ELIGIBILITY FOR THIS COMPETITION IS RESTRICTED TO STEP 1 CANDIDATES INCLUDING OPS ALOC AND OCAA LAWYERS living or working within 125 km of this location. Note: Eligible lawyers from outside the Area of Search may apply but will not be entitled to relocation or travel expenses for the transfer as set out below.
Step 1: All regular/fixed-term OCAA and ALOC lawyers on staff, current Redeployment List Members and current Articling Student Hireback Pool Members. Step 2: In the absence of qualified applicants at Step 1 the competition may be reposted so that external applicants or non-members of the above-mentioned groups would then be eligible to apply.
What is the Policy Group at the Crown Law Office – Criminal?The Policy Group at the Crown Law Office – Criminal (CLOC) is a small team of approximately 10 Crown Counsel and one Deputy Director.
The Group works collaboratively with other divisions and ministries, justice sector partners, and federal/provincial/territorial policy counterparts. Counsel in the Policy Group regularly develop and make recommendations to government on issues that involve the public interest or province-wide impact. Counsel also contribute to discrete projects intended to enhance the day-to-day work of Crown prosecutors and strengthen the effectiveness of Ontario's criminal justice system.
The
IRCA Lead Policy Counsel has dedicated responsibility for a specialized portfolio of work focused on facilitating the expanded delivery of Impact of Race and Culture Assessment (IRCA) reports in Ontario. This ongoing IRCA development initiative involves developing and measuring processes to better understand and address challenges affecting the timely delivery of IRCA sentencing reports requested by Ontario courts. The role includes identifying and coordinating community-based organizations and administering an existing time-limited pilot aimed at facilitating capacity growth and enhanced stakeholder collaboration.
About the job
Duties will include:
•Conducting direct outreach to Black communities and organizations serving Black justice involved persons.
•Building positive, trust based relationships with community agencies, grassroots organizations, sector experts, and culturally specific service providers.
•Coordinating and facilitating the work of transfer Payment Agreement (TPA)-funded community organizations participating in the IRCA development pilot activities.
•Gathering, analyzing and synthesizing data and KPI information for internal reporting and oversight.
•Supporting the development of tools, training materials, and reference resources that build IRCA related expertise and capacity.
•Facilitating or co-hosting stakeholder roundtables, community-of-practice engagements, and cross-sector learning opportunities.
•Conducting legal research and developing policy analysis related to IRCAs, sentencing, anti-Black racism, prosecution polices, stakeholder needs, and systemic barriers experienced by racialized individuals in the justice system.
•Preparing briefing notes, backgrounders, presentations and recommendations for senior Ministry decision-makers.
•Supporting the Ministry's participation in federal provincial territorial meetings, national working groups, and intergovernmental initiatives relevant to this work.
What you bring to the team
Mandatory requirements
• Membership in good standing as a lawyer with the Law Society of Ontario
Relevant Skills and Experience
The Policy Group invites applicants with the following:
•Experience working collaboratively with grassroots organizations serving Black communities in Ontario, including justice-involved populations.
•A strong understanding of systemic barriers faced by Black justice-involved persons, and of the overrepresentation of Black people in the criminal justice system as both accused persons and victims.
•Knowledge of provincial and federal entities engaged in IRCA-related processes.
•Familiarity with federal program funding models.
•Demonstrated ability to foster respectful, constructive relationships with culturally specific service providers.
•Experience working with TPA funded organizations, including understanding KPIs, deliverables, and reporting structures.
•Ability to navigate inter ministerial collaboration and multi stakeholder issues.
•Practical understanding of Ontario criminal court operations and current criminal justice system processes
•Strong research and analytical abilities.
•Strong written communication skills, including experience preparing reports, manuals, or reference tools.
•Demonstrated integrity, discretion and sound judgment.
•Ability to manage competing priorities under pressure, learn quickly, and seek guidance when appropriate.
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:
What we offer
The Ministry of the Attorney General is committed to a responsive, innovative justice system that upholds the Rule of Law. The Criminal Law Division, with approximately 2,200 staff (1,400 legal and 800 business professionals):
• Prosecutes offences under the Criminal Code, Youth Criminal Justice Act, and Provincial Offences Act.
• Conducts criminal appeals at all court levels.
• Provides specialized services (e.g., wiretaps, extraditions, search warrants).
• Advises police and government officials on criminal law.
• Sets prosecution policy across Ontario.
• Develops justice system efficiencies with stakeholders.
• Offers world-class education for prosecutors.
Additional information can be found
here.
This role comes with a comprehensive compensation and benefits package that includes:
•a defined-benefit lifetime pension plan (guaranteed, ongoing inflation-protected income after retirement)
•group health, dental, life and disability benefits
•a range of vacation and leave options
•an Employee and Family Assistance Program, which provides confidential counseling services