POSITION DESCRIPTION Position : Solicitor Location : Wellington Responsible to : Manager Legal Effective: 1 July 2010 Context of the Position To provide legal advice to the Minister and the Ministry. About the Ministry The Ministry’s role is to ensure our transport system helps New Zealand thrive. As a policy ministry, it is our role to provide strategic sector knowledge, day-to-day transport advice, and a programme of work that meets the government’s priorities of the day. We work closely with transport Crown agencies to deliver results. As a flexible and responsive ministry, we believe that: transport connects us: it is vital to society and the economy we see the big picture of transport we shape the transport system for the long term we ensure quality, innovation and value in everything we do we deliver results by working with and through others we are a great place to work Direct contribution to the role of the Ministry The Solicitor’s direct contribution to the Ministry achieving its role is to provide a high quality legal service to the Ministry and Ministers. Purpose and Key Accountabilities Purpose of the Role Provide general legal advice Solicitor Key Accountabilities and Deliverables Provide general legal advice to Ministers and the Ministry Provide legal advice on the development of policy, including consistency with the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act, Treaty of Waitangi, Constitution Act, Official Information Act, Privacy Act, international law and other aspects of the Legislation Advisory Committee’s Guidelines Provide legal and other services related to new and amending legislation, including instructing 1 General functions Parliamentary Counsel, attending cabinet committees and assisting at Select Committees Provide input into draft transport rules and associated regulations, including preparing drafting instructions and liaison with transport agencies and other Government Departments Provide legal advice on Official Information Act and Privacy Act requests Process roading orders from the New Zealand Transport Agency and local authorities, as well as orders of the Maori Land Court involving proclamations and gazette notices Process consents by the Chief Executive to delegations by the transport crown entities Draft and review contracts and agreements and review other documents relating to the Ministry’s activities Instruct external counsel to provide legal advice Ensure records are created and maintained in accordance with the Public Records Act 2005 (specific recordkeeping responsibilities are located in the Ministry’s Information Management Policy under “Information ownership, roles and responsibilities”) Undertake any other tasks, as requested Person Specification Qualifications The ability to hold a current legal practising certificate Experience and skills Sound judgement and analytical skills An interest in the development of legislation Initiative and the ability to work to deadlines Sound time management skills Excellent interpersonal skills and ability to work effectively as part of a team Well developed research and communication skills. Core Competencies (Per Lominger Leadership Architect Library) Managing diverse relationships Customer focus Is dedicated to meeting the expectations and requirements of internal and external customers Gets first-hand customer information and uses it for improvements in products and services Acts with customers in mind Establishes and maintains effective relationships with customers and gains their trust and respect Acting with honour and character Solicitor 2 Integrity and trust Is widely trusted Is seen as a direct, truthful individual Can present the unvarnished truth in an appropriate and helpful manner Keeps confidences Admits mistakes Doesn’t misrepresent her/himself for personal gain Understanding the business Functional/technical skills Has the functional and technical knowledge and skills to do the job at a high level of accomplishment Keeping on point Priority setting Spends his/her time and the time of others on what’s important Quickly zeroes in on the critical few and puts the trivial many aside Can quickly sense what will help or hinder in accomplishing a goal Eliminates roadblocks Creates focus Making complex decisions Problem solving Uses rigorous logic and methods to solve difficult problems with effective solutions Probes all fruitful sources for answers Can see hidden problems Is excellent at honest analysis Looks beyond the obvious and doesn’t stop at first answers Solicitor 3 Communicating effectively Written communications Is able to write clearly and succinctly in a variety of communication settings and styles Can get messages across that have the desired effect Other Important Competencies (Per Lominger Leadership Architect Library) Approachability Is easy to approach and talk to Spends the extra effort to put others at ease Can be warm, pleasant, and gracious Is sensitive to and patient with the interpersonal anxieties of others Builds rapport well Is a good listener Is an early knower, getting informal and incomplete information in time to do something about it Ethics and values Adheres to an appropriate (for the setting) and effective set of core values and beliefs during both good and bad times Acts in line with those values Rewards the right values and disapproves of others Practises what (s)he preaches Intellectual horsepower Is bright and intelligent Deals with concepts and complexity comfortably Described as intellectually sharp, capable, and agile Self-knowledge Knows personal strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and limits Seeks feedback Gains insights from mistakes Is open to criticism Isn’t defensive Is receptive to talking about shortcomings Looks forward to balanced (+’s and –‘s) performance reviews and career discussions Solicitor 4