Supervisor, Lawyer Services/Business Operations Analyst B013-24

TO:                               LABC STAFF (cc: BCGEU)

FROM:                         HUMAN RESOURCES DEPARTMENT

POSITION:                  SUPERVISOR, LAWYER SERVICES / BUSINESS OPERATIONS ANALYST

                                    ONE REGULAR FULL-TIME POSITION – VANCOUVER

COMPETITION NO:    B013-24

DATE POSTED:           April 29, 2024

CLOSING DATE:         May 7, 2024

STARTING DATE:        ASAP

SALARY:                      Job Class 19 ($70,770 - $80,890)

HOURS OF WORK:     35 hours per week, Monday to Friday
                                     This position has the option to participate in a modified work week schedule (37.5 hours/week) Monday to Friday, with the extra hours worked as one earned day off taken once every three-week scheduled cycle.

Legal Aid BC is in the early stages of, and committed to a transformative journey to embedding Truth and Reconciliation, and Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in all aspects of our work. We seek talent from equity-seeking groups, including but not limited to individuals who self-identify as First Nations, Inuit, or Metis descent, persons with diverse abilities, gender diverse, racialized, and members of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community be a part of this exciting stage of Legal Aid BC’s growth. We care deeply about the culture we are building and are looking for staff members who not only excel in their respective areas but are also passionate about supporting the people we serve and each other. If this resonates with you, we encourage you to apply.  All interested and eligible applicants will be considered with due consideration to all protected grounds under the BC Human Rights Code.  If we can do anything to make your application experience a positive and equitable one, we want to hear from you on what we can do better.

PRIMARY FUNCTION:    

To perform complex analytical work in the research and development of LABC business initiatives relating to all Tariff policies, procedures, processes and solutions including related business system applications (CIS, Lawyer Portal, CCM). Identify and deliver Tariff policy and/or related system modifications and lead implementation of changes to support a variety of business directives and users.  This role is the lead for business analysis, transitional options and impacts and develops business requirements as they relate to systems in collaboration with stakeholders, as well as executes business and User Accepted Testing (UAT).  This position is responsible for the creation and maintenance of all aspects of Lawyer billing, including verification of accounts, Master Tariff items, Tariff templates, invoicing and validation of online billings.  Identify training needs for a wide range of internal and external system users and oversee all stakeholder changes and management of tasks for implementation including business processes and procedures, preparing training materials, interactive e-learning/online modules, delivering training, drafting communication, and monitoring and evaluating changes.  This position is also responsible for the supervision and coordination of workflow in the day to day operations of the delivery of services within Lawyer Support and Case Management within Lawyer Services.

The following job duties are illustrative examples and shall not be construed as an exhaustive description of all the work requirements that may be inherent in the job.

VALUES STATEMENT:  
 
Our commitment to the principles of fundamental justice embedded in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and to Truth and Reconciliation, and Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion is ambitious and foundational.  It informs everything we do, as we defend liberty, equality, autonomy, and dignity; as we dismantle colonization, racism, sexism, transphobia and homophobia, and all discrimination.  These are our values, and they inform our hiring practices too.  Our business is aiding people in severe legal distress and necessitates internal and external alignment of practicing these values.  Integrating Truth and Reconciliation and Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion throughout every aspect of Legal Aid BC is critical to building that culture, and we prioritize ongoing resources to achieve that goal. 

DUTIES:

1.    LEAD COMPLEX ANALYTICAL WORK IN THE RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT OF ALL CHANGES TO TARIFF POLICIES, PROCEDURES, PROCESSES AND RELATED SYSTEMS:
a)    Research and evaluate effect and viability of proposed business changes of the existing LABC Tariffs, Tariff and case management policies, procedures, processes and business system applications;
b)    Extract statistical business data for assessment of proposed incentives to validate and substantiate changes;
c)    Elicit, identify and verify business processes and opportunities for stakeholders through consultation with cross departmental and/or cross divisional staff, managers and private bar lawyers. Determine transitional needs and impacts and recommends business improvement options to Managers and/or Vice Presidents; Initiate system modifications and liaise with IT to participate in developing system requirements and design system specifications; Liaise with IT contract service provider(s) on changes to CIS, Lawyer Portal and LCM system changes;
d)    Identify, develop and sign-off on business requirements for systems;
e)    Identify and recommend changes to create efficiencies and improvement to current processes to supervisor;
f)    Develop test plans, scripts and complete business and User Acceptance Testing (and functional testing where required);
g)    Lead all tariff related business systems changes for the Legal Advice and Representation Division, including identifying, compiling/writing and executing business test scripts; and
h)    Identify transition issues and develop and implement plans to address impacts on staff, private bar lawyers, procedures, process and business systems.

2.    PERFORM SUPERVISORY DUTIES:
a)    Plan, assign, review, monitor, day to day work of full time and casual staff;
b)    Analyse data from systems, including daily, monthly, quarterly and annual reporting to assess and monitor lawyer support and case management statistics, including output, turn-around times and volume for operational performance;
c)    Perform ad hoc reporting as required;
d)    Orient, train and evaluate performance of staff;
e)    Provide day-to-day supervision of staff including attendance management, overtime and training request approvals, casual time sheet approvals, scheduling of vacations, modified work week and other time off;
f)    Provide guidance and assist staff to ensure completion of tasks, including quality of work and accuracy, assessing and obtaining the necessary resources and professional development necessary for department staff;
g)    Participate in the hiring and training of staff and providing ongoing support and coaching;
h)    Provide back-up for other supervisors within the department as required; and
i)    Participate in department and cross-departmental meetings

3.    FINANCIAL CONTROLS – CREATE, EDIT & MAINTAIN INVOICE VALIDATION RULES:
a)    Create billing items to support complex LABC Tariffs, policies and rules establishing the input of Master Tariff Items into CIS, as financial control tables which administers validation of expenditures of all invoices processed through CIS);  
b)    Associate Master Tariff items to create Tariff Templates specific to area of law and contract type used to issue contracts for invoicing;
c)    In collaboration with Strategic Planning and Policy, create post-submission validation rules in MicroStrategy for submitted invoices where the financial control setup or portal invoices validation does not support the billing scenario; 
d)    Edit and maintain the Master Tariff items and Daily Validation reports for output and accuracy; and
e)    Routine monitoring and review of invoicing trends and patterns for system & tariff compliance.

4.    CHANGE MANAGEMENT - IDENTIFY TRAINING NEEDS AND DEVELOP AND DELIVER TRAINING FOR TARIFF POLICY AND RELATED BUSINESS SYSTEM CHANGES:
a)    Complete stakeholders’ analysis to identify training group(s) based on needs and develop overall training plan for internal and external users;
b)    Identify and develop a variety of reference materials for specific audiences including, internal LAR users and external users utilizing job-aids, user guide and in both written and visual formats for LAR business area changes to Tariff Guides, CIS and Lawyer Portal;
c)    Schedule and deliver training to users on LABC Tariffs, invoices, authorizations and Lawyer Portal system, which is used by private bar lawyers and Transcript Service Providers; 
d)    Identify and target key external stakeholders (i.e. private bar lawyers) for pilot user testing for best practice decision(s) by business; 
e)    Provide CIS and Lawyer Portal trouble-shooting for users, including web-based applications for issue management and sustainable resolutions; 
f)    Evaluate effectiveness of training to ensure objectives are met by continued support and targeted surveys;
g)    Establish benchmark metrics and participates in evaluations and surveys and plans to respond to feedback; and
h)    Create, maintain and revise written training materials, reference guides, e-learning tutorials for internal and external users.

5.    TARIFF INTERPRETATION:
a)    Assess and provide direction on exceptional invoices and authorization requests requiring tariff interpretation (i.e. Tariff, CCM, Enhanced Fee and Osmond cases) for accurate application to ensure compliance with LAR and Tariff policies, procedures, processes and guidelines;
b)    Apply discretion in application of established guidelines and policies;
c)     Assess reviews of Case Management and Lawyer Support decisions related to invoices and authorizations submitted by private bar lawyers to ensure compliance of policies, procedures and guidelines and forward appeals to Managing Lawyer, when necessary;
d)    Assess and provide direction on processes such as: invoice creation and submission, authorizations, dashboards, work-flows and CIS and Lawyer Portal functionality;
e)    Serve as resource for staff and private bar lawyers on unconventional billing situations and interpretations; provides direction, solutions and makes decision to approve or deny billings outside of defined guidelines based on past practice or through consultation with LAR lawyers; 
f)    Create and process adjustment invoices for payment correction of billing errors, audit results and other reasons; and
g)    Collaborate on Tariff revisions, language, system functionality impacts and viability of proposed changes.

6.    PERFORM OTHER RELATED DUTIES:
a)    Draft content for external communication documents such as Notices to Counsel and What’s New articles, FAQ’s, Lawyer Resources and Billing Tips for Manager/Vice-President sign-off and publish in Lawyer Portal;
b)    Review and analyse data from systems and provide clarification of lawyer expectations to foster and maintain long term lawyer engagement;
c)    Work in collaboration with Publications staff to define needs, placement of content and functionality of LAR information on LABC website.  Manage updates to Lawyer Portal Lawyer Resources and Tariff guide;
d)    Identify and contact external professional experts in various disciplines for inclusion or exclusion in the Expert Search database in Lawyer Portal and serve as a resource for private bar lawyers;
e)    Participate in various projects to ensure department needs are met;
f)    Draft correspondence and cheque requisitions for signature of Supervisor, Manager, Lawyer Services and Vice President;
g)    Identify inconsistencies in policy application and system usage, investigate root causes, propose solution and review with Supervisor;
h)    Liaise with other departments to resolve lawyer and lawyer contract issues as necessary to ensure organizational policies and procedures are followed; and
i)    Perform other related duties as required.

QUALIFICATIONS:

Basic requirements
•    Grade 12 education supplemented by courses in Law, Criminology, Business Administration/Operations or a related discipline.
•    Minimum 5 years relevant experience as outlined in rated requirements, with increasing responsibility, along with supervisory and staff management experience
•    Or an equivalent combination of education and experience.

Rated Requirements
•    Thorough knowledge of LABC current and former tariff and billing practices
•    Thorough knowledge of LABC tariff and business policies, processes and procedures
•    Knowledge of court and tribunal processes
•    Knowledge of criminal, family CFCSA and immigration law
•    Advanced knowledge of CIS and LABC Online, including functionality and applications presented to users for all business areas 
•    Advanced knowledge of CIS and LABC Online and responsibility for Master Tariff Items (Contract Tariff items) Tariff Templates and Master Data for related business areas.
•    Knowledge of training strategies, techniques and delivery 
•    Strong organizational skills including the ability to plan, coordinate and monitor a significant number of priorities simultaneously
•    Strong analytical, problem identification and solving skills
•    Strong understanding of business concepts and strategies
•    Strategic thinking coupled with detailed business analysis abilities (big picture and small picture thinking, organizational wide)
•    Ability to conduct impact and readiness assessments and lead related change management
•    Working knowledge of system design, development processes and system lifecycle methodologies
•    Strong ability to research, design, compile, and asses data reports for business directives and report out to Managers & Vice Presidents
•    Ability to work effectively and efficiently and manage a heavy volume of work
•    Ability to remember, interpret and assess past and present tariffs
•    Ability to identify, assess and solve problems
•    Ability to work well under pressure and meet deadlines
•    Ability to work independently and as part of a team
•    Ability to organize workload, identify urgent work items and set priorities
•    Ability to draft correspondence
•    Ability to create and foster successful relationships and collaborate with others internally, externally and across departmentally
•    Ability to communicate effectively orally and in writing
•    Must have experience with organizing and administering training
•    Must have experience developing and maintaining manuals
•    Must be familiar with general software applications (Advanced MS Word Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Outlook)

We offer (based on your employment status and affiliation):

•    Four weeks paid vacation to start that grows the longer you are with LABC 
•    An excellent employee benefits package, where premiums are 100% paid by LABC 
•    A generous defined benefit pension plan 
•    Support for training and development 
•    An Employee and Family Assistance program 
•    The opportunity to participate in various Employee programs (Employee Wellness, etc.) 
•    Support for a healthy work/life balance 
•    Generous leave provisions (sick time, special leaves)  
•    13 paid statutory holidays 
•    An opportunity for a flexible hybrid work arrangement for some positions (LABC reserves the right to change this policy at any time) 
•    Transit friendly employer for eligible staff to have their commute subsidized 
•    Dog-friendly offices  
•    Dedicated Cultural Leave provisions for Indigenous employees 
•    An Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Council, and Indigenous employees Council and Accessibility Committee of employees from equity-seeking groups that advises on ongoing improvements and investments in Equity, Diversity and Inclusion at our workplace

VISIT OUR WEBSITE AT www.legalaid.bc.ca

We would like to thank all external applicants for their interest but regret that only those shortlisted will be contacted.