AMENDED - COUNSEL

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The Ministry of the Attorney General is offering an exciting, challenging and highly rewarding opportunity in the Office of the Children's Lawyer for one experienced counsel to exercise his/her skills and expertise in the field of legal representation for children in Openness and Adoption proceedings, as well as parenting time/decision-making and child protection proceedings in the Personal Rights Department.

The Office of the Children's Lawyer is dedicated to ensuring an open, accessible, equitable and respectful workplace, and is committed to reflecting the diverse communities it serves. We encourage applications from members of our diverse communities and under-represented groups, particularly Indigenous Peoples, Black people, persons from other racialized groups, persons with disabilities and 2SLGBTQ+ persons, as well as anyone committed to providing high-quality services to the children of Ontario.

Each application must be sent individually. Collective applications will not be accepted. It is mandatory to quote the Job ID on the subject line of your email and your application.

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About the job

Duties will include:

• Providing legal services to the Office of the Children's Lawyer by acting as Counsel on litigation cases involving children, particularly in the areas of Openness and Adoption
• Appearing at trials and appeals on behalf of children
• Participating in the administration of the Personal Rights Department and responsible for supervision of approximately 40 fee-for-service lawyers across Ontario
• Liaising with legal representatives, Crown Attorneys, the Judiciary, Children's Aid Societies, community and legal organizations
• Lecturing at workshops, seminars and public speaking engagements

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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 civil, administrative and appellate litigation with a focus on Openness and Adoption
• Knowledge of related legislation such as the Child, Youth and Family Services Act (CYFSA), the Children's Law Reform Act (CLRA), the Divorce Act, and the Courts of Justice Act (CJA).
• Ability and skill in interviewing and communicating effectively with children.
• Demonstrated ability to supervise a significant number of lawyers carrying a high volume of cases.
• Demonstrated administrative, instructional and public speaking skills.
• Demonstrated negotiation, interpersonal, and communication skills.
• Ability to work effectively as a team member.
• Proven judgment, research and analytical ability.
• Demonstrated computer skills.

OPS Commitment to diversity, inclusion, accessibility, and anti- racism:

We are committed to build a workforce that reflects the communities we serve and to promote a diverse, anti-racist, inclusive, accessible, merit-based, respectful and equitable workplace.

We invite all interested individuals to apply and encourage applications from people with disabilities, Indigenous, Black, and racialized individuals, as well as people from a diversity of ethnic and cultural origins, sexual orientations, gender identities and expressions.

Visit theOPS Anti-Racism Policy and the OPS Diversity and Inclusion Blueprint pages to learn more about the OPS commitment to advance racial equity, accessibility, diversity, and inclusion in the public service.

We offer employment accommodation across the recruitment process and all aspects of employment consistent with the requirements of Ontario's Human Rights Code. Refer to the application instructions below if you require a disability-related accommodation.

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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.
  
  Required security screening checks along with your written consent, will be sent 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.
  
  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.