Law Clerk

Mennonite Economic Development Associates (MEDA) invites applications for a Law Clerk to join our dedicated and talented Finance & Legal team in our mission to create business solutions to poverty!

MEDA’s work is built on a foundation of Mennonite business roots and faith-based values, within the global context of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. We believe business solutions are effective interventions to address poverty. Through a market-systems approach and strategic partnerships, MEDA enables access to finance and provides business and technical expertise to build transformative agri-food market systems that create decent jobs, allowing traditionally excluded groups to become active participants in a sustainable economy. MEDA welcomes all who share our values and want to join us in our mission. To find out more about MEDA, please visit our website at www.meda.org.

This position will be an integral part of the Legal division and provide support to division lawyers.  At a high level the position will be responsible to maintain and manage recordkeeping systems for the division; manage external legal counsel workflows; keep legal registrations up to date; review and approval of contract amendments, NDA’s, template updates and secondary responsibility for contract approval. The position will report to the Legal Counsel.

• Job Status: Full Time, 18 month Contract
• Start Date: September 2022
• Location: Waterloo, Ontario (Hybrid work arrangement available)

RESPONSIBILITIES

Country Registrations and Legal Documentation (40%)

• Provide documentation and support for all legal registrations in all countries

• File corporate documents with applicable governments

• Develop and maintain record-keeping systems for legal registrations (Country Registrations in CRM)

• Develop and maintain record-keeping systems for legal documents (Contract Repository in CRM)

• Liaison with external counsel and provide instructions and responses to questions posed

Donor Contract Support (40%)

• Liaise with counterparts in MEDA’s Global Programs team to review and interpret amendments to ensure compliance with MEDA and donor requirements, policies and procedures
• Communicate/collaborate with Global Program team and other key stakeholders on contract deliverables

Legal Support (15%)

• Provide guidance on legal matter and/or documents to colleagues and seek advice from Legal Counsel as appropriate

• Maintain strong relationships and manage workflows with external legal counsel as the key point of contact for MEDA

• Assist Legal Counsel in the development of standard templates and leverage technology to improve efficiencies in the contracting process

Administration Support (5%)

• Assist administrative assistant as required with ongoing administrative/organization of paper and electronic files and routine tasks including data entry, organization, scanning, copying and retrieval

• Assist administrative assistant as required to prepare various legal documents, forms, emails and materials for signature/distribution to internal/external stakeholders,

• Coordination of notary and apostille processes

• Diarize key contract dates and deliverables

• Any other duties and/or requirements as assigned

Any other duties and/or requirements as assigned

REQUIREMENTS

Education: Enrolled in or recent graduate from College or University program in the Legal/Paralegal/Law clerk program.

Experience: Minimum of 3 years’ experience in a law office or in-house legal environment.

Additional Qualifications

• Appreciation and support of MEDA’s mission, vision and values

• Understanding and appreciation of business principles, international development and MEDA’s approach of creating business solutions to poverty

• Interest in pursuing an accounting designation (CIA, CPA or equivalent) or enrolled in a law program

• Ability to work independently

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills

• Strong attention to detail

• Able to maintain confidentiality

• Sense of curiosity and willingness to challenge status quo

• Interest in monitoring, evaluation, data analysis, audit, risk, and metrics

• Strong Microsoft Office (Word & Excel) skills

• Previous international experience in developing countries is an asset

• Proficiency in a foreign language (specifically Spanish or French) is an asset

This job description may be reviewed, revised and updated as required to meet department and/or organizational objectives

APPLICATION DEADLINE: Thursday, September 1, 2022 @ 4:00 pm EDT

MEDA is an equal opportunity employer and accommodations are available during all phases of the recruitment process. We ask that any applicants requiring accommodation make their needs known in advance.