Counsel

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The Ministry of the Attorney General has an exciting and challenging opportunity to join the Legal Services Branch as Counsel for the Ministry of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade (“MEDJCT”).

This position will have an emphasis on complex corporate commercial work including grants, secured lending, procurements, venture capital transactions and related intellectual property matters, as well as program and policy development advice.

The Legal Services branch welcomes applications from candidates who can contribute to the goal of promoting a diverse, respectful and supportive workplace.

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About the job

You will work in a collegial, fast-paced, and demanding environment. You are expected to work both independently on a broad range of legal issues that are relevant to the Ministry and collaboratively and effectively with others on team projects. Duties may include:

• Negotiating, drafting and reviewing term sheets, grant agreements, memorandums of understanding, procurement agreements, and other complex commercial legal documents
• Providing general corporate commercial legal advice
• Providing legal advice on the development of policies and operationalization processes related to funding and other support programs
• Interpreting legislation and regulations
• Preparing legal opinions and briefing notes
•Briefing senior ministry officials

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What you bring to the team

Mandatory requirements

• Membership in good standing as a lawyer with the Law Society of Ontario

Knowledge and Skills

• Demonstrated experience in negotiating, drafting and reviewing corporate and commercial documents including procurement documents, grant agreements, and other commercial legal documents with varying levels of complexity
• Ability to recognize and assess legal implications in proposed and existing programs and initiatives and able to provide innovative, strategic, risk-based and helpful and solutions-oriented legal advice on complex, time-sensitive and high-profile issues that arise
• Experience and familiarity with interpretation of statutes, regulations and other legislative instruments
• Ability to handle a high volume practice with short turnaround times while working proactively, professionally and cooperatively with sophisticated clients and with colleagues
• Conversant with the law, government policies and practices relating to government grants, procurements, lending and corporate and commercial law
• Well-organized oral and written communication skills
• Demonstrated research and opinion writing skills
• Skill and ability in developing documents using MS Office tools including Word, PowerPoint and Excel
• Experience in using on-line legal research tools
• Proven client service orientation and demonstrated ability to be proactive on files, responsive to client requests and inspire client confidence
• Demonstrated experience with mentoring others and leading and contributing positively to teams on collaborative work projects

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How we support diversity, inclusion and accessibility

We are building an inclusive workforce that reflects the communities we serve. We encourage everyone interested in working with us to apply, including people with disabilities, Indigenous, Black and racialized individuals, as well as people from all ethnicities, cultures, sexual orientations, gender identities and gender expressions.

Our hiring process is accessible, consistent with Ontario's Human Rights Code and the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005. We are working to prevent and remove barriers in our hiring processes and can offer  accommodation to address specific needs related to Code-protected grounds such as disability, family status and religion. For more information about accommodation during the hiring process please  contact us.

Learn more about the work the OPS is doing to create an inclusive, anti-racist, accessible and diverse workplace:

• diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives
• accessibility
• Anti-Racism Policy

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Additional information:

Note:

• About security checks:
  A criminal or other federal offence record does not automatically disqualify you from the position. We consider each situation based on the position's responsibilities.
  If a check is needed and you've lived outside of Canada in the past 5 years for 6 or more months in a row, or if you are not a Canadian resident, you'll need to provide an out-of-country police clearance certificate from the country you lived in.
  Employment screening checks are only reviewed and evaluated by the Transition and Security Office, which also maintains them and keeps them strictly confidential.
• For issues with submitting applications, or questions, please contact CSMD.HR.LegalCompeti@ontario.ca

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How to apply:

1. You must apply online.
2. Your cover letter and resume combined should not exceed five (5) pages. For tips and tools on how to write a concise cover letter and resume, review the Writing a Cover Letter and Resume: Tips, Tools and Resources.
3. Customize your cover letter and resume to the qualifications listed on the job ad. Using concrete examples, you must show how you demonstrated the requirements for this job. We rely on the information you provide to us.
4. Read the job description to make sure you understand this job.
5. OPS employees are required to quote their WIN EMPLOYEE ID number when applying.
6. If you require a disability related accommodation in order to participate in the recruitment process, please Contact Us to provide your contact information. Recruitment services team will contact you within 48 hours.

Language requirements and assessment:
All external Ontario Public Service (OPS) job ads are posted in English and French. Check the "position(s) language" section at the top of each job ad for the language requirements. For all roles, candidates are assessed in English, the business language of the OPS. If the position is bilingual (English/French), you'll also need to pass a French-language proficiency test.

Exigences en matière de langue et évaluation:
Toutes les offres d'emploi externes de la fonction publique de l'Ontario (FPO) sont affichées en français et en anglais. Consultez la section « Langue du ou des postes » en haut de chaque offre d'emploi pour connaître les exigences linguistiques. Pour tous les postes, les candidats sont évalués en anglais, la langue d'affaires de la FPO. Si le poste est bilingue (anglais/français), vous devrez également passer un test de compétences linguistiques en français.