Interim Director of Legal Operations
HomeBridge
WHO WE ARE
HomeEquity Bank is a Schedule 1 Canadian chartered bank and the leading national provider of reverse mortgages, with a growing portfolio. As the only bank solely dedicated to serving homeowners 55 and up, we’re passionate about helping Canadian homeowners live retirement on their terms. We live that commitment every day, with a range of reverse mortgage solutions that include our flagship CHIP Reverse Mortgage™ product.
OUR VALUES, OUR PASSION
At HomeEquity Bank, our values drive and inspire our actions with our customers, our partners and each other.
- Customer-Focused. Passionate Advocates
- Courage to Act. Do the Right Thing
- One Team. One Vision
- Think Long-Term. Ever-Evolving
- Be Exceptional. Inspire Greatness
POSITION SUMMARY
The Interim Legal Operations Director is an experienced, delivery‑focused professional engaged on a fixed‑term basis to design, implement, and document a foundational legal operations function for a mid‑sized, regulated financial institution with a small in‑house Legal team.
This role is accountable for establishing practical, low‑technology legal operations capabilities that improve visibility, control, and scalability across legal intake, triage, , outside counsel management, spend tracking, contract management, knowledge management and reporting. The engagement is outcomes‑driven and time‑bound, with a strong emphasis on clear operating procedures, training, and handover to internal staff.
While experience in legal operations is strongly preferred, candidates may also come from adjacent operational, transformation, or professional services backgrounds. Candidates must demonstrate experience standing up a new function or operating model and be able to translate strong process, governance, and reporting disciplines into a Legal context.
This role is not intended to implement enterprise legal technology, but rather to create the operating foundation required to support future tools and regulatory expectations.
MAJOR ELEMENTS OF THE ROLE:
Legal Operations Assessment
Conducts a current‑state assessment of legal demand, workflows, and outside counsel usage
Identifies and prioritizes improvement opportunities aligned with legal risk, regulatory expectations, and team capacity
Documents current‑state processes, pain points, and dependencies
Legal Operating Model Design
Designs a target legal operating model tailored to a small (approximately three‑person) in‑house Legal team
Defines legal intake, triage, escalation paths, and decision rights
Establishes governance structures and reporting cadence for the General Counsel and senior management
Core Process Implementation (Low‑Tech)
Implements a standardized legal intake and triage process that is immediately usable
Establishes matter and request tracking frameworks
Develops outside counsel engagement, governance, and management guidelines
Implements basic spend tracking and budget control mechanisms
Establishes centralized contract lifecycle management
Documents standard operating procedures and playbooks for recurring legal work
Reporting, Roadmap, and Handover
Develops practical legal KPIs and reporting templates for leadership consumption
Creates budget and reporting templates for legal activity and spend
Produces a 12–24 month legal technology readiness and adoption roadmap
Prepares regulator‑ready documentation suitable for audit or review
Delivers training, knowledge transfer, and handover materials to internal Legal staff
Supports transition to internal ownership of the legal operating model
SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE REQUIRED:
Qualifications
Demonstrated experience standing up a new operational function or capability (e.g., legal operations, compliance operations, risk operations, enterprise transformation, PMO, or shared services), ideally within a bank or other regulated financial institution
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Proven experience designing and implementing:
Intake, triage, or demand management processes
Contract management
External legal spend governance
Management reporting for senior leadership
Experience operating in environments subject to regulatory scrutiny, audit, or risk oversight
Strong understanding of process design, controls, and documentation standards in regulated organizations
Experience
Legal operations experience is strongly preferred but not required
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Proven track record of:
Designing and implementing operating models from the ground up
Establishing repeatable, low‑technology processes
Producing clear, regulator‑ready documentation and handover materials
Experience working with small, capacity‑constrained teams
Demonstrated ability to transition operational ownership to internal teams at the conclusion of an engagement
Attributes
Highly process‑oriented with a pragmatic, delivery‑focused mindset
Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to engage credibly with senior leaders.
Ability to work independently with limited direction
Comfortable engaging with Legal, Risk, Finance, and senior stakeholders
Able to translate complex work into simple, sustainable processes
WORKING CONDITIONS UNIQUE TO JOB
Fixed‑term contract / interim engagement
Duration: 4 months (16 weeks) to 6 months (24 weeks)
Time commitment: 4 months – full time; 6 months – approx. 25 hours per week
Hybrid working environment
WHY WORK AT HOMEEQUITY BANK?
Great Environment
HomeEquity Bank offers a hybrid working environment supported with a culture of flexibility – an approach that is unique to each person, and that enables both business and individual needs to be met in a mutually beneficial way.
We pride ourselves in recognizing and celebrating performance, community service, teamwork, and diversity among our employees.
A Dynamic Culture – With People at the Centre
We believe our people make all the difference; our tireless commitment to inclusivity, professional development, and employee experience has been recognized through awards including the Greater Toronto’s Top Employers 2024,Waterstone Canada's Most Admired Corporate Cultures 2022-2023, the Globe and Mail's Report on Business: Canada's Top Growing Companies 2022 (third year since 2019), Canadian's Mortgage Professional (CMP) Top Mortgage Employer 2023 for the third year in a row and Achievers Top 50 Most Engaged Workplaces 2023.
Growth and Opportunities
We provide challenging and rewarding careers in a wide variety of fields. We continuously develop and train our employees through professional growth opportunities and on-the-job training. We also encourage our employees to develop professionally and personally though a series of career developing programs including our Educational Assistance Program, designed to reimburse costs related to professional learning and development.
Celebrating Great Work and People
We believe in an environment that celebrates success, knowledge, leadership, and work that is inspired by our core values. For these reasons, we have created several programs that make it easy for our employees to say ‘great job’ to their colleagues and leaders.
From our Appreciate! Program to the High Five Award Program and President’s Award Program, we recognize professional achievement with a variety of rewards including points towards gift cards, merchandise, and travel experiences, as well as group RRSP/DPSP contributions and more.
Our Community Leadership Program recognizes employees who make a positive impact in their communities through volunteer work with a grant for their charity of choice. Additionally, we provide employees with one paid day off each year to volunteer at their favourite local charity.
The Perks (for eligible employees)
HomeEquity Bank offers a competitive total rewards package that includes:
Extended health and dental benefits
Employee & Family Assistance Program
Employer-Matched Group Retirement Savings Plan
Employee Share Investment Plan
Well-being initiatives including: a wellness account; virtual self-care programs and extended mental health benefits
Employee corporate discount for GoodLife Fitness
HomeEquity Bank is committed to an inclusive, equitable and accessible workplace. Accommodations are available on request for candidates taking part in all aspects of the selection process. To request accommodation, please contact your recruiter.
Please note that our successful candidate is required to complete a background check.
Stay in the Know
Find out what we’re up to online, and learn more about what makes HomeEquity Bank a great place to work:
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Join Us! If you’re ready to build the future of reverse mortgages, we want to hear from you.
