City : Head Office / Siège Social

Category : Legal Affairs and Paralegal

Industry : Banking

Employer : BDC

We are banking at another level.

Choosing BDC as your employer means working in a healthy, inclusive, and skilled workplace that puts forward the best conditions to bring together unique teams where employees are empowered to act. It also means being at the centre of ambitious economic and financial projects to see further and to do things differently, to fuel the success of Canadian entrepreneurs.

Choosing BDC as your employer also means:

• Flexible and competitive benefits, including an Employee Savings and Investment Plan where BDC matches part of your voluntary contributions, a Defined Benefit Pension Plan, a $750 wellness and health care spending account, to name a few   

• In addition to paid vacation each year, five personal days, sick days as necessary, and our offices are closed from December 25 to January 1

• A hybrid work model that truly balances work and personal life

• Opportunities for learning, training and development, and much more... 

POSITION OVERVIEW

*Position located at BDC head office in Montreal.

National Assistant Vice President, Legal Affairs - Financing, reporting to the National Vice President, Legal Affairs – Financing. This role requires strong legal and management skills to lead a busy national team and be responsive to our internal partners.  

The candidate must have a solid background in financing and experience with enforcement.  In this role, the successful candidate will be a member of a busy team and will be expected to provide concise and commercial legal advice, support, and coaching to members of the team and work directly with our internal partners to support their initiatives. The successful candidate must demonstrate critical analysis, strategic thinking, clear communication and a desire to collaborate, problem-solve and share knowledge.  This role requires an individual who can manage with good judgment, assess the relevance of files and prioritize.

CHALLENGES TO BE MET

• Manage and provide coaching and guidance to a high performing national legal team of 7 lawyers, as well as legal assistants and paralegals located in Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal.

• Promote collaboration within the team and across the organization by providing proactive and high-quality legal advice.

• Provide strategic leadership in the provision of legal services to support the organization's business objectives, projects and strategic initiative and look for ways to evolve and enhance our processes and products.

• Advise on questions regarding loan structuring, security and financing, review and opine on legal documents and provide commercial legal advice.

• Issue researched opinions on laws and regulations, monitor procedural changes and notify management or business centre personnel of the effect any change may have on their activities.

• Review and monitor internal procedures and draft or revise complex agreements and contracts, as needed.

• Communicate legal advice in a clear and concise manner, ensuring key points are understood by diverse stakeholders.

WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR

• Minimum of 7 years of relevant experience in financing and commercial real estate.

• Demonstrated ability to manage a team, as well as competing priorities and goals.

• Creative problem-solving skills and an innovative approach to in-house legal management.

• Strong communication skills – ability to synthesize information, present information in a concise manner and highlight key points.

• Strong business acumen and ability to assess, analyze, summarize and provide clear legal advice.

• Extensive experience in commercial banking and finance: strong knowledge of loan practices and the financial and operational activities of a financial institution and knowledge of insolvency.

• Experience with an SME client base is an asset.

• Solid internal and external client relationship building skills.

• Ability to work under pressure and meet tight deadlines.

• Enjoys working with others and wants to promote collaboration and strong team mentality.

• Maintains a high standard of integrity and discretion.

• Member of the Quebec Bar in good standing.

• Bilingual (French & English).

This position’s duties require access to confidential information. As a condition of employment, the position therefore requires a "secret" security clearance. The selected candidate will therefore have to submit to an investigation by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service. Satisfactory results are a condition of employment. 

Proudly one of Canada’s Top 100 Employers and one of Canada’s Best Diversity Employers, we are committed to fostering a diverse, equitable, inclusive and accessible environment where all employees can thrive and feel empowered to bring their whole selves to work. If you require an accommodation to complete your application, please do not hesitate to contact us at accessibility@bdc.ca.

While we appreciate all applications, we advise that only the candidates selected to participate in the recruitment process will be contacted.