Licence Specialist

**Kō wai mātou? Who are we?**:
Zespri is more than simply the world's single-largest marketer of kiwifruit. We like to think of ourselves as fruit on a mission and as rebels with a cause: to help people, communities and the environment around the world thrive through the goodness of kiwifruit. We are proudly the world's largest marketer of kiwifruit, selling kiwifruit in more than 50 countries. We work with around 2,800 New Zealand and 1,500 international growers and post-harvest companies to source the best-quality Zespri Kiwifruit which we supply through our distribution partners to wholesale and retail customers. We are one of New Zealand's best-known international brands, dedicated to creating sustainable long-term value for growers.

**He aha te mahi? What's the role?**:
Zespri and New Zealand Kiwifruit growers have invested heavily in proprietary kiwifruit varieties since the commercialisation of SunGold in 2010 and more recently the commercialisation of RubyRed. There are now approximately 10,000 licensed hectares in total of grown proprietary varieties in New Zealand with a current market value of $7.5B. The future outlook for these varieties continues to be strong and market demand dictates the continued release of licences out to 2030.

Reporting to the Licence Team Lead, the Licence Specialist has year-round responsibility of implementing and carrying out the various processes put in place for the issuing, technical support, control, audit and management of all Zespri Proprietary Licences. The Licence Specialist will ensure adherence to the licence terms and conditions in order to protect Zespri’s PVR investment and that of all New Zealand growers and to guarantee grower equality in the policing of the licences. The success of the licensed varieties relies on strict PVR management that is monitored and enforced by the Licence team and their ability to understand and contribute to the strategic priority of Year-Round Global Supply Excellence.

**Key Accountabilities**:

- Oversee the reporting, administration, authentication, management, issuing and auditing of New Zealand Zespri proprietary licences.
- Support and management of Zespri Proprietary licences including managing & maintaining of Gate Sales Agreement programme and monitoring the content on the Licensed Varieties page on the Canopy to ensure it is relevant, current and informative.
- Act as the first level of technical support for all licence queries and with additional industry education during the Licence pre validation, auction and allocation process.
- Assist in the issuing of commercial licences for growers involved in the Pre-Commercial Trial process.
- Provide reports, data and supporting evidence as needed to the Licence Team Lead/Grower Commercial Services Improvement Manager.
- Process and allocate all licence documentation resulting from licence releases, transfers, extensions and orchard sales.
- Provide accurate documentation and records while processing GPS audits and resolving issues as they arise.
- Collaborate with and update the Licence Management team, PVR Auditor and Grower Relations Management team to constantly evaluate all process activities & and policy adherence to ensure relevant and appropriate precedent setting.
- Undertake all financial related aspects of licence debts including debt collection, allocation of payments, authorisation of invoices and credit notes.
- Identification and initiation of any phone calls and orchard visits to authenticate licence changes as a result from a GPS audit where the grower is disputing the changes & maintain detailed information of these changes in Zespri’s CRM system. Process and action any resulting outcomes from such visits and ensure that all grower sentiment is maintained.
- Identification and initiation of any orchard visits needed by a PVR auditor to authenticate licence changes as a result of new allocations, licence transfers, sales, concurrent licenses or suspected infringements and maintain detailed information of these changes in Zespri’s CRM system. Process and action any resulting outcomes from such visits.

**Ko wai koe? Who are you?**:

- Strong investigation, negotiation, and analytical skills
- The ability to navigate difficult and contentious conversations with external stakeholders
- A diverse and critical thinking mindset with the ability to quickly resolve issues
- Capable of understanding and reviewing legal/contracts/property documentation
- Ability to conduct research, investigating facts and developing/drafting recommendations for potential legal disputes
- Excellent documentation skills
- Strong computer skills (Word, Advanced Excel, SAP, CRM packages, SharePoint and other admin support software tools)
- Legal administration/contract management experience
- Agility with proven time management skills
- Dispute resolution experience would be advantageous

**He aha e tika ai a Zespri? Why Zespri?**:
Our people are what makes our culture so ir