Compensation Pay Range: $69.75-$82.22
Job Description:
Please Note: If you are a current CHEO employee with access to Workday, please apply to this posting via the Workday application as an internal applicant using the Jobs Hub.
To successfully apply for this position, please submit your application by 11:59 pm the day before the advertised closing date in the posting to ensure your application is received.
CHEO is much more than a hospital. Our commitment to outstanding care and continued development impacts every part of a child and youth's health and well-being. We play a crucial role in building a healthy future for our community. Working at CHEO means a rewarding career. CHEO has been recognized as Canada’s second-best employer and the top employer in Canadian health care among Forbes’ annual for 2024. CHEO has been identified as the top health-care employer, top hospital and top pediatric health-care organization. For the tenth time, CHEO has been recognized as one of the National Capital Region’s Top Employers. We are among a select group of organizations at the forefront of their respective industries that offer exceptional places to work.
CHEO is one of the few stand-alone, global leaders in pediatric health and is home to nearly 4,500 staff, medical staff, and learners dedicated to helping children and youth live their best lives. Ranked in the top 1% of Canadian hospitals for the digitization of its clinical infrastructure, CHEO combines excellence in clinical care, research, and education to advance seamless care that is provided where, when, and how it is needed. Every year, CHEO helps more than 500,000 children and youth from Eastern Ontario, Western Quebec, Nunavut, and Northern Ontario.
POSITION SUMMARY
CHEO is seeking Senior Legal Counsel to join their Legal team at a time of exciting, and critically important, change. This role will assist in positioning CHEO for long-term success.
This role will report to and act in support of the General Counsel and Chief Privacy Officer in the continuing establishment of legal processes, policies and programs across the hospital and the provision of direct legal advice and services across a broad range of subjects to clients, including, executives, management, clinical and medical staff across the organization. Both directly and through retained legal services, the Senior Legal Counsel is accountable to provide expert legal support aligned with CHEO’s strategic direction. Such legal support involves a full spectrum of legal services related to a public hospital regulatory environment focussed on enabling the delivery of outstanding health care to children, youth and families.
The successful incumbent will play a key risk mitigation function for CHEO through supporting the development, implementation and oversight of a strong regulatory compliance framework and process. In their role, Senior Legal Counsel will be a generalist and will provide expert and effective counsel on a wide range of complex legal, business and hospital related issues for the organization; manage external counsel relationships; and identify, monitor, and manage potential areas of legal vulnerability and risk. Senior Legal Counsel will be required to provide a disciplined, well balanced, and values-based approach to anticipating, mitigating and managing risks and opportunities and will provide expert legal counsel to key internal stakeholders, including senior functional leadership, to execute on legal and regulatory requirements relating to CHEO’s organizational objectives.
The position supports the General Counsel and Chief Privacy Officer in meeting CHEO’s legal and regulatory responsibilities in the areas of freedom of information, corporate law, privacy law, research, health law, legislative compliance, corporate governance and risk management.
The position adds value to the various business activities of the hospital by making practical decisions and providing expert legal analysis to fulfill hospital and end-user requirements, such as to:
Ensure that appropriate individuals/departments are included in negotiations
Ensure compliance to appropriate hospital processes
Review and approve contracts and support contract management
Decide on complex legal issues and manage organizational risk; and
Recommend and coordinate opportunities for exploration of beneficial business strategies.
Senior Legal Counsel is an expert resource for hospital staff on an exceptionally wide range of issues on a day-to-day basis, including clinical, professional, regulatory, corporate and labour and employment matters.
At this time, this role will primarily work remotely with the opportunity and expectation that certain on-site activity will occur.
RESPONSIBILITIES
Responsible for and accountable to the General Counsel and Chief Privacy Officer for the assessment and mitigation of legal risks in all areas of the organization, including privacy issues.
Provides expertise and support to the strategic direction and leadership in regard to CHEO’s legal services ensuring that these areas are integrated into the operations of the organization and are all in support of its strategic initiatives.
Ensures overall regulatory compliance for CHEO through establishing a framework for monitoring and confirming compliance with the outcomes that the organization abides by applicable statutes and regulations. This includes reporting out and supporting the mitigation of instances of non-compliance as well as providing expert knowledge, insight and direction to leadership with regards to legal responsibilities as they arise or change.
Provides expert advice and counsel to clients across the organization on a broad range of complex issues.
Provides strategic legal advice and guidance to support the achievement of the objectives of the functional area.
Provides expert legal advice and recommendations on policies, procedures and guidelines as required.
Identifies and evaluates legal risks and recommends and negotiates options and opportunities for risk mitigation or risk avoidance.
Negotiates, designs, drafts and/or reviews legal agreements, documents and contracts and leads the negotiations with counterparties as needed.
Supports the organization’s risk management efforts through the identification, clarification and evaluation of risks and/or liabilities such as legal or compliance assurances, legal claims and challenges, indemnification stipulations, fidelity insurance requirements and any other material legal risk element.
Proactively monitors the activities of the organization and developments in the health sector in order to anticipate and identify legal problems that may arise from institutional and individual activities and advises senior management including possible resolutions.
Ensures that contract and legal templates are in place and maintained throughout the organization in order to expedite legal processes and to mitigate risk. This includes developing and setting procedures and training employees on the correct usage of these legal tools.
Leads and/or participates in negotiations with vendors and vendors’ counsel as agreed for contracts that are legally complex, contentious, high risk, high profile or high cost.
Where organizational leadership is enabled to directly access specialized outside legal services, Senior Legal Counsel will support those functional areas with structures and procedures that will maximize value of the services retained. Senior Legal Counsel will guide and monitor access to and usage of external lawyers in cases where specialty support is required.
QUALIFICATIONS
Police Record Check (PRC) (Essential).
Minimum of 10 years legal experience in a law firm or legal environment. (Essential).
Healthcare experience in a complex care delivery environment or comparable experience in a complex regulated environment (Preferred).
Expertise in health law. This includes an understanding of health and hospital related legislation, regulations and guidelines. (Preferred).
Strong technical legal ability demonstrated through experience managing relevant complex legal matters in comparable environments. (Essential).
Ability to create, compose and edit institutional policies and other written materials. (Essential).
Highly developed legal and policy analysis skills. (Essential).
Familiarity with privacy legislation and regulation, procurement, not-for-profit entities and the healthcare sector are all assets for the role. (Preferred)
Demonstrated advanced negotiating skills. (Essential).
A self-starter in a complex operational environment, including doing so remotely. (Essential).
Strong communication (verbal and written) skills and a strong ability to develop relationships. (Essential).
Proven complex contract drafting and review capabilities. (Essential).
Bilingualism – French/English is an asset.
Effective March 29, 2021, CHEO will conduct a more comprehensive pre-screening and evaluation process. This process may include more varied and multidimensional testing such as a written test, practical exam, or other assessment. All candidates who meet the essential and preferred qualifications may be tested.
CHEO values diversity and is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to providing an inclusive and barrier-free work environment, starting with the hiring process and welcome interest from all qualified applicants.
Should you require accommodation during any phase in the recruitment process, please contact Human Resources at . All information received in relation to accommodation will be kept confidential and will be handled in compliance with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act.
Bilingualism (French/English) will be validated by a language proficiency assessment conducted by a third party provider. Candidates will be required to meet the minimum linguistic profile prior to the date of hire.
CHEO is committed to providing a safe environment for staff, patients, and visitors. Consistent with that commitment, all applicants must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 to be considered for any staff or volunteer opportunities. Applicants are also strongly encouraged to receive their COVID-19 booster shots when eligible to protect against the spread of COVID-19. Upon hiring, presentation of government issued documentation confirming full vaccination must be provided, or presentation of supporting documentation of a valid medical contraindication or other reasonable consideration pursuant to the Ontario Human Rights Code.
We thank all those who apply, however, only those to be interviewed will be contacted.
CHEO values diversity and is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to providing an inclusive and barrier-free work environment, starting with the hiring process and welcome interest from all qualified applicants.
Should you require accommodation during any phase in the recruitment process, please contact Human Resources at jobs@cheo.on.ca. All information received in relation to accommodation will be kept confidential and will be handled in compliance with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act.
We thank all those who apply, however, only those to be interviewed will be contacted.
Job Posting End Date (if applicable): June 14, 2024