Canada’s Ombudsman for Banking Services and Investments (OBSI) is a national, independent and not-for-profit organization that helps resolve and reduce disputes between consumers and financial services firms in both official languages. OBSI is responsive to consumer inquiries, conducts fair and accessible investigations of unresolved disputes, and shares its knowledge and expertise with the stakeholders and the public. If a consumer has a complaint against an OBSI participating bank or investment firm that they are not able to resolve with the bank or firm, OBSI will investigate at no cost to the consumer.
Job Title: Legal Counsel
Reporting to: Director, Legal & Compliance
Vacancy: New vacancy
Salary Range: $115,000 – 130,000 with the placement and offered salary being based on knowledge, skills, education/training and experience, as well as external market conditions and internal equity
Workplace Type: Hybrid arrangement with 2 days a week in the office. The OBSI office is in downtown Toronto.
Duties and Responsibilities
The Legal Counsel supports OBSI’s legal, compliance, complaints, privacy, reconsideration, regulatory reporting, and governance functions. Working closely with the Director, Legal & Compliance, the Legal Counsel provides legal analysis and advice, supports organizational compliance and accountability activities, assists with regulatory and governance matters, and contributes to the development and improvement of policies, processes, procedures, and guidance.
This role is intended for a lawyer licensed in Ontario who can independently assess legal and compliance issues, provide practical recommendations, draft legal and regulatory correspondence, and support the Director, Legal & Compliance on matters requiring legal judgment, while escalating significant legal, risk, compliance, strategic, governance, or policy matters as appropriate.
The Legal Counsel has a range of responsibilities, including:
General Legal, Risk Management and Organizational Support
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Provide legal research, analysis, and advice on various topics, including general corporate, banking, securities, employment, privacy, investigation-related, and administrative law matters, under the direction of the Director, Legal & Compliance.
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Support the Director, Legal & Compliance in identifying, assessing, and responding to risks affecting OBSI’s operations, policies, investigations, reconsideration process, regulatory obligations, and public commitments.
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Review and draft legal correspondence, memoranda, briefing notes, policies, procedures, guidance materials to promote legal compliance, operational effectiveness, and alignment with OBSI’s objectives and guiding principles
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Monitor legal, regulatory, policy, and industry developments relevant to OBSI’s mandate, operations, and obligations, and prepare summaries and recommendations for internal stakeholders.
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Foster a culture of professionalism, collaboration, accountability, continuous improvement, and public service.
Compliance, Privacy, Complaints and Audit Support
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Support OBSI’s compliance and accountability functions, including compliance with applicable banking and securities regulatory requirements, OBSI’s Memorandum of Understanding with the Canadian Securities Administrators, OBSI’s Terms of Reference, and other public commitments.
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Support privacy compliance activities, including inquiries, complaints, breach assessments, policy updates, staff guidance, training, and stakeholder coordination.
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Assist with the investigation and response to compliance complaints and service complaints, including reviewing case materials, meeting with staff and managers as needed, preparing legal and factual analyses, and drafting correspondence or reports.
