Group Legal Counsel

D2 Process Ltd; Hamilton; Hybrid; NZD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

D2 Group, a specialist engineering group, is creating its first in-house legal role in Hamilton. You will lead commercial contracting, govern standard terms, and advise on risk before project signatures.

You will report to the Group Managing Director and work alongside the CFO as the sole legal resource for the Group, with external counsel available as needed. Hybrid flexibility and travel to APAC sites are expected.

Qualifications

• Real strength in commercial contracts — you have negotiated them, not just reviewed them.
• Admitted in New Zealand with a current practising certificate.
• Exposure to construction or engineering contracts; knowledge of NZS 3910, FIDIC or AS 4902 is a significant advantage.
• Able to explain a legal position to an engineer in a single paragraph.

Responsibilities

• Review, negotiate and improve contracts across three jurisdictions — head contracts, subcontracts, supply and equipment agreements, consultancy agreements and NDAs.
• Own our standard terms and template suite and drive adoption.
• Act as the risk gate in tender and bid reviews: assess risk, cost and push back where needed.
• Work with project teams to maintain contract administration: notices, variations, extensions of time, claims.
• Advise on live commercial questions: security of payment, retentions, liability caps, insurance and IP in process design.
• Manage external counsel: scope tightly, brief well, and control spend.
• Support disputes with specialist advisers when they arise.

Skills

Commercial contracts

Contract negotiation

Risk assessment

Legal communication

Standalone lawyer

Education

NZ legal qualification and practising certificate

Job description

Jora New Zealand will close on 9th September 2026. Thank you for being with us, we are cheering you on as you continue your career journey.

International process engineering company

Our first in-house legal role — build the in-house legal function, don’t inherit one

Commercial contracts focus FIDIC, NZS 3910 and AS 4902 on major capital projects

Hamilton base with some flexibility; diverse projects across the APAC region

About D2 Group

D2 Group is a specialist engineering group headquartered in New Zealand. We operate three distinct businesses, D2 Process, D2 Stainless and D2 Controls. The business specialises in food and beverage process engineering projects, and we have offices in Hamilton, Melbourne, Singapore, Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur. Our portfolio of services is diverse and we take projects through the full cycle, from concept design to installation, commissioning and handover.

We have been operating for 12 years and have a team of around 60 dedicated professionals across the APAC region. Our clients include many of the worlds leading food & beverage manufacturers globally, and a few smaller emerging ones.

The Opportunity

Due to strong growth in the region, we are creating our very first in-house legal role. Today our contracts are negotiated by the project and commercial teams, with external counsel brought in when a matter becomes difficult. That model works until it doesn’t. We now want a lawyer inside the business, working upstream of signature, improving our contractual position before a project starts rather than arguing about it sometimes years later.

You will report directly to the Group Managing Director, and work alongside the Group Chief Financial Officer and will be the sole legal resource for the Group. Our external counsel will always be available to support when needed. The brief is broad and the autonomy is real.

What you’ll do

Review, negotiate and improve the contracts we sign — head contracts, subcontracts, supply and equipment agreements, consultancy agreements and NDAs — across three jurisdictions.

Own our standard terms and template suite, and make sure the business actually uses them.

Act as the risk gate in tender and bid reviews: what are we agreeing to, what does it cost us, and what do we push back on.

Work with project teams to hold the line on contract administration — notices, variations, extensions of time, claims — so entitlement is preserved as a matter of routine, not reconstructed later.

Advise on the live commercial questions as they land: security of payment and retentions, liability caps, insurance, and IP in process design.

Manage external counsel — scope them tightly, brief them well, keep the spend proportionate.

Support disputes when they arise, with specialist advisers doing the heavy lifting.

What you’ll bring

Admitted in New Zealand with a current practising certificate, and around 5 to 8 years’ post-qualification experience.

Real strength in commercial contracts — you have negotiated them, not just reviewed them.

Exposure to construction or engineering contracts. Working knowledge of NZS 3910, FIDIC or AS 4902 is a significant advantage; if you know one well, we will back you to pick up the others.

Comfort being the only lawyer in the room, including the confidence to say “that risk is acceptable, take it”.

A practical, commercially fluent style — you can explain a legal position to an engineer in a single paragraph.

Also useful, but not essential:

Food and beverage, dairy or manufacturing sector experience.

Australian, Malaysian or Singaporean contract exposure.

What we offer

Hamilton-based with hybrid flexibility — typically [3-4] days in the office.

Practising certificate, NZLS and ILANZ fees, and CPD covered.

Travel to sites and projects across the APAC region.

Direct access to the decision-maker. You report to me, and you will be in the room when the commercial calls are made.

Applicants must have the right to work in New Zealand.