Senior Legal Counsel

Ontario Health actively seeks candidates who are First Nations, Métis, Inuit, and urban Indigenous; Francophone; Black and racialized; members of 2SLGBTQIA+ communities; trans and nonbinary; and disabled.

Want to make a difference in your career? Consider this opportunity

The Senior Legal Counsel will be responsible for providing proactive and solutions based legal advice, ensuring that Ontario health complies with its legal obligations and mitigates business and legal risks. The Senior Legal Counsel may manage a team of Legal Counsel.

This role will manage legal issues arising across OH on an enterprise, departmental and program-level. The Senior Legal Counsel will develop and implement strategic initiatives for the legal department and act as a legal representative on organization-wide strategy initiatives.

As part of this role, the Senior Legal Counsel is accountable for the administration of the legal operations, management of resources, and engagement of key internal and/or external partners. As the subject matter expert within the organization on a broad base of legal matters, this role will provide counsel and support directly to OH portfolios and Senior Leaders on complex legal matters.

Here is what you will be doing:

• Providing leadership, mentorship, guidance and experience to the Legal Department. May also manage a team of Legal Counsels.
• Providing proactive and solutions based legal advice and recommendations to OH leadership to mitigate legal and business risks for OH.
• Researching and interpreting complex and high-risk legal issues and providing advice on such issues.
• Drafting, amending and negotiating complex, high value and high-risk contracts and other legal documents, with and without the aid of established precedents, including but not limited to software as a service agreements, license agreements, goods and services agreements, data sharing agreements, privacy agreements, transfer payment agreements, and service accountability agreements.
• Drafting and developing precedents for use by the Legal Department.
• Leading complex and cross-functional legal transactions.
• Advising on privacy authorities analysis and privacy legislation.
• Providing conflict of interest opinions and conducting investigations under the Public Service of Ontario Act.
• Supporting OH’s compliance with applicable legislative and regulatory requirements, government directives and internal policies and procedures.
• Overseeing the management and costs of external legal counsel.
• Assisting the Assistant General Counsel and General Counsel with the management of any legal matters, as required.
• Leading the development and implementation of enterprise-wide legal processes.
• Ensuring that processes and procedures are in place to mitigate legal risk and to ensure that OH staff and leadership are in compliance with applicable legislation, regulations and Management Board of Cabinet Directives.
• Evaluating the impact of legislation and regulations on OH.
• Overseeing any litigation against OH.
• Managing partners with a focus on provision of information, advice and guidance to OH leadership and external partners including the Ministry, hospitals, physicians, foundations.
• Contributing to the realization of the legal department’s strategic and business objectives.
• Participating in Ontario Health committees and groups.

Here is what you will need to be successful:

Education and Experience

• Law degree (Bachelor of Laws (LLB) or Juris Doctor (JD)) and licensed to practice law in Ontario, with demonstrated experience in various complex specialized areas of law, including corporate/commercial law, health, public sector, information technology, privacy, and corporate governance.
• Direct/indirect related work experience representing continuous learning and required for someone to perform this job competently is 8 years.
• Recognized access and privacy designation (CIPP/C) is an asset.
• Graduate degree in health care administration, or master’s in law is an asset.
• Experience working in the healthcare sector is an asset.
• The typical minimum level of education to perform this job competently is equivalent to specialized graduate studies. The person requires the equivalent of post-graduate training at the master’s level in university in order to understand, utilize and communicate very complicated, very diversified or highly technical concepts/theories/practices.
• Extensive experience evaluating, negotiating, structuring and leading complex agreements.

Knowledge and Skills

• Excellent leadership, team building, and relationship-building skills, build trust and confidence with numerous partners.
• Exceptional interpersonal and communications skills (written and verbal) with effective group presentation and partner engagement abilities, including the ability to translate complex regulatory standards or legal concepts in a manner that can be understood by a functionally diverse audience.
• Strong understanding of legislation, regulations and directives governing Ontario Health as a provincial agency.
• Strong understanding of health law and healthcare policy.
• Broad understanding of changing priorities, trends, legislative and regulatory requirements and emerging issues within the healthcare industry.
• Exceptional research skills with demonstrated strategic thinking, analytical, creative problem-solving and planning skills.
• High level of composure with the ability to demonstrate sound judgment, discretion, tact and courtesy.
• Excellent organizational and time management skills and the ability to respond to a multiplicity of demands and prioritize work activities.
• Ability to work under pressure and maintain strict confidentiality.
• High sense of independence in solving complex problems and providing solutions.

Employment Type: Permanent Full-Time

Employment Location: Toronto, Ontario (currently virtual; subject to change). All applicants must be a resident of Ontario to be considered for roles at Ontario Health.

Note: As part of the initial recruitment screening process, Applicants must confirm that they are Fully Vaccinated against COVID-19. If Applicants are not Fully Vaccinated, they will be asked to identify any accommodation needs pursuant to a protected ground under the Code. If no such accommodation is identified, the Applicant will not be eligible to proceed through the recruitment process.

We encourage applicants with accessibility needs to notify us if they have any accommodation needs in the application and/or interview process.