COOL JOB OPP - I WAS A BEAVER, A CUB AND A SCOUT a long time ago ... lol
Role Overview:
As Director (Legal Services) at Scouts Canada, this role is responsible for ensuring that legal risk is proactively identified, effectively managed, and strategically mitigated - so that the organization can deliver safe, sustainable, and impactful experiences that help young people develop skills for life. By leading the organization’s approach to legal services, the Director ensures that legal claims and contractual arrangements are handled with rigour, consistency, and alignment to organizational priorities - with the ability to drive down external legal costs.
They ensure that legal matters are not only managed effectively day-to-day, but also inform forward-looking decision-making through clear, evidence-based reporting to senior leadership and the Board. In partnership with external legal counsel, insurers, and internal stakeholders, the Director ensures the organization receives sound legal advice, manages liabilities effectively, and maintains compliance with all relevant legislative and regulatory requirements – ultimately reducing our reliance on external counsel.
As a senior leader within Enabling Services, the Director builds a high-performing legal function, strengthens collaboration across staff and volunteers, and embeds legal awareness into organizational planning and operations. Through this leadership, the role ensures that Scouts Canada is protected, resilient, and able to operate with confidence and integrity.
Duties and Responsibilities:
Portfolio:
- Legal Strategy & Risk Mitigation: Create and drive strategies that continuously improves Scouts Canada’s approach to identifying, managing, and mitigating legal risk across its operations, assets, and governance structures - ensuring alignment with organizational priorities and risk appetite – and senior leadership and the Board are well-informed to make forward-looking decisions.
- Claims Management: Create and drive strategies to ensure the effective management of an active and complex pipeline of legal claims - improving timeliness, consistency, financial modelling of liabilities, and alignment with insurers and external counsel.
- Contract Management: Create and drive strategies to ensure all contractual arrangements entered into by the organization are appropriate, reviewed, approved, and recorded - reducing risk and improving organizational consistency and control.
- Insurance & Liability Management: Create and drive strategies to ensure effective coordination with insurers, including claims submission, recovery, and optimization of coverage - ensuring value for money and alignment with organizational risk exposure.
- Governance & Regulatory Compliance: Create and drive strategies to ensure compliance with all relevant legal and regulatory requirements, including corporate governance obligations, privacy legislation, and accessibility standards - supporting effective governance and decision-making.
- Records & Legal Systems: Create and drive strategies to improve the management, accessibility, and interrogation of legal records - ensuring that documentation is robust, secure, and supports both current and historic legal matters.
- Cross-Functional Risk Integration: Create and drive strategies to embed legal risk awareness into organizational planning, working closely with teams such as Property, People, Safety, and Finance to ensure legal considerations are proactively addressed.
- External Legal Partnerships: Create and drive strategies to ensure effective engagement with external legal counsel -improving quality, timeliness, and cost-effectiveness of legal advice
- Legal Examinations: Create and drive strategies to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of Scouts Canada’s participation in legal examinations. This may include participation in examinations as required, with appropriate psychosocial supports in place.
- Other duties: As assigned.
Leadership:
- Externality: Represent the organization to senior external stakeholders, including legal counsel, insurers, regulators, and sector partners.
- Senior Leadership: Collaborate with Director-level colleagues across the organization to ensure legal considerations are fully integrated into strategic and operational decision-making.
- People: Create and drive strategies to continuously improve the performance of your staff, ensuring a positive growth culture that increases satisfaction of high-performing staff and addresses performance concerns effectively and efficiently.
- Volunteers: Create and drive strategies to continuously improve partnerships between staff and National, Council, and Property Society volunteers - ensuring legal matters are handled with clarity, sensitivity, and alignment to Scouting values.
- Committees and Governance: Form excellent relationships with members of relevant committees and governance bodies, providing clear, concise, and evidence-based legal advice and guidance up to and including the Board level.
- Project Management: Ensure all projects within the team align with our Project Management framework, taking personal accountability for addressing underperformance in Scope, Timeline or Budget.
- Deputization: Deputize for your manager during absences.
Evidence, Insights and Reporting:
- User Centered: Ensure legal processes and policies are informed by evidence related to member and stakeholder interactions, improving clarity, proportionality, and effectiveness.
- Performance & Continuous Improvement: Ensure the legal function continuously improves through the use of data, benchmarking, and feedback - enhancing efficiency, effectiveness, and alignment with organizational needs.
Finance and Revenue:
- Budget: Effectively manage and report on <$1M team and project budgets, ensuring value for money in legal services, external counsel, and insurance-related expenditure.
- Financial Risk: Ensure legal risks and liabilities are appropriately modelled and understood within the organization’s financial planning and reporting processes.
Qualifications and Job-Specific Competencies:
- Degree in a related field or an equivalent combination of education and work experience in legal administration.
- 10+ years related experience in one of the following areas: legal administration (senior paralegal, legal practice, etc.), risk management or insurance.
- 5+ years leading teams with a focus on operational strategy and delivery in similar sectors.
- Legal acumen: Ability to act as an internal expert on legal matter relevant to Scouts Canada, namely property holding, abuse claims and accessibility legislation.
- Legal Strategy & Risk Management: Ability to develop and implement strategies that reduce legal risk and cost.
- Claims & Insurance Management: Deep understanding of legal claims processes, insurance coordination, and financial modelling of liabilities.
- Contract & Commercial Acumen: Ability to oversee contractual arrangements, ensuring appropriate risk management and alignment with organizational priorities.
- Stakeholder & External Relations: Ability to build credibility and influence with external legal counsel, insurers, regulators, and senior stakeholders.
- Technical Proficiency: Strong computer and technical skills and a growth-mindset when approaching new technology, including Proficient with Microsoft 365 / Office applications – specifically legal case management software.
- Data Manipulation: Ability to interrogate data sets and visualize data to inform strategy, results and process improvements.
- Program Management: Ability to manage multiple projects, identifying risks and taking accountability for status.
- Travel: Must hold a valid Canadian driver’s license or have equivalent ability to travel
Working Conditions:
- Clear PRC (Police Record Check) and VSS (Vulnerable Sector Check) are required before the start date.
- Mandatory training requirement.
- Works remotely from home.
- Traditional working hours with some non-traditional working hours, including evenings and weekends, will be required
- Some overnight travel required.
Physical Demands:
- Sitting at a computer for extended periods of time
- Lifting boxes/records.
Ready to Apply?
If this role excites you, we’d love to hear from you! Please take a moment to tell us about yourself in a cover letter—we want to hear your story, your background, your accomplishments, and why you feel this role is the right fit for you.
Please submit your cover letter and resume by CLICKING HERE.
We thank all applicants for their interest; however, only those selected for an interview will be contacted. We will be reviewing resumes as they are submitted.
Equity, Diversity & Inclusion: Scouts Canada is committed to equity, diversity, and inclusion in our workplace where everyone feels valued and respected. We welcome and encourage applications from individuals of all backgrounds, including but not limited to Indigenous peoples, racialized individuals, people with disabilities, 2SLGBTQIA+ individuals, and those from other equity-deserving communities.
Accessibility and Accommodation: Scouts Canada is committed to developing inclusive, barrier-free selection processes and work environments. Accommodation requests should be made in advance to HR at humanresources@scouts.ca. Information received relating to accommodation measures will be addressed confidentially.
AI Disclosure: At Scouts Canada, we are committed to inclusive, respectful, and transparent recruitment. To support our selection process, we may use AI tools that assess responses to role-specific questions and experience-never personal details like your name or address. All data is handled in line with the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) and our privacy policies, used only for recruitment, and never shared externally without your consent. If you have questions, please contact: humanresources@scouts.ca.
