Legal Counsel, Discipline Manager

Engineers and Geoscientists BC is currently searching for a Legal Counsel, Discipline Manager to join our team in Burnaby on a 15-month contract!

The Legal Counsel, Discipline Manager ("LCDM") is responsible for managing the resolution and discipline stage of professional conduct complaints related to registrants. The LCDM is responsible for managing the discipline team (currently the Discipline Coordinator and a summer law student) by providing direction, guidance and advice on all ongoing matters at the discipline stage of the process including Consent Order negotiations, pre-hearing matters, issues arising during hearings, post-hearing matters, and monitoring for compliance with penalties. The LCDM will remain current in their knowledge of jurisprudence applicable to the investigation and discipline of regulated professionals and will provide Engineers and Geoscientists BC with practical advice on specific issues that arise in the investigation and discipline process as well as on general strategy for dealing with discipline files.

This role might be a fit for you if you are looking for rewarding work to protect the public interest, and are ready to have a real work/life balance and to be free of billable hours. The work is challenging and we have high expectations regarding your work quality and attention to detail. However, we also appreciate that all staff have busy lives outside of work, and in-house legal counsel is no exception. We expect hard work during the day, but your evenings and weekends will generally be your own.

Our organization - one of BC's Top Employers – offers a competitive salary, comprehensive and generous benefits, an inclusive culture, and a hybrid work environment. Full details on our compensation and benefits value offering can be found below.

What You Will Be Doing

• Responsible for the discipline of registrants under the Professional Governance Act and the Bylaws and remains current on jurisprudence relevant to the role.
• Manages the discipline team and oversees all files at the discipline stage of the process. Seeks guidance from the Associate Director and the Director when required.
• Manages the discipline resolution process. Oversees the creation or use of precedent documents and recommends penalties to resolution panels. Facilitates the resolution panel meetings and provides direction to panels to ensure consistent and reasonable discipline outcomes in Consent Orders.
• Coordinates with and provides direction to external prosecuting counsel in relation to discipline matters, including editing draft Citations and Consent Orders and other legal matters that may arise over the course of a discipline file.
• Manages the discipline hearing process. Provides direction and guidance on scheduling of hearings, retention of legal counsel, coordination with the Discipline Committee on panel appointments, adjournment applications and any other pre-hearing matters that may arise.
• Manages the post-discipline process. Provides direction and guidance on publication of discipline decisions, communication of discipline decisions to relevant parties, and compliance monitoring of discipline penalties.
• Provides general legal advice to the complaint intake and investigation teams with respect to ongoing files and any matters that arise from discipline matters.
• Supports the Discipline Committee and the committee meetings, including recruitment, scheduling, compiling information, general committee member management, and any other committee-related tasks.
• Provides leadership to direct reports with accountability for hiring, training, and coaching; conducts all aspects of performance management including making recommendations for development.
• Other duties as assigned by management.
  
  

What You Bring To The Table

The successful applicant will possess the following:

• Bachelor of Laws (LLB) or Juris Doctor (JD) degree required.
• Member of the Law Society of BC, or eligible for immediate membership.
• 5-7 years experience in a law firm, government, or professional regulatory body, particularly in administrative law or civil litigation
• 2-5 years experience providing leadership and direction to direct reports with accountability for hiring, training, coaching / mentoring, overseeing all aspects performance management, and making recommendations for training and development.
• Ability to independently manage volunteer panels and provide strategic guidance to panels.
• Ability to effectively resolve disciplinary files in a defensible manner that serves the public interest and direct external legal counsel to outcomes that serve the public interest.
• Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal, and the ability to build working relationships throughout the organization.
  
  

What's In It For You

Each member of our team contributes to public safety in BC and helps us deliver on our vision of "modern regulation for a resilient world." We serve the public as an inclusive, progressive, and future-focused regulator. Our Strategic Plan also places priority on our role to advance climate action, foster equity, diversity and inclusion, and move towards reconciliation with Indigenous peoples. At Engineers and Geoscientists BC, we are committed to demonstrating our values of collaboration, excellence, integrity, and innovation.

This role offers a competitive compensation and benefits program including a salary within our hiring range of $133,000 to $149,000. Placement within the hiring range will be based on candidate experience relative to the requirements of the role. Additional details on our generous benefit offerings for this role are found below.

Who We Are

Engineers and Geoscientists BC is proud to be recognized as one of BC's Top Employers.

Engineers and Geoscientists British Columbia is the business name of the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of the Province of British Columbia. We regulate and govern these professions under the authority of the Professional Governance Act.

We are charged with protecting the public interest by setting and maintaining high academic, experience, and professional practice standards for over 40,000 registrants. Individuals licensed by Engineers and Geoscientists BC are the only persons permitted by law to undertake and assume responsibility for engineering and geoscience projects in BC.

We are a not-for-profit organization governed by a board of elected registrants, licensees, and government appointees. The board is accountable to the public through the Ministry of Post-Secondary Education and Future Skills under the Office of the Superintendent of Professional Governance, for both the governance and management of the organization.

To learn more about our work please visit us at https://www.egbc.ca.