Legal & Risk Manager | Commercial & Construction

CoLegal; Auckland; On-site; NZD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid work up to 2 days from home

Onsite parking

Life & critical care insurance

Birthday leave

Kiwisaver on salary

Laptop & phone plan

Team social events

Job summary

Horizon Energy Group, a NZ-owned infrastructure services group, seeks a senior in-house lawyer to lead a small legal team. The role focuses on drafting, reviewing and negotiating construction and related contracts, with a strong commercial bias and risk oversight across the group.

You will advise senior leaders, shape contract requirements, and support tenders while managing insurance and risk programs. Applicants should be NZ-qualified lawyers with extensive experience.

Qualifications

• 10+ years’ NZ qualified lawyer with experience in reputable law firm and/or in-house.
• Strong drafting and negotiation skills in construction and infrastructure sectors preferred.
• Experience running or supporting a corporate insurance programme and risk management framework.

Responsibilities

• Draft, review and negotiate construction and other contracts in line with risk appetite.
• Support business units through tenders and maintain contract/tender framework and registers.
• Review leases and Group legal documents with external counsel as needed.
• Oversee group risk management framework and insurance programme alongside broker.

Skills

Contract drafting

Contract negotiation

Risk management

Leadership

Stakeholder management

Education

NZ-qualified lawyer

Job description

About Horizon Energy Group

Horizon Energy Group is a New Zealand-owned, multi-disciplinary infrastructure services group with operations across New Zealand.

With deep roots in the Eastern Bay of Plenty, the Group has diversified from its electricity distribution heritage into specialist businesses spanning electricity distribution, electrical contracting, facility services and management, HVAC contracting, and industrial refrigeration.

The Group is ultimately community-owned through Trust Horizon. This ownership brings a long-term perspective to the way the Group operates and the value it creates for the communities associated with its ownership. You'll be joining a business that looks after its people. Some of the benefits they provide to its staff include:

• Ability to work up to 2 days a week from home with flex
• Onsite car parking
• Life and critical care insurance
• Birthday leave
• Kiwisaver on top of salary
• Laptop, mobile phone and phone plan
• Regular team and organisational social events

About the Role

This is a senior commercially focused in-house legal role. You'll report into the long-serving Group CFO & Company Secretary and lead a small team of two direct reports. The majority of your role is legal, with a strong commercial contracts focus. You will:

• Draft, review and negotiate construction contracts, including NZS 3910, SA-2017 subcontracts, subcontractor agreements, consultancy agreements, services and supply contracts and vertical construction contracts;
• Support the business units through tenders, and keep the Group’s contract and tender framework, checklists and register current;
• Make sure contracts are executed in line with the Group’s risk appetite, insurance requirements and Delegated Authority Policy; and
• Review property leases and wider Group legal documents, working alongside external counsel where needed.

You’ll also be involved in:

• Overseeing the Group risk management framework and risk registers; and
• Running the Group insurance programme, including the annual renewal with the broker, and the business continuity programme.

You’ll be a trusted adviser to the GMs of several business units, CEO and executive with the ability to directly impact and shape outcomes that are legally sound but also help meet organisational objectives.

About You

• 10+ years’ NZ qualified lawyer with relevant experience gained in a reputable law firm and/or in-house organisation;
• Strong contract drafting and negotiation skills, preferably with construction and infrastructure sector related experience;
• Ideally experienced in running or supporting a corporate insurance programme and a risk management framework;
• Commercial and pragmatic, able to balance legal risk against business objectives;
• Strong verbal and written communication skills with the ability to distil complex legal matters into a simple and digestible form;
• Comfortable advising senior leaders and preparing clear, Board-level papers;
• A capable people leader who builds strong relationships across many stakeholders and business units;
• Organised, self-motivated and able to juggle competing priorities.

This is a unique senior leadership role within an organisation that has a great purpose. If you're considering the next step in your career for 2027, enquire now to find out if this position is right for you.

Note: this is a full time position. Applicants must be a NZ citizen or NZ Permanent Resident.