Legal Officer

Why join us? | He aha ngā hua o tō piri mai?

• Make a Difference: Contribute to the development of Palmerston North City while enjoying a fulfilling career that positively impacts our community
• Professional Growth: Elevate your career through a range of Learning and Development opportunities at Palmerston North City Council.
• Benefits: We do more than just pay you a salary too. We have awesome benefits to support you including 5 weeks annual leave and hybrid working.

About the role | Ngā kōrero mō te tūranga

As a Legal Officer, you’ll be a vital part of our Legal team, supporting the Legal Counsel and Legal Advisor to strengthen legal compliance and improve how information is managed and shared across the organisation with a strong focus on managing LGOIMA responses on behalf of Council.

This is a varied role that suits someone who enjoys working with systems and processes, coordinating across teams, and bringing clarity and structure to complex information. This is a full-time role, 40 hours per week, Monday to Friday.

Your key focus areas will include:

• Managing LGOIMA responses for Council: assess requests, liase with stakeholders to compile, and manage the response to requests for information received by Council under Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987 (LGOIMA);
• Supporting legal compliance: Assisting with processes that monitor compliance and help reduce legal risk across Council.
• Coordinating engagement and training: Organise legal training sessions (including LGOIMA and privacy), meetings, and regular engagement between the Legal team and staff across the organisation.
• Managing legal information: Maintaining and improving legal templates, compiling reports, and managing central repositories for legal advice and contracts so information is accessible and well organised.
• Enabling great outcomes: Supporting legal workflow requests and improving organisational understanding of how the Legal team adds value.

About you | Ngā kōrero mōu

You’re a practical, self-directed, community-minded person who enjoys variety and you’re organised, detail-oriented, and comfortable working with sensitive and confidential information. You enjoy collaborating with a wide range of people, take pride in improving processes, and bring a calm, professional approach to your work.

You’ll also have:

• Experience working with legal information, ideally in a law firm or local authority environment.
• A relevant tertiary qualification.
• Strong administrative and coordination skills, with proven attention to detail.
• Excellent communication skills and the ability to build effective working relationships across an organisation.
• High levels of integrity, discretion, and professionalism.
• Confidence juggling multiple priorities in a busy, people-focused environment.

About us | Ngā kōrero mō mātou

Palmerston North (or as we like to call it, Palmy) is a growing, innovative and exciting city. With small city benefits and big city ambition, Palmy has secured its place on the map as a creative and exciting city, with leading innovation and developments! We’re proud to be a city that includes, supports, connects and uses the talents of the whole community in our pursuit to provide a connected and safe community. We’re also a future-focused city who cares about enhancing our natural and built environment. Our future looks bright, it looks vibrant and progressive.

What we offer | Te āhua o ā mātou mahi

• Competitive salary between $78,875 and $92,794, plus a 3% Kiwisaver employer contribution (where eligible)
• 5 weeks annual leave and a community service day
• Long service leave after qualifying periods
• Paid parental leave benefits
• Supportive work environment that values work-life balance
• Annual flu vaccinations and subsidised health and eye checks
• Onsite café, staff gym and wellness space
• Study leave, professional memberships, and fees support
• The opportunity to make a real difference in the future of a vibrant, growing city

Applications close: 11.00 pm, Tuesday 13 January 2026. Please note due to a Christmas shutdown period applications will not be reviewed until the end of the advertising period.

We are an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer and welcome applications from all those suitably qualified for this position.

Job Profile

Please click here to download and view this additional information.