Senior Counsel, Environmental, Social, and Governance

RBC; Toronto; On-site; CAD 120,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading financial institution is seeking a Senior Counsel to join their Enterprise Legal Advisory Team. The successful candidate will focus on providing legal advice regarding Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) matters, working closely with various strategic partners such as the Climate Strategy and Sustainability teams. This role involves identifying legal risks, advising on ESG initiatives, and engaging with stakeholders, all while contributing to the bank's commitment to sustainability and responsible governance.

Benefits

Comprehensive Total Rewards Program

Highly competitive compensation

Bonuses and flexible benefits

Collaborative and high-performing team environment

Qualifications

• 6+ years of relevant experience in private practice and/or in-house at a financial institution.
• Experience working in a multi-disciplinary team environment.

Responsibilities

• Provide legal advice on ESG strategic initiatives.
• Manage legal, regulatory, and reputational risk relating to ESG matters.
• Review and advise on ESG-related disclosures.

Skills

Business

Decision Making

Environmental Social And Governance (ESG)

Legal Practices

High Impact Communication

Education

JD/LLB from a recognized law school

Member in good standing of a law society or bar association

Job description

Job Summary

Job Description

What is the opportunity?

The Enterprise Legal Advisory Team is staffing a Senior Counsel role to provide advice on Environmental, Social & Governance (“ESG”) matters to the Enterprise. In this role, the successful candidate will provide legal advice to RBC on ESG strategic initiatives, in particular to strategic partners such as the Climate Strategy and Sustainability teams, and work closely with functional partners such as Risk, Finance and Compliance.

What will you do?

• Identify, assess and manage legal, regulatory, and reputational risk relating to ESG matters
• Work with business partners on ESG initiatives to provide advice on strategy, disclosure, metrics, risk management and governance
• Review and advise on ESG-related disclosures
• Provide sound legal risk analysis in a user-friendly manner to senior executives and assess and anticipate the needs of business and functional partners
• Monitor legal regulatory and market developments and trends
• Advise on sustainability oversight requirements of regulators and expectations of institutional investors and markets
• Support RBC in its engagement with stakeholders on ESG-related matters, including attending engagement meetings and drafting responses to shareholder proposals
• Preparing reports to the RBC Board of Directors and its committees as required

What do you need to succeed?

Must-have

• JD/LLB from a recognized law school
• Member in good standing of a law society or bar association
• 6+ years of relevant experience in private practice and/or in-house at a financial institution
• Experience working in a multi-disciplinary team environment and balancing competing work demands, prioritizing and being responsive to business imperatives

Nice-to-have

• Experience with ESG matters, public disclosures and/or litigation

What’s in it for you?

We thrive on the challenge to be our best, progressive thinking to keep growing, and working together to deliver trusted advice to help our clients thrive and communities prosper. We care about each other, reaching our potential, making a difference to our communities, and achieving success that is mutual.

• A comprehensive Total Rewards Program including bonuses and flexible benefits, highly competitive compensation, commissions, and stock where applicable
• Work in a dynamic, collaborative, progressive, and high-performing team
• Financial strength and strong brand

Job Skills

Business, Business Perspective, Coaching Others, Customer Service Management, Decision Making, Environmental Social And Governance (ESG), Financial Regulation, Group Problem Solving, High Impact Communication, Legal Disclosures, Legal Practices, Organizational Change Management, Strategic Advice, Sustainability, Time Management

Additional Job Details

Address:

ROYAL BANK PLAZA, 200 BAY ST:TORONTO

City:

TORONTO

Country:

Canada

Work hours/week:

37.5

Employment Type:

Full time

Platform:

CHIEF LEGAL & ADMIN OFFICE GRP

Job Type:

Regular

Pay Type:

Salaried

Posted Date:

2025-06-09

Application Deadline:

2025-06-30

Note: Applications will be accepted until 11:59 PM on the day prior to the application deadline date above

Inclusion and Equal Opportunity Employment

At RBC, we believe an inclusive workplace that has diverse perspectives is core to our continued growth as one of the largest and most successful banks in the world. Maintaining a workplace where our employees feel supported to perform at their best, effectively collaborate, drive innovation, and grow professionally helps to bring our Purpose to life and create value for our clients and communities. RBC strives to deliver this through policies and programs intended to foster a workplace based on respect, belonging and opportunity for all.

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