Legal Counsel

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

• 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.
• 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.
• 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
• Monitor legal, regulatory, policy, and industry developments relevant to OBSI’s mandate, operations, and obligations, and prepare summaries and recommendations for internal stakeholders.
• Foster a culture of professionalism, collaboration, accountability, continuous improvement, and public service.

Compliance, Privacy, Complaints and Audit Support

• 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.
• Support privacy compliance activities, including inquiries, complaints, breach assessments, policy updates, staff guidance, training, and stakeholder coordination.
• 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.
• Provide legal oversight and support for annual and quarterly compliance audits, including audit planning, issue identification, analysis of findings, drafting or reviewing audit reports, and tracking follow-up items.
• Support the maintenance of compliance, complaints, privacy, and audit tracking tools, ensuring information is complete, accurate, and appropriately documented.
• Identify trends, potential compliance issues, systemic concerns, or opportunities for process improvement arising from complaints, compliance audits, reconsiderations, and other legal and compliance activities.

Reconsideration Support

• Provide legal support to OBSI’s reconsideration process, including reviewing reconsideration materials, identifying legal or procedural issues, and assisting with complex or sensitive reconsideration matters.
• Support the Director, Legal & Compliance and others in ensuring reconsideration requests are handled in a timely, consistent, and procedurally fair manner aligned with OBSI’s Terms of Reference.

Regulatory Reporting and Documentation

• Assist with regulatory reporting to bodies such as the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada, the Joint Regulators Committee, provincial credit union regulators, and other relevant oversight bodies, including quarterly and ad hoc reporting.
• Work with internal stakeholders, including data and reporting resources, to support the accuracy, clarity, completeness, and consistency of reports.
• Draft, review, and coordinate materials relating to reportable compliance issues, systemic issues, regulatory inquiries, and other legal or compliance-related reporting requirements.

Governance and Corporate Support

• Support the Director, Legal & Compliance in corporate governance and corporate secretarial matters, including Board and committee support, document preparation, record-keeping, minute-taking, minute book maintenance, and governance-related compliance activities.
• Assist with the preparation of corporate secretarial and other governance materials for senior management, the Ombudsman and CEO, and the Board of Directors, as required.
• Periodically review and revise governance documents, policies, procedures, and internal records to support compliance with applicable legal, regulatory, and corporate requirements and governance best practices.

Key Qualifications, Abilities, and Skills

• Licensed lawyer in good standing with the Law Society of Ontario.
• LLB/JD or equivalent law degree.
• Approximately 3-7 years of relevant legal experience, preferably in one or more of the following areas: corporate law, administrative law, privacy law, regulatory compliance, financial services, investigations, dispute resolution, or governance.
• Experience providing practical legal advice in an organizational, regulatory, public interest, ombuds, financial services, or not-for-profit environment would be an asset.
• Strong legal judgment, including the ability to assess risk, identify relevant facts and issues, and provide clear, practical recommendations.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, including the ability to interpret complex information, determine relevance, identify options, and support sound decision-making.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills, including the ability to draft clear, accurate, professional, and audience-appropriate correspondence, reports, briefing notes, and legal analysis.
• Strong interpersonal skills, including diplomacy, professionalism, discretion, and the ability to work effectively with internal and external stakeholders.
• Strong planning, organizational, and time-management skills, including the ability to manage multiple priorities, meet deadlines, and work effectively under pressure.
• Ability to work independently while recognizing when escalation, consultation, or additional review is required.
• Familiarity with banking and investment industry practices, products, services, legislation, regulation, and dispute resolution processes would be an asset.
• Familiarity with OBSI’s mandate and operating environment.
• Strong proficiency in the Microsoft Office suite of programs, as well as a demonstrated commitment to maximizing productivity through information technology and continuously improving information technology skills.
• French language proficiency would be considered an asset.