Legal Counsel

Oil Authority; Calgary; Hybrid; CAD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Paid vacation

Health & dental benefits

Mental health coverage

Life insurance

Disability benefits

Employee family assistance

Job summary

Cenovus is seeking a Legal Counsel to handle a broad range of upstream oil and gas matters in Canada. This role focuses on onshore operations, supporting internal partners and operational teams.

Responsibilities include drafting and negotiating commercial agreements, advising on regulatory compliance, leading due diligence for acquisitions and joint ventures, and supporting regulatory initiatives and emergency response planning.

Qualifications

• Legally authorized to work in Canada.
• Minimum 6 years of relevant legal experience in upstream oil and gas.
• LLB or JD from an accredited law school.
• Active membership in the Law Society of Alberta.
• Experience with commercial transactions and contract drafting.
• Knowledge of Canadian and Alberta upstream land use and regulatory frameworks.

Responsibilities

• Serve as an expert in onshore Canadian oil and gas legal matters.
• Draft, interpret, and negotiate upstream commercial agreements.
• Provide legal assistance on Cenovus initiatives including acquisitions and joint ventures.
• Advise on compliance with federal and provincial regulations affecting upstream operations and support regulatory matters.
• Lead legal due diligence and prepare briefing notes on related matters.

Skills

Oil & gas law

Commercial contracts

Negotiation

Regulatory compliance

Due diligence

Education

LLB/JD degree

Active Law Society of Alberta membership

Job description

About this opportunity

Reporting to the Senior Manager and Associate General Counsel, Canadian Upstream Legal Operations, the Legal Counsel will play a meaningful role in handling a wide variety of upstream oil and gas legal matters.

What you’ll do

• Serve as an expert in onshore Canadian oil and gas legal matters, providing guidance and support to internal partners and diverse operational teams.
• Interpret, draft, and negotiate a wide variety of upstream commercial agreements related to exploration, development, and production activities, including purchase and sale agreements, joint operating agreements, joint venture agreements, royalty agreements, unit agreements, mineral and surface leases, farm-in/farm-out agreements, construction, ownership and operation agreements and other industry form agreements.
• Provide legal assistance on multi-disciplinary Cenovus initiatives involving the Canadian upstream, including upstream acquisitions and divestitures, strategic review of joint venture and joint interest relationships, advice and direction on preferred and alternative transaction structures, dispute resolution and management, and other similar initiatives.
• Advise on compliance matters related to federal and provincial regulations impacting upstream operations, including licensing requirements and liability management. Collaborate with members of the Cenovus regulatory legal team on regulatory matters affecting upstream operations. Support Cenovus’s emergency response plan as a member of the Incident Support Team.
• Lead legal due diligence and research for upstream oil and gas projects, including acquisitions, divestitures, and joint ventures, while preparing briefing notes on related matters.

Who you are

Our ideal candidate will have the following minimum requirements:

• Legally authorized to work in Canada.
• Minimum 6 years of relevant legal experience, with a focus on commercial upstream oil and gas matters, gained either in-house or at a national law firm.
• Bachelor of Law (LLB) or Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree from an accredited law school and active membership in the Law Society of Alberta.
• Experience with commercial transactions, contract negotiation and drafting, coupled with a proven understanding of industry-specific agreements and regulations.
• Sound knowledge of Canadian and Alberta upstream land use and regulatory frameworks, including environmental and safety regulations.

We acknowledge the value of transferrable skills and may consider equivalent combinations of experience and education should you not meet a specific requirement.

Note: The application deadline for this position is 11:59 PM MT October 19, 2026.

Who we are

Ranked as one of Canada’s Best Employers in 2025, Cenovus is an integrated energy company headquartered in Calgary. We’re committed to maximizing value by developing our assets in a safe, responsible and cost-efficient manner. We operate in Canada, the United States and the Asia Pacific region. Our operations include oil sands projects in northern Alberta, thermal and conventional crude oil and natural gas projects across Western Canada, crude oil production offshore Newfoundland and Labrador and natural gas and liquids production offshore China and Indonesia. Cenovus’s downstream operations include upgrading, refining and marketing operations in Canada and the United States.

Find Cenovus on LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram.

The Cenovus experience

Total rewards

We’re committed to being an employer of choice through competitive compensation and our comprehensive total rewards package, including:

• Paid vacation (including a flex day program for eligible staff)
• Health & dental benefits
• Substantial mental health coverage
• Life insurance
• Disability benefits
• Employee family assistance
• Virtual healthcare coverage

Our development philosophy

We foster a culture of continuous learning and development to support employees as they build meaningful careers. We offer a variety of employee development initiatives, including:

• Internal course offerings
• Education assistance for additional development
• Opportunities to work on special projects
• Leadership development programs for emerging and established leaders

Our culture

• Our purpose: We energize the world to make people’s lives better.
• Our values:
  • Protect what matters
  • Do it right
  • Make it better
  • Do it together
• Cenovus Cares: We believe in the power of purpose-driven work. Our Employee Giving and Volunteering Program, Cenovus Cares, connects our people to our purpose, inspiring action and elevating impact year-round.
  • Support causes you care about with volunteer opportunities in and outside of work.
  • Earn donation grants while volunteering (up to $1,000 per event).
  • Receive donation matching up to $10,000 annually.
• Staff resource groups: We have various staff resource groups to help ensure our people feel a sense of belonging and can grow and do their best work. These voluntary groups are employee-led and all groups are open to all staff in all locations.

Equal opportunity employer

We believe a workplace where everyone has merit-based opportunities to grow, achieve career aspirations and feel a sense of belonging benefits our people, our company and the regions where we live and work. We embrace and encourage different perspectives and approaches, which help us make better business decisions. We believe that through this approach, we can solve challenges, seize opportunities and unlock innovative solutions.

To achieve an unbiased and respectful workplace, individuals are evaluated based on qualifications, merit and abilities, and we encourage applications from all qualified candidates. We also acknowledge the value of transferrable skills and may consider equivalent combinations of experience and education should you not meet a specific requirement.

For more information about working at Cenovus, visit cenovus.com.

The requirements of this posting may be modified to support business needs. Title and compensation administration will be based on the skills and capabilities of the successful incumbent.