Legal and Policy Director

Legal and Policy Director

Anticipated Start Date: On or before October 1, 2021

POSITION OVERVIEW

Georgia Appleseed Center for Law and Justice (gaappleseed.org) is hiring a new Legal and Policy Director (LPD). Georgia Appleseed’s LPD leads systemic change in Georgia in the areas of child welfare and housing policy. Supported by a highly trained staff, dedicated pro bono partners, and strong relationships with policy-makers, the LPD leads our efforts to increase justice for Georgia’s children, including (1) dismantling the school-to-prison pipeline to keep kids in school and out of the criminal justice system; (2) promoting supports for students with behavior and learning challenges to ensure that they succeed in school, and (3) ensuring children and their families have safe, healthy housing.

Georgia Appleseed is a non-profit, public interest law center that advances justice through law and policy reform and community engagement. We are particularly focused on supporting Black and Brown children, children experiencing poverty, LGBTQ+ children, children with disabilities, and children in foster care.

The Legal and Policy Director reports to the Executive Director and serves as lead attorney on all programming and other law-related projects. The LPD directs and reviews all project work and supervises all program staff – whether loaned, summer, contract, fellowship or full/part time employees of Georgia Appleseed ensuring that all activities are evaluated for progress and impact. This is a highly visible management position that leads community activities to increase awareness of Georgia Appleseed and its pro bono projects. The LPD is an excellent facilitator who brings together Georgians from a wide variety of backgrounds to discuss complex justice challenges and coordinate solutions. Additionally, the LPD maintains relationships with our pro bono partners, recruits new volunteers, and coordinates with state and national law firms. The LPD provides legal expertise to all program work, pro bono projects, and other legal work of the organization. To support sustainability, the LPD recruits and coordinates resources for complex issues, assists with the drafting of grant narratives for new project proposals, and prepares regular progress reports on funded activities.

You will be a part of a dynamic and highly collaborative team devoted to advancing justice for children across Georgia. Georgia Appleseed succeeds because every team member contributes to our collaborative spirit and enthusiasm for our mission. Our Legal and Policy Director exemplifies that spirit and enthusiasm.

Salary is $95,000 – $105,000 commensurate with experience.

CORE COMPETENCIES FOR THE POSITION:

• Effective planning based on available resources and management of multiple on-going projects and pro bono teams.
• Strong management and supervisory skills to lead, develop, and mentor program staff and interns.
• Strong ability to leverage an existing network and collaborate with diverse groups of individuals, including directly impacted persons, lawyers, other professionals, state and community leaders, foster care caregivers, and public interest advocates.
• Strong individual initiative, ability proactively to multi-task and prioritize among numerous responsibilities.
• Effective time management and ability to prioritize and organize activities to achieve deliverables and outcomes based on program planning, strategic plan, theory of change, current conditions, etc.
• Exceptional writing that is strategic and relevant and that relates to the intended audience (whether a lay audience for a major project report or a professional audience for comments upon proposed legislation).
• Understanding and ability to develop and manage project budgets.
• Legal skills to review, analyze, interpret, and synthesize in timely fashion state and federal law, regulations, policies, research, and numerical data.
• Excellent interpersonal skills, including effective oral communication in front of a variety of audiences (e.g., individual and group presentations to legislators, board directors, community stakeholders).
• Proficient with office technology, including internet, Microsoft Office suite (including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook), case management software, and related technologies and curiosity about and ability and willingness to learn other tools, such as Office365, Survey Monkey, and Asana.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES & DUTIES

• Develop, implement, and evaluate strategic vision and goals for Georgia Appleseed programs with direction and input from the Executive Director.
• Plan and manage program operations according to available resources and internally developed documents/logic models/road maps and SMART/MOCHA protocols.
• Generate and maintain up-to-date quarterly and annual program operations plan.
• Ensure program team meets grant deliverables and other planning goals.
• Manage, develop, and supervise staff attorneys, program managers, interns, and volunteers.
• Lead organizational relationships and programming around the state of Georgia (including the Georgia Education Climate Coalition, the Georgia Healthy Housing Coalition, the Homelessness Intervention Project, and others) and relationships with state agencies (e.g., GA Department of Education and Division of Family and Children Services.)
• Develop and maintain pro bono partnerships, recruit volunteers, and coordinate with state and national law firms.
• Develop and implement program performance measures and evaluation tools to determine impact and improve quality of programming. Identify and implement best practices.
• Develop and manage programs budget in collaboration with Director of Operations and Executive Director.
• Write and edit content for Georgia Appleseed program publications and reports, including grant narratives.
• Manage and develop relationships with state and national law firms and pro bono partners, recruit new volunteers.
• Manage legislative consultant and lobbying of state agencies, lawmakers, and other officials.
• Serve as in-house counsel/advisor to the Executive Director as needed.
• Serve as the liaison to the national Appleseed network on collaborative project initiatives.
• Prepare reports as needed for the Executive Director, Board of Directors, funding entities, and outside parties.
• Provide primary staff support to the Governance Committee of the Georgia Appleseed Board of Directors.

EDUCATION & QUALIFICATIONS

• Demonstrated commitment to social justice and passion for Georgia Appleseed’s mission.
• Juris Doctor and current license to practice law in Georgia.
• At least 7 years of legal experience working as a licensed attorney.
• At least 3 years of experience supervising attorneys.
• Fluency with the internet, technology, and cloud-based applications including constituent databases and project management programs.
• Fluency in Microsoft Office 365 (including SharePoint, Excel, Word, Teams).
• Valid driver’s license and access to a vehicle for regular use.

SALARY & BENEFITS

• The salary is $95,000 - $130,000 per year, depending on experience.
• Group health, vision, and dental insurance premiums for employee, currently paid at 100%.
• 401k match, currently paid at 2%.
• FSA and HSA plans available
• Free office parking.
• Generous paid time off.
• Hybrid in-office and remote work schedule

This is a full-time position located at 1600 Parkwood Circle SE, Atlanta 30339 in Cobb County. This job currently involves working from home Mondays and Fridays, and in the office Tuesday through Thursday. The LPD may travel throughout Georgia to fulfill assigned duties.

TO APPLY

Submit a letter of interest, resume, and legal writing sample to hr@gaappleseed.org. We will only consider applications with all three items. This position will be filled as soon as a qualified applicant is identified and has accepted the position. No phone calls please.

Interviewed candidates may be asked to perform a skills assessment. Prior to employment, we will conduct a background check to verify prior employment, education, and criminal history, and candidates must provide proof of complete vaccination against COVID-19. Reasonable accommodations will be considered on a case-by-case basis for exemptions to the vaccination requirement in accordance with applicable law.

Georgia Appleseed Center for Law & Justice is an equal opportunity employer and will not discriminate against any job applicant or employee because of that person’s race, color, sex, gender, gender identity, age, religion, national or ethnic origin, disability, sexual orientation, creed, citizenship, HIV status, or marital status. We recognize the value of diversity in the workplace and urge people in all protected groups to apply for employment. Reasonable accommodations will be made for individuals with mental or physical disabilities who are otherwise qualified to perform the essential duties and responsibilities of a given position in a satisfactory manner, provided the needed accommodation does not result in an undue hardship for Georgia Appleseed.

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: $95,000.00 - $130,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• 401(k)
• 401(k) matching
• Dental insurance
• Employee assistance program
• Flexible spending account
• Health insurance
• Life insurance
• Paid time off
• Vision insurance

Schedule:

• Monday to Friday

Experience:

• Microsoft Office: 1 year (Required)
• Legal counsel: 5 years (Required)
• attorney supervision: 3 years (Required)

License/Certification:

• Juris Doctor and license to practice law in Georgia (Required)
• Driver's License (Required)

Ability to Relocate:

• Atlanta, GA 30339: Relocate before starting work (Required)

Work Location: In person