LEGAL COUNSEL, GLOBAL CONTRACTS & TECHNOLOGY

Manulife is seeking a seasoned lawyer with expertise in general commercial law and information technology to join our Global Contracts & Technology Legal (“GCT Legal”) team. The GCT Legal team provides high quality legal advice and delivers best-in-class results and innovative solutions to our business partners while achieving business objectives and mitigating risks. We facilitate collaboration across all internal partners to achieve Manulife’s vision of becoming a digital, customer-centric market leader.
Position Responsibilities:

You will have a broad range of responsibilities, including providing legal support on a wide variety of commercial, contractual and strategic matters across all of Manulife’s functions and segments globally. This includes:

• Reviewing and negotiating software-as-a-service agreements, global service agreements, software licensing & support, development contracts, managed services arrangements, and outsourcing agreements, including related transactional documents such as statements of work, order forms, purchase orders, et cetera;
• Providing legal advice on proof-of-concepts, evaluation agreements, and beta terms and conditions;
• Assisting with Procurement’s sourcing activities, including requests for proposal (“RFP”), and requests for information (“RFI”);
• Advising on confidentiality terms/non-disclosure agreements, data protection terms, information security requirements and other third-party risk management activities;
• Providing legal advice and strategies for the procurement of artificial intelligence technologies, including risk mitigation in this emerging space and other digital-first initiatives;
• Developing and maintaining agreement templates, companion documents, and other commonly used precedents to enhance the GCT Legal team’s efficiency; and
• Building strong relationships with key partners across the company to accelerate Manulife’s goal of being a digital, customer-centric market leader.

Required Qualifications:

You possess the following qualifications and characteristics:

• In-depth experience negotiating, drafting and advising on various commercial agreements and related documentation;
• A strong academic background;
• In good standing to practice law in Ontario or another Canadian province;
• At least 6 years of relevant post-call work experience with a major law firm or in-house legal department;
• Excellent analytical, interpretive and research skills, with a pragmatic approach to advising partners on commercial contracting;
• Superior communication skills (both written and verbal) to articulate and simplify complex concepts clearly and effectively;
• A conscientious work ethic and the ability to work independently while keeping colleagues informed on relevant developments;
• Sound judgement with the ability to prioritize and to make informed risk-based decisions in a timely manner; and
• Dedication to continuous learning and professional development.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience working with or for regulated financial institutions or in another highly regulated industry is an asset but not a requirement.

This is a Hybrid role. You will be required to work at either Manulife’s Toronto or Montreal office at least three days a week.

When you join our team:

• We’ll empower you to learn and grow the career you want.
• We’ll recognize and support you in a flexible environment where well-being and inclusion are more than just words.
• As part of our global team, we’ll support you in shaping the future you want to see.

LI-Hybrid

• Reviewing and negotiating software-as-a-service agreements, global service agreements, software licensing & support, development contracts, managed services arrangements, and outsourcing agreements, including related transactional documents such as statements of work, order forms, purchase orders, et cetera;
• Providing legal advice on proof-of-concepts, evaluation agreements, and beta terms and conditions;
• Assisting with Procurement’s sourcing activities, including requests for proposal (“RFP”), and requests for information (“RFI”);
• Advising on confidentiality terms/non-disclosure agreements, data protection terms, information security requirements and other third-party risk management activities;
• Providing legal advice and strategies for the procurement of artificial intelligence technologies, including risk mitigation in this emerging space and other digital-first initiatives;
• Developing and maintaining agreement templates, companion documents, and other commonly used precedents to enhance the GCT Legal team’s efficiency; and
• Building strong relationships with key partners across the company to accelerate Manulife’s goal of being a digital, customer-centric market leader