Principal Evidence Management – Auckland or Wellington
The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) is a highly specialised government department whose mission is to disrupt and deter serious fraud and corruption in New Zealand. We have a proud history of investigating and prosecuting some of the country’s most significant and complex financial crimes to protect New Zealand’s economic wellbeing and preserve our global reputation as a safe place to do business.
Our talented team includes lawyers, forensic accountants, investigators, electronic forensic specialists, counter-fraud experts, and policy professionals. Supported by a dedicated corporate services group, our close-knit team of eighty is united by a strong sense of justice and a vibrant, collaborative culture.
About the role
The SFO is seeking an experienced people leader to join our Forensic Services team. This is a full-time permanent position.
As the Principal Evidence Management, you will lead the SFO's evidence management function, playing a critical role in supporting the investigation and prosecution of serious and complex financial crimes. This is a strategic leadership opportunity where you will drive excellence in information and evidence management, ensuring robust processes, systems, and governance are in place to support successful case outcomes.
You will lead a specialist team, foster a culture of collaboration, accountability, innovation, and continuous improvement while building organisational capability in information and evidence management. Working closely with investigators, prosecutors, electronic forensic specialists, and other subject matter experts, you will oversee the end-to-end management of evidence and information throughout its lifecycle, ensuring compliance with legal, regulatory, and organisational requirements.
As the operational lead for RelativityOne and associated information management systems, you will lead and promote the effective use of technology, drive process improvements and automation initiatives, and provide expert advice on emerging information management practices and technologies. Your leadership will help strengthen organisational capability, mitigate evidence and disclosure risks, and ensure the SFO remains at the forefront of information and evidence management excellence.
About you
To succeed in this role, you will bring leadership experience in information management, eDiscovery, legal operations, or a related field. You have experience leading teams and delivering successful outcomes in environments where accuracy, integrity, and sound judgement are essential.
You bring strong hands-on experience with eDiscovery platforms, ideally RelativityOne, and a solid understanding of the eDiscovery lifecycle, information governance, and disclosure obligations. You can translate legal and operational requirements into effective solutions that support investigations, litigation, regulatory activities, and prosecutions.
An effective communicator and relationship builder, you work effectively with diverse stakeholders and can simplify complex technical concepts for non-technical audiences. You are highly organised, analytical, and skilled at balancing competing priorities while driving continuous improvement and managing operational risks.
As a people leader, you foster a culture of accountability, collaboration, and growth through coaching, mentoring, and capability development. Your experience delivering projects, process improvements, and technology initiatives enables you to navigate complexity and achieve meaningful results.
About SFO
At the SFO we value a ‘growth mindset’ and explore this attribute during our recruitment process and in our development discussions. We believe possessing a growth mindset is a key contributor to success in the SFO environment. We are a close and motivated team with a strong workplace culture. We recognise that diversity and inclusion are important to our work. We value the unique abilities and perspectives of our employees which allow us to continue to create a supportive environment that meets the needs of our people, our business, and the communities where we work. We encourage applications from individuals who are committed to contributing to an inclusive and respectful workplace.
The position description for this role is below. Please copy and paste this link into your browser:
SFO-Principal-Evidence-Management-Position-Description.pdf
If you would like further information about this role, you are welcome to email the recruitment team at recruitment@sfo.govt.nz.
If you wish to apply for this role, please submit your CV and cover letter (attachments titled ‘First Name Last Name – CV or Cover Letter’).
You can learn more about working for the SFO in this video: https://youtu.be/rn0d419HJ0g
Applications close 4:00PM Friday, 04 September 2026
During recruitment, the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) collects personal information provided by you as a recruitment candidate, for the purpose of assessing your candidacy for employment with the SFO. Your personal information will be treated in accordance with our obligations under the Privacy Act 2020.
In providing your personal information to the SFO, you authorise the SFO to disseminate information about you to persons and third parties involved in the SFO’s recruitment process. These persons and third parties may include SFO employees, SFO contractors, and agencies and individuals providing assessments, probity, background, and identity check services. We do not use, share, or disclose personal information collected or received through the recruitment process except as set out in this statement, with your consent, or in accordance with the disclosure exceptions set out in the Privacy Act 2020
The SFO undertakes to collect and store your personal information securely, as defined in the Privacy Act 2020. You retain the right to request a review, amendment, return or destruction of your personal information, subject to relevant grounds of refusal under the Privacy Act 2020. Should employment with the SFO eventuate, your personal information will be securely retained in the SFO employment records.