Work for us

General Counsel

About this role 

The General Counsel plays a key part in achieving REA’s purpose and strategic intent. Reporting to the Chief Executive and being a member of the senior leadership team, the General Counsel provides critical, strategic and regulatory leadership from a legal, policy and risk management perspective.

In this role you will lead the REA’s legal team to ensure the provision of high quality and timely regulatory, advisory and litigation advice across REA’s regulatory and core business services. You will oversee the provision of expert legal advice relating to decisions or actions from the Complaints Assessment Committees, the Real Estate Agents Disciplinary Tribunal, District and High Courts and the Court of Appeal. You will oversee REA’s regulatory policy function, and play a key role in providing timely advice to the Chief Executive and Board.

To be successful in this role you will:

• Have an excellent understanding of and proven experience in regulation and legislative processes
• Have experience in regulation, compliance, investigations, complaints, and/or litigation/enforcement
• Have proven experience as a general counsel or in a similar legal manager role
• Be energetic, collaborative and innovative
• Be risk focused but not risk adverse, willing to find solutions to strategic and operational problems
• Hold a current New Zealand practising certificate
• Foster and build trusted relationships and be approachable from all levels.

Apply now!

To apply for this role or for more information contact Ella Guy at JacksonStone & Partners on 021 402 807 or visit www.jacksonstone.co.nz 

Please note, you must have a legal right to work in New Zealand. Successful appointment is conditional upon police vetting and qualification checks. 

Senior Legal and Regulatory Policy Advisor

The role

The Senior Legal and Regulatory Policy Advisor role has been newly established following work to identify opportunities for improvement in our regulatory system. This has caused us to re-assess how laws and regulations relating to our work should apply in our regulatory and operating context. Recent examples include our work to define and apply the Fit and Proper Guidelines in licensing decisions, assessment of the real estate qualification Regulations, and newly applied appeal rights.

There is an increasing demand on REA to translate the regulatory and legislative regime into regulatory policy, procedures and knowledge (guidance or information) for application by our team internally and/or by the sector. This work will sit alongside the work our legal team undertakes to support our day-to-day regulatory activities in licensing and complaints and discipline.

We’re looking for someone to:

• Be responsible for creating sound, thoughtful legal and regulatory policy advice, solutions and approaches that deliver on our legislative intent, support REA’s strategic priorities and meet our overall purpose.
• Play a key part in supporting effective decision making by the senior leadership team, Chief Executive and board, including through any internal committees that may be established, on regulatory policy issues.
• Work across REA in assessing the operational impact of legislative change and policy development and to ensure REA remains up to date with such changes to our legislative and regulatory operating environment.
• Identify and advise on opportunities to improve REA’s regulatory impact and meet its strategic goals and priorities.

We are open to consider flexible working arrangements for this role.

About you

You’ll be a qualified lawyer with at least 4 years post admission experience. Your experience working in a regulatory and policy environment and sound understanding of the machinery of government is essential to allow you to create sound, thoughtful operational policy advice, solutions and approaches.

Benefits

REA’s people are welcoming, collaborative and committed to making a difference for New Zealand. You can expect rewarding and complex work in a sector that is critical to New Zealand. A central Wellington CBD location, commitment to staff professional development, and an active social club are some of the benefits of joining the REA team.

Apply now!

This is an exciting opportunity work in a dynamic team and support diverse New Zealanders to achieve good outcomes in the real estate sector.

You can view the full job description here. 

Please direct any queries and send your CV, Cover Letter and a completed application form to recruitment@rea.govt.nz.

Please note, you must have a legal right to work in New Zealand. Successful appointment is conditional upon police vetting and qualification checks.

Senior Solicitor

About this role | Mō tēnei tūranga mahi

Reporting to the Legal Services Manager, you will be responsible for the provision of legal advice and managing litigation files in relation to the licensing and disciplinary process contained in the Real Estates Agents Act 2008 and its associated Regulations and Codes. This role includes working with external counsel on litigation files before the Disciplinary Tribunal or Courts and appearances on behalf of REA when appropriate. Support from other members of the team will be readily available to you.

You will also undertake work in relation to:

• Research and opinions
• Assisting staff responsible for managing the licensing and other activities of REA
• Ensuring that the policies and practices underpinning REA's activities meet the highest possible standards, are rigorous, fair, and able to stand up to in-depth professional and judicial scrutiny
• Legal advice on Official Information Act and Privacy Act requests, and other REA compliance obligations
• Legal advice for the guidance and direction of Complaint Assessment Committees and REA teams
• Building strong and effective relationships across REA and with external stakeholders.

What you will bring | Ngā pūmanawatanga ōu

• 5+ years' post admission experience
• Legal advisory experience, ideally within a regulatory environment and an understanding of the machinery of government
• While litigation or litigation management experience is beneficial, experience in disciplinary work is not essential, nor is experience in property matters as the team is happy to support your development in these areas
• Driven and self-motivated, with strong interpersonal, analytical and communication skills.

Apply Now | Tono ināianei

REA has exclusively partnered with Robert Walters. Apryl Burgess is managing the recruitment of this position. For a confidential discussion, please call Apryl on +64 27 816 9899 or email apryl.burgess@robertwalters.co.nz.

Applications close at 6pm on 16 January 2023. 

Please note, you must have a legal right to work in New Zealand. Successful appointment is conditional upon police vetting and qualification checks.

Senior Communications and Engagement Advisor

The role

Heading into an election year, REA are looking for a media superstar who can develop and implement a media strategy to manage media interest, raise REA’s profile and work with the wider stakeholder environment to ensure this is a sector New Zealanders can understand and trust. You can expect rewarding and complex work as part of a high-performing team in an exciting sector that is critical to New Zealand.

In this role you will:

• Lead REA’s media relations to build awareness, credibility and reputation
• Play a key role in delivering REA’s external communications strategy, plan and activities
• Write and produce accountability documents, key messages, presentations and other highly engaging content for both external and internal audiences across multiple channels
• Identify media and reputational risks and opportunities and develop strategies to manage and mitigate
• Be part of a dynamic Communications & Engagement team focussed on preventing harm by empowering consumers and industry professionals alike through building awareness and understanding across a variety of channels
• Support the delivery of REA’s strategic engagement with the sector including consumer groups that represent diverse communities, government entities and the wider property sector.

You will have:

• Senior media, stakeholder engagement and communications experience
• Experience managing media enquiries and issues management alongside strong existing relationships with the media
• Excellent writing skills, a master of plain English and the ability to tailor for different audiences
• A highly proactive approach and the ability to build positive relationships with people at all levels including experience with managing vendor relationships
• The ability to provide sound strategic advice and influence senior level stakeholders. 

Apply now!

To apply for this role or for more information contact Nikki Franklin or Sam Good at JacksonStone & Partners on 04 550 8000 or visit jacksonstone.co.nz 

Please note, you must have a legal right to work in New Zealand. Successful appointment is conditional upon police vetting and qualification checks. 

Early Resolution Facilitator 

The Role

As a facilitator in our early resolution team, you’ll be helping to resolve complaints made against real estate agents, and responding to enquiries about potential complaints. Your mahi will involve:

• Clear communication with people, to help them understand the standards expected of real estate agents.
• Using your excellent judgment and analytical skills to decide what path a complaint should take.
• Resolving certain complaints through a variety of dispute resolution methods, such as conciliation, shuttle negotiation, mediation.
• Knowledge and commitment to Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

About You

The ideal candidate for this role will be an effective complaint resolution professional who is focused on understanding the issues, and helping parties communicate to resolve complaints where appropriate. You’ll be good at recording and managing information, and quickly able to learn the Real Estate Agents Act 2008 and associated rules and regulations. You’ll have strong verbal and written communication skills, and able to work with consumers and real estate agents from across New Zealand’s diverse communities.

We welcome applications both from experienced professionals, and those at the start of their dispute resolution journey.

Benefits

The REA team is welcoming, super friendly, collaborative and committed to making a difference for New Zealand. You can expect rewarding and complex work in an exciting sector that is critical to New Zealand. A great central Wellington CBD location, commitment to staff professional development and an active social club are amongst many benefits of joining the REA team.

We encourage you to apply even if you feel you don’t meet all of the selection criteria so we can consider your suitability for the role or other suitable opportunities at REA.

Please let us know if you have any specific access needs to allow you to participate in our recruitment process.

Apply now!

You can view the full job description here.

Please direct any queries and send your CV, Cover Letter and a completed application form to recruitment@rea.govt.nz. Applications close on 16 January 2023.

Please note, you must have a legal right to work in New Zealand. Successful appointment is conditional upon police vetting and qualification checks. 

Case Compliance Coordinator 

The role

This position supports and helps coordinate the Complaints Assessment Committees (CAC) who consider serious complaints against real estate professionals. This is an ideal introduction to a modern regulatory environment. You’ll be:

• Coordinating the end-to-end processes of complaints about real estate agents
• Providing administration support to Complaints Assessment Committees
• Keeping parties up to date with the progress of their complaints
• Working in a small team of 4 and alongside a team of investigators.

About you

We’re looking for someone who is passionate about providing great customer service and has fantastic organisational skills, along with knowledge and commitment to Te Tiriti o Waitangi. Our workload is varied, so it’s important you’re able to prioritise tasks and communicate clearly with your teammates and parties to your cases.

A university qualification or relevant work experience is desirable to help you to quickly gain knowledge of the Real Estate Agents Act 2008 and related regulations.

An understanding of legal, regulatory or compliance functions would be an advantage but is not essential.

Benefits

REA’s people are welcoming, collaborative and committed to making a difference for New Zealand. You can expect rewarding and complex work in a sector that is critical to New Zealand. A central Wellington CBD location, commitment to staff professional development, and an active social club are some of the benefits of joining the REA team.

We encourage you to apply even if you feel you don’t meet all of the selection criteria so we can consider your suitability for the role or other suitable opportunities at REA.

Please let us know if you have any specific access needs to allow you to participate in our recruitment process.

Apply now!

This is an exciting opportunity work in a dynamic team and support diverse New Zealanders to achieve good outcomes in the real estate sector.

You can view the full job description here. 

For more information contact Jessica McMillan on 027 517 8604 or email recruitment@rea.govt.nz. To apply, complete the application form and submit with your CV to recruitment@rea.govt.nz. Applications close on 16 January 2023.

Please note, you must have a legal right to work in New Zealand. Successful appointment is conditional upon police vetting and qualification checks.

Legal Operations & Litigation Coordinator

The role

The Legal Operations and Litigation Coordinator is accountable for providing day-to-day co-ordination and support to REA’s legal team.

You’ll be:

• Supporting our legal operations by registering, processing and forwarding correspondence from the Real Estate Disciplinary Tribunal and legal counsel to relevant staff
• Maintaining information resources such as legal opinion and decision registers
• Providing general administrative assistance including litigation file management and diarising of events
• Preparing, copying and distributing litigation files to REA’s legal counsel
• Updating cases in client management and workflow technology systems
• Working closely with our Regulatory Compliance team to co-ordinate advice on CAC complaints and litigation files
• Providing support to the REA Privacy Officer in relation to REA’s obligations under the Privacy Act 2020 and assisting REA staff with REA’s processes under the Official Information Act
• Assisting the Legal Team and REA staff with preparing reports and analysis in relation to reporting obligations.

About you

We’re looking for someone who is well organised with a strong work ethic as well as experience working in legal, regulatory or case management environment and a knowledge and commitment to Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

A relevant tertiary qualification and knowledge of regulatory environments would be an advantage but is not essential.

Benefits

REA’s people are welcoming, collaborative and committed to making a difference for New Zealand. You can expect rewarding and complex work in a sector that is critical to New Zealand. A central Wellington CBD location, commitment to staff professional development, and an active social club are some of the benefits of joining the REA team.

We encourage you to apply even if you feel you don’t meet all of the selection criteria so we can consider your suitability for the role or other suitable opportunities at REA.

Please let us know if you have any specific access needs to allow you to participate in our recruitment process.

Apply now!

This is an exciting opportunity work in a dynamic team and support diverse New Zealanders to achieve good outcomes in the real estate sector.

You can view the full job description here.

For more information contact Andrew Bulled on 0272299949 or email recruitment@rea.govt.nz. To apply, complete the application form and submit with your CV to recruitment@rea.govt.nz. Applications close on 31 January 2023.

Please note, you must have a legal right to work in New Zealand. Successful appointment is conditional upon police vetting and qualification checks.