Director, Enterprise Legal (Pension Legal & Plan Administration)

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We are a purpose-driven, dynamic and sustainable pension plan. An industry leading global investor with teams in Toronto to London, New York, Singapore, Sydney and other major cities across North America and Europe. We embody the values of our 600,000+ members, placing their best interests at the heart of everything we do.

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We are looking for an experienced Pension Lawyer to join our Pension Legal and Plan Administration (PLPA) team in Toronto as a Director reporting to the Vice President of the PLPA. As a member of the PLPA team, you are joining a dedicated team of experts with deep pension expertise providing legal advice and designing solutions on a variety of issues, including plan design, case escalations, complex plan administration matters, and broader pension initiatives. The successful candidate will interact with internal and external stakeholders and will always uphold and demonstrate the OMERS vision and core mission.
 

As a Director in the PLPA, you will be a subject-matter expert that brings a legal lens to PLPA projects. The successful candidate is expected to have an advanced understanding of defined benefit pension fundamentals, which will be required to support and deliver key legal projects and will play a key role in facilitating innovation in governance and administration to meet the evolving needs and expectations of our members, employers and other stakeholders.

We believe that time together in the office is important for OMERS and Oxford, the strength of our employees, and the work we do for our pension members. Our flexible hybrid work guideline requires teams to come to the office a minimum of 4 days per week.

As a member of this team, you will be responsible for:

• Advice related to the day-to-day administration and interpretation of the OMERS pension plans

• Case file management (including OMERS internal process and litigation matters)

• Providing advice and assistance on the interpretation and application of legal and governance requirements in the context of drafting policies and procedures

• Supporting the process of monitoring and assessing the potential impact on OMERS of legislative and regulatory reforms, developments in the Canadian pension industry (including among the major Ontario pension plans), and establishing any required recommendations to address these developments

• Providing assistance in the preparation of pension materials of varying complexity including plan amendments, policies/guidelines, pension communication materials and other OMERS plan documents

• Reviewing and assisting in the development of clear and well-written reports and presentations for Boards, senior leadership, as well as member and employer communications

To succeed in this role, you:

• Are qualified to practice law in Ontario

• Have at least 6 years of experience in a pension legal group in Ontario (law firm, consulting firm, or pension plan)

• Possess deep knowledge in pension law (including related Income Tax Act provisions)

• Demonstrate knowledge of pension plan administration, plan design, pensions communications, and policy development

Beneficial Substantive Qualifications:

• Knowledge and experience in conducting legal and compliance reviews of different areas of defined benefit plan administration and plan communications

• Knowledge in other areas of law such as trust, family, employment/labour, estate & succession law and familiarity with pension investment rules

• Public sector experience and, in particular, exposure to public sector pension plans 

Technical, Interpersonal and People Skills:

• Excellent written and oral communication skills with a focus on attention to detail and the ability to tailor written materials to different audiences

• Ability to work collaboratively as part of a team

• Outstanding analytical thinking skills with the ability to evaluate complex situations and synthesize relevant information

• High integrity and discretion to ensure the confidentiality of sensitive and privileged information

• Adaptable in changing work environments

• Ability to project manage and develop solutions to complex cases and introduce process improvements

As one of Canada’s largest defined benefit pension plans, our people-first culture is at its best when our workforce reflects the communities where we live and work — and the members we proudly serve.

From hire to retire, we are an equal opportunity employer committed to an inclusive, barrier-free recruitment and selection process that extends all the way through your employee experience. This sense of belonging and connection is cultivated up, down and across our global organization thanks to our vast network of Employee Resource Groups with executive leader sponsorship, our Purpose@Work committee and employee recognition programs.