Interim Legal Director (12 - 14 months) - Burnaby, BC

Duration: This is an interim role with an intended duration of 12 – 14 months.

Location: This hybrid role requires 3 days on-site at our Burnaby office and 2 days remote per week.

Salary: $230,000 - $270,000

Actual compensation within the range will be based on experience
We also offer quarterly variable compensation package (bonus) + benefits

About Specsavers

Welcome to Specsavers - where we're not just about eyewear and eyecare, we're a purpose-driven organization committed to changing lives through better sight. As a certified Great Place to Work®, we take pride in our optometrist-owned and -led business model, providing quality eyecare and affordable eyewear to Canadians across the country.

Our journey began 40 years ago in the UK, with visionary optometrists Doug and Mary Perkins. Today, we support over 2,700 healthcare businesses, passionately caring for more than 44 million patients and customers worldwide.

At Specsavers, we believe that access to quality eyecare should be a right, not a luxury. That's why we go above and beyond to transform the eyecare experience in Canada. With our advanced clinical equipment and an extensive range of affordable and high-quality eyewear, we're here to make a real difference in the lives of our customers.

But that’s not all - we're also dedicated to fostering a positive, inclusive and supportive work culture. We strive to create an environment where our partners thrive while benefiting from the collective support and resources of our dedicated teams.

If you're passionate about making a difference, providing incredible care, and being part of a values and purpose-driven organization, join us on our journey to revolutionize the way Canadians experience eyecare. Together, we can change lives through better sight.

What You’ll Do

Purpose of the role

The legal team is there to support the growth of the Specsavers business in the Canadian retail optical and optometry market, providing the commercial and legal infrastructure for the Specsavers partnership business model in Canada.

We are currently recruiting an Interim Legal Director to lead our in-house legal team and provide strategic legal advice to our Canadian management and business partners. This role involves offering commercial legal support, ensuring compliance with legislative requirements, and managing various legal matters including incident management, dispute resolution, privacy and data protection, and regulatory compliance.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide strategic legal advice to Canadian management and business partners on all matters pertaining to the business.
• Act as both a legal advisor and business partner to achieve corporate goals and protect the Canadian business.
• Support in negotiating key transactions for business operations and growth.
• Act as a representative of the business to third-parties, including external counsel, regulators, and governing bodies.
• Ensure compliance with data protection and privacy laws in the landscape of personal identifiable and personal health information.
• Horizon scanning for emerging and evolving laws that impact the Canadian business.
• Oversee team members to ensure timely and accurate delivery of corporate legal compliance and regulatory submissions.
• Protect the brand and partnership by mitigating legal, reputational, and regulatory risks.
• Support the business in ensuring commercial decisions are legally informed, liaising with professional advisers as necessary.
• Provide advice on employee relations matters and disputes.
• Lead, manage, develop, and support any individuals in the Canadian Legal team, promoting a culture of personal development, inclusiveness, and continuous improvement.
• Ensure the successful delivery of legal input for all required regulatory compliance ensuring deadlines are achieved.
• Support with competition law compliance, review of marketing material, and legal advice related to marketing campaigns.
• Ensure Canadian management team and other relevant functions are aware of existing relevant provincial regulations and any upcoming changes that could impact Specsavers operations within Canada and make recommendations as appropriate.
• Support with legal research and advice related to business expansion to other jurisdictions and platforms in compliance with relevant legislative and regulatory requirements.
• Provide support to Human Resources to ensure policies are compliant with provincial regulations, contracts are compliant with the Canadian landscapes, procedures are managed within the confines of the Canadian laws.
• Providing advice on employee relations matters and disputes.
• Provide advice on partner relations matters and disputes.
• Work with stakeholders to ensure Annual Plan and Pillars are accomplished.
• Work with the clinical team to ensure regulatory landscape is at the forefront of business decisions (including revising the status quo way of doing business in country).
• Ensuring the successful delivery of legal input for all required regulatory compliance ensuring deadlines are achieved.
• Ensuring compliance tasks are completed as efficiently as possible, continuously looking for improvement. opportunities and implementing these where appropriate.
• Identifying any areas of regulatory, legal and/or reputational concern in system or process controls and ensuring these are escalated, where appropriate, and resolved.
• Working with retail operations teams to ensure the quality and clarity of information communicated to partners on regulatory matters.
• Recognizing and advising on any significant Canadian regulatory, litigation and/or reputational risks the Canadian and/or global business
• Facilitating collaboration across relevant areas of the organization to improve understanding of the Canadian business and its requirements.
• Reduce external legal spend.
• Act as a legal advisor on the Diversity & Inclusion committee to advance global pillars.
• Support with the roll out of Financial Risk Support in the Canadian business.
• Lead, manage, develop and support any individuals in the Canadian Legal team, promoting a culture of personal development, inclusiveness and continuous improvement.

What We’re Looking For

Essential

• Bachelor of Laws (LLB) or Juris Doctor (JD).
• Qualified lawyer in good standing with the Law Society of British Columbia.
• Minimum of 10 years’ broad-ranging legal experience, including at least 5 years senior in-house experience.
• Proven track record of providing effective legal advice and representing companies in complex litigation.
• Strong negotiation and organizational skills.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
• Ability to manage multiple projects and stakeholders simultaneously.
• Demonstrated commercial and legal acumen with the ability to simplify complex information.
• Experience in achieving business objectives through a collaborative team approach.

Our Fellow ‘Speccies’ Enjoy

• Generous vacation allotment and 1 paid volunteer day
• 1 extra paid day off and an eyecare voucher on your birthday
• RRSP matching
• Quarterly performance bonus
• Healthcare spending account
• Health and dental benefits effective on your first day
• Team and company social events

Behaviours We Value

• Collaborative: We work together as one Specsavers to deliver our purpose
• Curious: We question, explore, and seek out diverse perspectives to develop our knowledge and understanding
• Courageous: We challenge the status quo, we experiment with good ideas, and we are brave, bold, and fast in our decision making
• Compassionate: We care, support, and help each other
• Commercial: We treat money wisely and make decisions that are good for our customers, our partners, our people, and good for the long term

We hope that in applying with us, you value these things as well!

Our Hybrid Work Model

Be part of the dynamic culture! Our workplace thrives on a hybrid model, combining in-office collaboration and flexibility. Join us in office, three days a week to contribute, connect and excel in our vibrant environment.

Equal Opportunity Employer

At Specsavers, we are committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace. We believe that a diverse team enriches our work environment and enables us to achieve our goals. We are an equal opportunity employer and encourage candidates of all backgrounds and abilities to apply. If you believe you can contribute to our mission and vision, we welcome your application, even if you don't meet every qualification listed. We value the unique skills and perspectives each individual brings to our team.