Job Title: Legal Counsel
Location: Offices in Abbotsford, BC, St. Catharines, ON, and Colorado Springs, CO
Reports to: Director of Ministry Solutions Support
Salary Range: $75K - $100K
Vacancy: Current Vacancy
Position: Full Time, Permanent
Role Summary
The Legal Counsel provides comprehensive legal support across governance, compliance, employment law, charitable law, contracts, policies, risk management, privacy, and international agency and partnership structures. The role supports organizational leadership, the compliance team, front line personnel, ministry applicants, and existing ministry projects by ensuring adherence to applicable Canadian and United States legal requirements, sector best practices, and the organization’s faith aligned commitments. The Legal Counsel participates in the creation, review, and continuous improvement of legal agreements, policies, risk assessments, training, compliance quality assurance, and legal entity structures.
About Us
The Great Commission organization (The GC) is a registered Canadian charity, a registered United States 501(c)(3) charitable organization, a public foundation in Canada, and an international Christian not for profit. It supports approximately 1,200 ministry projects globally and provides compliance as a service solutions to a broad network of ministries. The Legal Counsel contributes both to internal legal oversight and to the external compliance and risk management support that the organization provides to ministry applicants and existing ministry projects.
At The GC, we carry the unseen load—donations, accounting, wages, compliance—so the mission never has to pause. Our ministries carry the gospel and we carry them.
Key Responsibilities:
Governance and Corporate Legal Affairs
Maintain and update corporate records, bylaws, policies, board minutes, resolutions, and governance documentation.
Provide legal support for board and committee processes consistent with established governance practices.
Support legal entity restructuring and cross jurisdictional considerations in Canada, the United States, and international contexts.
Compliance and Risk Management
Oversee compliance and risk solutions offered to ministries through the organization’s compliance as a service model, ensuring that compliance requirements are understood and met throughout all project activities.
Conduct legal analysis and compliance assessments for new ministry projects and ongoing ministry projects, ensuring adherence to direction and control requirements.
Assess liability risks associated with onboarding ministry projects, including project feasibility, governance risk, geographic risk, and capital funding related risks.
Maintain and update the organizational risk register, escalate material risks, and develop mitigation strategies.
Lead compliance, quality assurance and continuous improvement processes.
Address state solicitation registrations and related cross border regulatory needs.
Charitable Law, Agency, and Partnership Structures
Provide legal guidance across Canadian and United States charitable law, including structured relationships, agency, joint ministry arrangements, and partnership models.
Ensure alignment with CRA requirements, IRS standards, the Income Tax Act, and applicable provincial and state regulations.
Draft, review, and negotiate agency agreements, partnership agreements, project agreements, and MOUs that govern the delivery of charitable programs.
Provide legal analysis on direction and control, expenditure responsibility, transfer of resources, capital funding arrangements, and international project structures.
Support front line personnel by providing compliance solutions and legal guidance for new charitable project applicants and for the ongoing operation of existing charitable projects.
Advise senior leadership on developments in Canadian public foundation law and in United States 501(c)(3) charitable organization law that affect ministry operations, regulatory compliance, and ongoing legal obligations.
Liaison with External Counsel
Liaise with designated external counsel in Canada and the United States on matters involving charitable law, immigration, employment law, governance, and regulatory compliance.
Coordinate external legal instructions, documentation, and workflow to ensure consistency, accuracy, and timely delivery of legal services.
Engage external immigration counsel for matters relating to cross-border personnel, worker classifications, visas, and related compliance requirements.
Maintain effective working relationships with external advisors to ensure alignment with organizational priorities and risk management standards.
Contract and Policy Development
Draft, review, and negotiate contracts across the organization, including vendor agreements, consulting agreements, and ministry related agreements.
Lead development, revision, harmonization, and implementation of organizational policies, including privacy, HR, operations, and program policies.
Employment Law and Human Resources Support
Provide advice on employment standards, human rights compliance, workplace policies, variable pay structures, and international assignments.
Support the HR team with employment agreements, performance processes, workplace investigations, and termination matters.
Training, Education, and Team Leadership
Deliver legal and compliance training to staff, ministry personnel, and the compliance team.
Support and guide staff involved in compliance and risk related roles.
Contribute to culture building around legal integrity, documentation discipline, and risk aware decision making.
Qualifications:
Required
JD or LLB.
Active membership in a Canadian provincial law society.
Minimum two years of post-call legal experience.
Demonstrated experience in Canadian charitable law, employment law, and regulatory compliance.
Alignment with the organization’s Christian mission and faith commitments.
Ability to maintain strict confidentiality and discretion.
Preferred
Experience with CRA charity law compliance, structured relationships, and international agency and partnership arrangements.
Experience working with or within Christian charities, public foundations, or international not for profits.
Experience in risk management, compliance auditing, or program oversight.
Experience supporting or leading compliance teams.
Other Requirements
Occasional travel within Canada and the United States.
Ability to work within a fast-paced environment handling multiple concurrent projects.
Excellent legal writing, analytical reasoning, and policy development skills.
