Crown Counsel

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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.

The Legal Services Branch for the Ministry of Energy and Mines and the Ministry of Northern Economic Development and Growth (the “Ministries”) has an immediate opening for a senior or intermediate legal counsel. This position offers challenging work in a small and collegial branch.

The main focus of the work will be in providing legal advice and support to the Forest Industry Division of the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Ministry of Northern Economic Development and Growth, primarily in the areas of corporate/commercial, forestry and natural resources, regulatory and public law. The successful candidate may also provide advice to the Ministry of Energy and Mines with respect to the negotiation of policy-based resource revenue sharing agreements and other work as may be assigned.

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About the job

Duties will include:

• Providing corporate/commercial, natural resources, regulatory and public law legal advice
• Drafting, reviewing and negotiating contracts, transfer payment agreements, procurement documents, licenses, and wood supply agreements, memoranda of understanding and other legal documents
• Legislative drafting, including regulations and Orders-in-Council
• Providing legal advice in relation to Crown agencies
• Providing regulatory advice and statutory interpretation in a variety of areas including forestry and natural resources law and administrative law
• Providing legal support to clients to support policy development work, issues management, communication products and the development of Ministry policies and operational approaches
• Providing litigation support
• Providing written and oral legal advice to clients on a wide variety of policy and operational issues.
• Delivering presentations and providing training to Ministry staff
• Briefing senior management
• Serving on and providing legal advice to ministry committees and taking on special projects as needed
• Providing in-depth legal research and analysis through opinions
* Mentoring junior counsel and students
• Travel to the northern regions may be required

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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 and knowledge of corporate/commercial, forestry and natural resources, regulatory and public law
• Demonstrated experience in drafting transfer payment agreements, contracts and procurement documents.
• Demonstrated experience in drafting legislation, regulations and Orders-in-Council
• Demonstrated ability and judgment to help manage complex and contentious issues
• Demonstrated experience in and aptitude for legal research and opinion writing, and statutory interpretation
• Familiarity with Ontario's forest management systems and related legislation
• Demonstrated analytical and judgment skills to recognize and assess legal implications of ministry and government initiatives
• Highly developed policy and political acuity
• Demonstrated written and oral communication skills
• Organizational skills and the ability to handle a high volume of work on short notice and with minimal supervision
• Demonstrated great client service in a diverse and inclusive workplace
• Proven ability to build positive relationships with clients and colleagues

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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.