Permanent Reporting to the General Counsel & Chief Privacy Officer, the Associate General Counsel is a senior legal leadership role with a broad and influential mandate. The AGC provides strategic advice across OCP’s legal portfolio, including regulatory, corporate and commercial, governance, privacy, litigation, policy and other complex legal matters. The role also provides professional and prosecutorial leadership for OCP’s legal conduct function.

In partnership with the Manager, Legal Conduct, the AGC ensures prosecution work reflects the highest standards of fairness, consistency, independence and professional judgment, while providing direction on complex and high-impact matters.

General Legal Services

Support (Non-Conduct) Support the GC, as assigned and under the GC’s direction, across the broader legal portfolio, including corporate and commercial, regulatory, statutory interpretation, contract, governance, privacy, policy and other non-conduct legal matters as assigned. Draft, review and negotiate contracts, procurement documents and vendor agreements across the College’s operations. Support governance work, including Board and committee materials, bylaw and policy drafting, motions and terms of reference, and conflict of interest advice.

Prepare legal opinions and interpretation memoranda on the Regulated Health Professions Act, 1991, the Pharmacy Act, the Drug and Pharmacies Regulation Act and related legislation, and monitor legislative and regulatory developments affecting the College. Assist in managing civil litigation, judicial reviews and other proceedings outside the conduct stream, including instructing and overseeing external counsel. Provide legal support on employment, labour and workplace matters, as required and assigned by the GC, subject to applicable screening practices.

Contribute to enterprise legal risk management, compliance frameworks, delegations of authority, and legal records and information practices. Act as the GC’s delegate during absences or as otherwise designated, except in respect of the Hearings Office and adjudicative operations, which remain outside the AGC’s role at all times. Provide overflow, project and coverage capacity across the legal portfolio in a manner consistent with the independence of the conduct role and applicable screening practices.

Contribute to knowledge sharing, precedent development, legal service delivery improvement and cross-functional initiatives across Legal Services.

Legal Conduct

Oversight & Prosecutorial Accountability Hold overall professional and prosecutorial accountability for the legal conduct function. Day-to-day supervision, direction and prosecutorial decision-making on files rests with the Manager Legal Conduct; the AGC provides input, direction and sign-off on complex, novel, precedent-setting or high-consequence matters elevated by the Manager Legal Conduct, and serves as a sounding board on significant decisions.



Provide strategic oversight of proceedings before the Discipline and Fitness to Practise Committees under the Regulated Health Professions Act, 1991 and the Accreditation Committee under the Drug and Pharmacies Regulation Act, and ensure prosecutions are conducted in accordance with the law, the rules of qualified conduct, procedural fairness and the College’s public-interest mandate.

Develop, maintain and apply policies directing the exercise of prosecutorial discretion — including charging and referral-related practices, disclosure, resolution and litigation conduct — and set professional standards, quality expectations and consistency across counsel and files. Monitor legal developments affecting professional discipline, accreditation proceedings and administrative prosecution practice, and contribute file-informed, aggregate-level insight to systemic and policy work led by the GC, without disclosing file-level information beyond what such work lawfully requires. Retain, instruct and oversee external counsel engaged for conduct-stream matters, directly or through the Manager Legal Conduct, and ensure quality, value and accountability in their use.

Provide or facilitate legal advice to the Inquiries, Complaints and Reports Committee, including on referral decisions; advice to the Quality Assurance Committee on whether to make a disclosure or referral to the Inquiries, Complaints and Reports Committee is outside the AGC’s function and is provided by external counsel independent of the GC, the AGC and Legal Conduct generally where required, reflecting the statutory protections attaching to quality assurance information. Maintain the operational and informational separation of the legal conduct function from the Hearings Office and adjudicative operations, including compliance with documented information protocols. Provide no legal advice to adjudicative panels or adjudicators in any circumstance, and take no role in the selection, instruction or retainer administration of independent legal counsel who advise panels.

Escalate to the GC only the categorical matters permitted under the “Legal Conduct and Adjudicative Operations Separation Charter”, and decline direction on file-specific strategy, resolution positions, counsel assignments or penalty from any person outside the legal conduct function, and engage the Registrar & CEO, through or with the General Counsel as the Separation Charter provides, on institutional risks that transcend any individual file. Provide leadership, direction, coaching, performance management and professional development to the Manager, Legal Conduct and to conduct-stream counsel,



clerks and support staff, and create the conditions for high performance, sound judgement, independence, accountability and public-interest decision-making. Recruit, develop, retain, and support high-performing employees, ensuring appropriate succession planning and capability development.

Establish annual conduct-stream goals, workplans, resource requirements, budgets and performance measures, assessed on process and stewardship measures including timeliness, disclosure compliance, budget management and professional standards. Ensure material legal, operational and conflict risks within the conduct stream are identified, documented and escalated appropriately within the categorical escalation framework. Versatility to contribute effectively across corporate, commercial, regulatory, governance, privacy and policy matters outside the conduct stream.

Exceptional legal and prosecutorial judgment and the ability to make and defend independent, principled decisions in complex or sensitive circumstances. Deep knowledge of professional discipline, administrative prosecution practice, procedural fairness, disclosure obligations and tribunal advocacy. Ability to lead and develop professional teams, set standards and maintain quality and consistency across a high-volume litigation practice.

High degree of integrity, discretion, professionalism and commitment to equity, accessibility, inclusion and public service.

Juris

Doctor (JD) or Bachelor of Laws (LL.Specialized training or education in administrative law, professional regulation, prosecution practice or litigation is considered an asset. Work Experience ~10+ years of progressively senior legal experience across a broad portfolio — corporate, commercial, regulatory and administrative —, including substantial litigation, prosecution or contested administrative proceedings experience. ~ Breadth of experience across corporate and commercial matters, contracts, governance, privacy and policy work, preferably in a regulated or public-sector environment. ~ Significant experience conducting or supervising proceedings before administrative tribunals, discipline committees or courts, preferably in a professional regulation or comparable public-interest context. ~ Experience leading, supervising and developing legal professionals and support staff. ~ Significant knowledge of professional regulation, administrative law, procedural fairness and statutory interpretation, preferably including the Regulated Health Professions Act, 1991 and the Drug and Pharmacies Regulation Act. ~ Experience advising statutory committees, boards or senior decision-makers is a strong asset. We are the registering and regulating body for the profession of pharmacy practice in Ontario with a mandate to serve and protect the public interest.

OCP is committed to supporting accessibility and diversity. Requests for accommodations can be made at any stage of the recruitment process.

📌 Associate General Counsel, Contracts (Toronto)
🏢 Ocpinfo
📍 Toronto