Senior Legal Counsel, Pensions- job post University Pension Plan

Full job description
OUR COMPANY BACKGROUND CULTURE

UPP is the first pension plan of its kind in Ontario’s university sector, proudly serving over 41,000 members across five universities and fourteen sector organizations. Our purpose is to bring greater retirement peace of mind to the university sector by investing with integrity and serving members with care. As a sector-wide plan designed for growth, our doors are open to all Ontario universities.

Together, we’re a team of progressive thinkers and agile doers operating within a fast-paced culture of collaboration and respect. We believe in bringing smart and capable people together to create, solve, and grow with a clear shared vision and values of integrity, inclusivity, ingenuity, and impact. Our culture is intentionally welcoming and purposefully rooted in equity, diversity, inclusion, and reconciliation (EDIR). We believe diverse teams, perspectives, and lived experiences contribute to better decisions and a better workplace.

As a pension plan, UPP approaches investing through a long-term lens to generate and safeguard value. Our commitment to investing responsibly accounts for material risks that impact our investment portfolio to generate sufficient risk-adjusted returns to meet the pension needs of our members.

Join us in building a bright future for our members, our organization, and each other.

THE ROLE
This is a tremendous opportunity for an exceptional pension lawyer to come in-house, join a team of high performing professionals and make a significant impact. As Senior Legal Counsel, you will report to the General Counsel and serve as a member of the UPP’s Legal and Governance team.
You will have seven to ten years’ experience including demonstrated working knowledge of the Pension Benefits Act, the Registered Pension Plan regulations made under the Income Tax Act and legal risk. The ideal candidate has been exposed to pension administration matters at a law firm, pension fund or consulting firm. Familiarity with pension plan conversions and transfers would be advantageous.
This role is based in downtown Toronto in a hybrid work environment, allowing employees the flexibility to work remotely and in-office (minimum two days per week in-office).
SPECIFIC ACCOUNTABILITIES
Provide proactive legal advice and practical solutions to internal business partners: Pension Services, Compliance, Actuarial, Communications, Risk, Engagement and Strategy
Conduct legal research and analysis in support of plan interpretation for Pension Services and Plan Policy
Provide legal support to the implementation of UPP’s pension administration system and data conversion project
Support the development of the member communication program by ensuring that the content is accurate and complete
Effectively manage the resolution of any disputes from members and participating employers
Collaborate with the Engagement and Strategy Team by providing analysis on the integration of new participating employers, as required
Under the guidance of UPP’s Privacy Officer, support the mitigation of member data privacy risk
Monitor emerging legal and regulatory requirements in pension governance matters, administrative law, employment law and privacy law
Support the continuous improvement of legal operations in a growing legal department, including knowledge management
Assist the General Counsel regarding governance matters, Board of Trustee and Committee meetings and related requirements
Work with external legal counsel as required from time to time
Promote integration, partnership collaboration across legal, governance, and other business functions
Contribute to UPP’s reputation as a respectful employer, partner and participant in the financial sector
Other duties as required
QUALIFICATIONS EXPERIENCE
Graduate from an internationally recognized law school (LLB/JD)
A member in good standing with the Law Society of Ontario
7-10 years of post-call experience with exposure to pension administration, governance, plan design and dispute resolution
ATTRIBUTES
High degree of self-motivation and professionalism
Ability to prioritize and manage multiple projects in a time sensitive manner
Excellent relationship building and conflict resolution skills
Excellent interpersonal and communication skills (both written and oral)
A collaborative approach to understand and respond to organizational needs and partner with various organizational and control functions
High degree of professional ethics and integrity
Strong commercial and strategic judgment
LIFE AT UPP

Do work that matters. We are duty-bound to serve our members’ interests, and it’s a responsibility we don’t take lightly. That’s why we’ve ingrained sustainability in our work from day one—to ensure our members have a resilient future to retire into, both today and for generations to come.

Stronger together. Collaboration is how UPP was born, and it’s how we work with each other and our partners day in, day out. No one at UPP is just a number (even if they are excellent at math) and every win is a shared win.

Grow every day. You’ll have the opportunity to work on unique, once-in-a-career projects that maximize your skill set and probably teach you some new ones—at any stage in your career.

Prioritize wellness. At UPP, wellness takes many forms. Ultimately, it’s about ensuring our people are cared for in the ways that matter to them. Check out some highlights of our inclusive employee-focused benefits program including:
Defined benefit pension plan
Flexible hybrid work model
Work from abroad up to eight weeks/year
Comprehensive group benefits including medical, dental, vision etc.
Extended paramedical and mental health service coverage
Health care and lifestyle spending accounts
Fertility treatments, paid parental leave, and gender affirmation coverage
Education Assistance program
UPP enthusiastically welcomes applications from all qualified applicants and especially invites people with lived experience as an Indigenous person, a person with a disability or as a member of another Human Rights Code protected group that faces barriers to employment to apply. Our goal is to create a barrier-free experience for every candidate throughout the recruitment process, so if you require accommodation at any point during the process, please let us know so that we can make the appropriate arrangements. It would be our honor to work with you to adapt our processes to ensure that you can meaningfully participate.

UPP respects your privacy. For information on how UPP handles the personal information you provide during the application process, please see our Job Applicant Privacy Statement. Read more