Senior Legal Advisor

Kō wai mātou? Who are we?

Zespri is more than simply the world's single-largest marketer of kiwifruit. We like to think of ourselves as fruit on a mission and as rebels with a cause: to help people, communities and the environment around the world thrive through the goodness of kiwifruit. We are proudly the world's largest marketer of kiwifruit, selling kiwifruit in more than 50 countries. We work with around 2,800 New Zealand and 1,500 international growers and post-harvest companies to source the best-quality Zespri Kiwifruit which we supply through our distribution partners to wholesale and retail customers. We are one of New Zealand's best-known international brands, dedicated to creating sustainable long-term value for growers.

He aha te mahi? What's the role?

We are currently looking for a Senior Legal Advisor to join our team in Mount Maunganui for a 12-month fixed term contract opportunity. The Senior Legal Advisor provides pragmatic and commercial legal and risk focused advice to business stakeholders, as well as working as part of a global team to deliver effective and efficient legal services within the global legal function. 

Reporting to the Head of Legal - NZ, the Senior Legal Advisor partners closely with senior leaders in the legal team and wider business stakeholders to deliver strong legal operations, ethics and risk management as part of strategic initiatives, and undertake risk management, dispute resolution and governance initiatives.  

Key Responsibilities include: 

• Delivering excellence in the legal function, driving strategic initiatives, working across functions and contributing positively and proactively to Zespri-wide issues. 
• Ensuring strong corporate governance practices across all Zespri entities and compliance with New Zealand corporate secretarial, regulatory, statutory, and documentation requirements. 
• Providing strategic and commercially focused legal advice to New Zealand based and other Zespri business units on legal aspects of Zespri’s business and deliver commercially focused legal solutions to underpin strategic and business unit objectives. 
• Supporting New Zealand based litigation and dispute resolution proceedings in association with Legal function leaders to achieve the best possible outcomes having regard to strategic objectives, stakeholder perception, financial and commercial risk. 
• Providing best-practice technical expertise on relevant regulatory, contractual and dispute resolution matters, proactively identify emerging legal issues and trends which impact on Zespri, engaging wider stakeholders to get agreement on alignment of risk management with strategic objectives of the business. 
• Supporting regulatory engagement with Kiwifruit New Zealand and other relevant governmental bodies at a policy level when required.   
• Maintaining an up-to-date perspective on regulatory and legal trends to understand impacts on Zespri, and work with other members of the legal function to provide up to date perspectives on regulatory and legal trends relevant to Zespri. 
• Managing positive and proactive relationships with external service providers when required, focusing on delivery of commercially pragmatic and value-based advice to Zespri. 

Ko wai koe? Who are you?

We are looking for a self-starter who has excellent engagement and people management skills. The Senior Legal Advisor will lead by example to prioritise ethical behaviour, good governance, legal compliance and risk mitigation. The successful candidate will also possess: 

• 7+ years’ experience PQE ideally with experience in both inhouse legal roles (FMCG, primary sector or consumer facing business advantageous) and well-established corporate law firms 
• Current practising certificate from New Zealand Law Society (or overseas jurisdiction with capability to obtain a NZ Practising Certificate)   
• Strong technical knowledge in legal issues relating to commercial matters, intangible assets, agribusiness and/or consumer marketing   
• Ability to analyse and understand ambiguous and complex issues, and translate these into business opportunities, strategy and action 
• Demonstrated ability to work with multiple internal and external stakeholders to manage and deliver complex strategic workstreams and influence wider stakeholder groups  
• Demonstrated drive for continuous improvement 
• High level of integrity and trustworthiness with highly confidential and sensitive information 
• Proactiveness with the ability to work effectively, both autonomously and as part of a team, with wider stakeholders at all levels to deliver business objectives 

He aha e tika ai a Zespri? Why Zespri?

Our people are what makes our culture so irresistible and uniquely Zespri. We are a passionate and mighty team of 850+ employees in 23 different locations globally. Working at Zespri is an opportunity to join a fast-paced, culture-driven environment unlike any other. We want people who share our values of being personally connected, results-driven, and committed to guardianship. Join us in shaping our future and be part of a truly unique organisation.

• Competitive overall remuneration package.
• FlexWELL flexible work ethos; WFH & the office.
• Additional paid annual leave day per year (Zespri Day).
• Additional paid volunteer day to volunteer within your community (Volunteer Time).
• Group Medical Insurance benefits.
• Convenient Mount Maunganui office location, with free onsite parking.
• Your daily dose of Vitamin C with free kiwifruit!

Tono mai inaianei! Apply Now! Applications close 16 April 2025.

At Zespri, we understand the importance of diverse perspectives and experiences, and a fair hiring process is the first step to getting there. We want to attract a diverse range of people and encourage everyone from all backgrounds and walks of life to apply. Please let us know if you need any assistance or reasonable adjustments to take part in the recruitment and selection process by reaching out to our Talent Acquisition team via email at careers@zespri.com.