Digital & Data Privacy Legal Counsel

The primary role of the Legal Department at Unity Health Toronto (UHT) is to provide and/or coordinate a broad spectrum of legal advice and support to professional, medical, research and administrative staff throughout the hospital system.

The Digital & Data Privacy Legal Counsel will report to the Chief Legal Officer at UHT and will provide expert legal advice and representation to both UHT leadership and that of the Vital real-time health data for Trials, Artificial Intelligence and a Learning Health System ( VITAL ) platform.

VITAL is a federally-funded initiative focused on enabling secure, near real-time access to hospital data for research and innovation. This initiative builds upon the GEMINI platform ( www.geminimedicine.ca ) at Unity Health Toronto – Canada’s largest hospital data and analytics platform, which supports more than 35 Ontario hospitals in accelerating research and delivering excellent hospital care. VITAL will expand this capability across more than 100 hospitals across Ontario, Alberta, and Quebec, serving over 15 million Canadians. It lays the foundation for Pan-Canadian data sharing and is positioned to become one of the most innovative and valuable health data resources in the world. This position requires detailed, creative expertise at the forefront of data governance and privacy law.

• Digital technology, privacy, intellectual property, research & innovation, and commercialization; and
• Corporate relationship management including the drafting of contracts, review of policies and data sharing agreements between UHT and VITAL’s collaborating organizations.

DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES

• Support the review and negotiation of complex, multi-organizational/multi-provincial agreements , confidentiality/non-disclosure agreements, grants and funding agreements, collaboration agreements, and research contracts, including clinical study agreements;
• Research and provide legal guidance on issues related to privacy, confidentiality, data ownership and governance, intellectual property, technology transfer and commercialization, and research contract law;
• Develop and implement policies on topics including privacy & confidentiality, conflicts of interest, relationship management, misuse of data, and intellectual property;
• Provide risk management expertise for business-related decisions; identify legal issues for escalation;
• Work with third party partners, external counsel, government and other stakeholders , and cooperatively establish a regular cadence of engagement with peers and manager(s) for proactive support and guidance;
• Monitor national and internationally-emerging issues and trends related to health data privacy & security, artificial intelligence, and multi-jurisdictional data governance;
• Advise on and manage potential or actual legal process such as a claim, investigation, mediation or arbitration proceeding;
• Represent the hospital at various regional/provincial/federal committees, conferences and external association meetings where data privacy/legal issues and policies are being developed and discussed; and
• Support VITAL’s multi-institutional and multi-provincial leadership committees by providing legal subject matter expertise to audiences as requested.

QUALIFICATIONS

• Juris Doctor (JD) or Bachelor of Laws (LLB) Degree required
• Membership in good standing with the Law Society of Ontario required
• Experience drafting, structuring, and negotiating complex agreements (including licensing agreements, data sharing agreements, research agreements, intellectual property agreements, etc.) required
• Experience advising on health data privacy and multi-jurisdictional data governance & ownership required
• Minimum of three years' experience within the health research, hospital administration or university environment preferred
• Experience working in Ontario, Quebec, or Alberta is an asset
• Experience with AI oversight and governance is a strong asset
• Experience with Indigenous data governance and Indigenous legal frameworks is a strong asset
• Experience with intellectual property law and commercialization is a strong asset
• Experience working on federally/provincially regulated initiatives strongly preferred
• Experience handling large data repositories is a strong asset
• Ability to create, analyze and edit institutional policies, agreements and other written materials
• Proven expertise in health, privacy, and technology law, including a detailed understanding of health and hospital-related legislation, regulations and guidelines
• Highly developed negotiating skills to achieve project goals and objectives
• Superior communication (verbal and written) skills; ability to stay organized and handle multiple concurrent projects simultaneously
• Demonstrated ability to work both independently and collaboratively with others, including demonstrated consensus building skills
• Ability to develop and deliver presentations and materials for executive audiences (e.g., options analyses, environmental scans, briefing notes, etc.)
• Ability to translate complex regulatory standards into material that can be understood by diverse audiences
• Proven business judgment and ability to assess legal risk
• Eagerness to work with ambiguity and emerging areas in technology and healthcare

Unity Health Toronto is committed to creating an accessible and inclusive organization. We strive to provide a recruitment process that is barrier-free and in compliance with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) and the Ontario Human Rights Code. We understand that you may require an accommodation at any stage of the recruitment process. When you are contacted, please inform the Talent Acquisition Specialist and we will work with you to meet your accommodation needs. We want to emphasize that all accommodation requests are handled with the utmost confidentiality, respecting your privacy and dignity.