Position
City Solicitor
Reports to:
Janice Baker, City Manager
Mandate
As Canada’s sixth largest city, Mississauga is home to more than 770,000 residents and 90,000 businesses including 75 Fortune 500 companies. Home to people from around the world, Mississauga is a progressive and award-winning municipality located on the shores of Lake Ontario in the heart of the Greater Toronto Area. As a young city on the cusp of something big, Mississauga is a place where people choose to be.
Reporting to the City Manager, the City Solicitor will direct a team of 56 to provide sound legal counsel and direction in matters pertaining to Administrative, Municipal, Planning and Development, Litigation, Real Estate, Corporate Commercial and Labour and Employment Law for the City. Analyzing complex situations and overseeing politically sensitive files, the City Solicitor acts as an advisor to Council and the Executive Leadership Team and leads a team that works as business partners to colleagues throughout the City to provide strategic legal and risk management services. The Solicitor also oversees the Prosecutorial function of the City.
Values and Operating Principles
Legal Services is responsible for providing the full range of legal services and support to City Council, Committees and Departments, including civil litigation, general municipal, general corporate, real estate, environmental, planning and development, labour and employment law, as well as by-law and provincial offences prosecutions.
Key Priorities
Short Term Priorities
- Quickly get up to speed on major initiatives such as the LRT project status and agreement, the regional governance review and other provincial legislation and initiatives affecting the City.
- Get to know your team and establish yourself as a coach, a mentor and leader who listens.
- Build relationships with the City Manager, the Leadership Team, Council and other Directors that allow for comfortable, collaborative relationships to evolve.
Ongoing Priorities
- Build and maintain a highly motivated, skilled team of legal and support staff who can deliver what is needed to advance the City’s priorities, maintain its reputation and defend its interests as required.
- Become a trusted advisor
- Keep abreast of legislative and other developments and deliver timely advice and strategic responses as needed
- Network across the City and the broader municipal community to keep abreast of changes and trends that affect service, and connect with influencers
- Develop metrics and business plans that show the value for money of in house versus external service providers to ensure we have a cost effective, sustainable model for service delivery
Candidate Profile
Qualifications
With your LLB or JD, good standing with the LSO, and more than 10 years of senior legal experience, you are known for providing strategic advice to executive leadership teams and thriving in dynamic environments including experience within a municipal setting or as a municipal advisor. You bring exceptional interpersonal and communication skills, with demonstrated success in providing advice and direction to Members of Council, senior municipal staff and/ or other stakeholders. You must possess sound judgment, superior negotiation skills, and a strong solutions-oriented perspective to strategically manage the City’s legal matters and services. Your proven ability to distill complex legal matters into business objectives and solutions has allowed you to build credibility and trust with internal and external stakeholders throughout your career. This is your opportunity to lead a large, dynamic, service-oriented team in serving a City poised for continued growth, evolution and success.
Contact Us
For inquiries about this position and to apply please contact:
Dania Zargaran at Odgers Berndtson Executive Search at 1-866-962-1990 or submit your resume and cover letter online: City Solicitor on or before April 29, 2019.
Confidentiality
Odgers Berndston respects the privacy and confidentiality of personal information provided by candidates in our search assignments.
Culture
Corporate Values
Our values are fundamental to the relationships we have with all our stakeholders.
They serve as the guiding principles for the City's corporate decision-making process.
Trust
The public trust we uphold. The open and responsive manner in which the City is governed.
Quality
The quality of life we provide Mississauga tax payers. Delivering the right services that add value to our citizen's lives.
Excellence
The delivery of excellence. Mississauga will Achieve excellence in public administration and deliver services in a superior way, at a reasonable cost.
Management Plan
The Mississauga Management Plan helps us tell the story of how we work here at the City of Mississauga. The plan helps us define our culture and describes the major elements that shape it, both day-to-day and over the long term.
Corporate Character
Our corporate character defines not only what we do but how we do it. Each character attribute provides an insight into how the City interacts, communicates and functions with its residents, youth, businesses and employers and business partners.
Social Responsibility
Our amazing team of dedicated employees together create the high-quality balanced lifestyle that Mississauga residents enjoy every day. Whether it's internal community minded projects or partnering with community businesses to provide free, community initiatives and programming; our employees are passionate about giving back to our community.
Click on the logos below to learn more about the ways we are involved.
Strategic Plan
The City of Mississauga's Strategic Plan was developed in 2009, in consultation with over 100,000 residents and stakeholders, and provides a sound framework for action and vision to move our city forward for the next 40 years.
Our Vision
Mississauga will inspire the world as a dynamic and beautiful global city for creativity and innovation, with vibrant, safe and connected communities where we celebrate the rich diversity of our cultures, our historic villages, Lake Ontario and the Credit River valley.
A place where people choose to be.
Strategic Plan
Our new Vision Statement is supported by five Strategic Pillars for Change.
Each of these Pillars has its own unique direction statement and principle,
along with specific strategic goals to ensure that this vision is achieved.
Learn about the progress we've achieved to date by clicking on each of the icons below.
To read the full Strategic Plan click here.
Detailed plans may be found in the 'learn more' section below.
Stay in touch
Stay in touch with the City of Mississauga
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Strategic Plan
Our new Vision Statement is supported by five Strategic Pillars for Change.
Each of these Pillars has its own unique direction statement and principle,
along with specific strategic goals to ensure that this vision is achieved.
Learn about the progress we've achieved to date by clicking on each of the icons below.
