/Registrar and Deputy General Counsel are responsible for the legal function at UC as well as overseeing governance support, internal audit, policy and compliance. You will be part of a supportive team of lawyers who are committed to delivering excellent legal service . Additionally, this role will work closely with staff across UC including the Vice Chancellor and Senior Leadership Team. For more information about the Senior Leadership team, please visit our website.

Ngā Painga o UC | Why UC
Ngā Uara | Our Values of manaakitanga, whanaungatanga and tiakitanga guide our decisions and behaviour and provide a roadmap for how we do things at UC, affirming our commitment to pastoral care and support for our ākonga and staff. They challenge and inspire us to be the best we can, and make UC a great place to work and study. For more info on Ngā Uara | Our Values visit us here.

We are committed to accessible higher education, service to the community and the encouragement of talent without barriers of distance, wealth, class, gender or ethnicity. The University explicitly aims to produce graduates and support staff who are engaged with their communities, empowered to act for good and determined to make a difference in the world.

We offer a range of fantastic benefits including flexible work practices, study opportunities and generous superannuation and leave provisions. For more information, please visit us: https://www.canterbury.ac.nz/joinus/benefits/

For more information about Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha | University of Canterbury, please visit https://www.canterbury.ac.nz/

The closing date for this position is: 23 August 2026 (midnight, NZ time)
Please note, applications will be reviewed as they are received, and interviews may take place before the close date.

Pēhea te tono mai | How You Apply

Applications for this position must be submitted via our careers website and should include a cover letter and resume.

Please note, we do not accept applications by email, however we are happy to answer your queries in relation to the application process, please forward these to [email protected]

You must have Aotearoa New Zealand or Australian citizenship/permanent residency to be considered for this role. If you hold a valid work visa and are physically present in New Zealand then you may also be considered.

Please note, this is an onsite position.