COUNSEL

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Are you a strategic thinker looking to apply your policy and legal skills to a project that seeks to transform the delivery of justice in Ontario? Consider this exciting opportunity in the Criminal Law Division where you will be contributing to a project team focused on developing Ontario's Justice Centres.

Ontario's Plan for Justice Centres:

Introduced in over 70 communities around the world, with different cultural backgrounds and legal traditions, Justice Centres move justice out of the traditional courtroom and into a community setting. These centres bring together justice, health, employment, education and social services to address the root cause of crime, break the cycle of offending, and improve public safety and community well-being.

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About the job

The successful candidate will play a key role in developing strategic policy for Ontario's Justice Centres, bringing expertise and leadership to a team composed of legal and policy professionals with experience in criminal justice and social services.
Duties will include:

• Providing strategic legal and policy advice to the Executive Director, senior Ministry officials, including the Assistant Deputy Attorney General and Deputy Attorney General, and the Attorney General and Minister's Office, on the establishment of Ontario's Justice Centres
• Working closely within the Ministry of the Attorney General and partner ministries in the development of cross-sectoral policy, programs and operations to improve justice outcomes through the establishment of Ontario's Justice Centres
• Developing and coordinating the Ministry's policy submissions for consideration by Cabinet and its committees
• Researching and analyzing innovative criminal justice reforms and developments
• Preparing written products, such as briefing notes and presentation decks, and providing oral briefings, as requested

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What you bring to the team

Mandatory requirements

• Membership in good standing with the Law Society of Ontario

Knowledge and Skills

• Knowledge of Ontario's criminal justice system, including knowledge of legal, policy and program delivery issues associated with the justice system
• Knowledge of the structures of the justice system, the unique roles of the Attorney General, the judiciary and the bar, and the influence of such structures and roles on the actions of government
• Knowledge of the Canadian Constitution, the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the statutes of Ontario and common legal precepts to interpret statutes, provide legal and strategic advice that reflect the ministry's responsibilities within the justice system
• Knowledge of government decision-making and policy development processes, and the role played by central agencies and line ministries
• Expertise in policy development, and extensive knowledge of the factors that affect public policy
• Knowledge of government operations, including linkages between policy, legislative, communications and fiscal processes
• Capacity and interest to work collaboratively with policy and legal professionals across government
• Capacity to interact on a professional footing with representatives of the judiciary, the private bar and other justice sector partners and stakeholders
• Issues management and problem-solving skills and experience anticipating and managing contentious legal, policy and communication issues
• Analytical and strategic legal and policy development skills, research skills, and advocacy skills
• Team/project leadership, management skills and coordination

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Additional information:

Note:

• In accordance with the Ontario Public Service (OPS), Employment Screening Checks Policy (ESCP), the top candidate(s) may be required to undergo a security screening check. Refer to the above to determine the screening checks that are required for this position.
  
  You will be responsible for obtaining the criminal record check at your own expense and provide it, along with your written consent, to the Transition and Security Office (TSO), Talent Acquisition Branch (TAB), HR Service Delivery Division (HRSDD) to evaluate the results. If applicable, the TSO, with your written consent, will request and obtain any additional employment screening checks that were not obtained directly by you. (Note: If a Vulnerable Sector Screening Check is required, it must also be obtained in person at your local police service).
  
  A record under the Criminal Code and/or other federal offence record(s) does not automatically mean you will be ineligible for the position. The employment screening check(s) will only be reviewed and evaluated by the TSO for the purpose of making a security clearance decision. The details of an individual's employment screening check(s) will be considered in specific relation to the duties and responsibilities of the position being filled. Employment screening check records will be maintained by the TSO and kept strictly confidential.
• Your application sent via method one must be sent as an attachment in either MS Word (.doc, .docx), PDF (.pdf), Rich Text (.rtf) or Plain Text (.txt) format, less than 2MB in size and must not be password protected.

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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.

All external applicants (including former employees of the Ontario Public Service) applying to a competition in a ministry or Commission public body must disclose (either in the cover letter or resume) previous employment with the Ontario Public Service. Disclosure must include positions held, dates of employment and any active restrictions as applicable from being rehired by the Ontario Public Service. Active restrictions can include time and/or ministry-specific restrictions currently in force, and may preclude a former employee from being offered a position with the Ontario Public Service for a specific time period (e.g. one year), or from being offered a position with a specific ministry (either for a pre-determined time period or indefinitely). The circumstances around an employee's exit will be considered prior to an offer of employment.

Information collection notice

We are collecting your personal information to assess how well you meet the qualifications for employment with the Ontario Public Service, and for related recruitment purposes. The collection of personal information is necessary to the proper administration of OPS Careers, which is an authorized common service in accordance with s. 6 of the Ministry of Government Services Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. M.25.

Please do not include any more personal information than is needed for your application (for example, do not include your photograph or social insurance number).

If you have any questions about how your information is collected, used, shared or saved, please contact us.