Career Development Office Blog

New York Lawyers for the Public Interest (NYLPI) seeks a dynamic Legal Director with exceptional experience in and strong commitment to social justice advocacy to provide strategic leadership for its programs.

For nearly 40 years, NYLPI has been a leading civil rights advocate for marginalized New Yorkers. These communities define our work; they shape our priorities, and their struggles for justice demand innovative solutions. The organization strives to create equal access to health care, achieve equality of opportunity and self-determination for people with disabilities, ensure immigrant opportunity, strengthen local non-profits, and secure environmental justice for low-income communities of color.

The Legal Director will provide strategic leadership for programs, overseeing their direction, fostering innovation, managing staff development and broadening and deepening community partnerships. A member of NYLPI’s senior Leadership Team, the Legal Director reports directly to the Executive Director and collaborates closely with him on all matters related to the programmatic direction, effectiveness, and dynamism of the organization. He or she will lead and supervise the talented team of four Program Directors, motivating and supporting them in their program vision and their professional development.

• Key responsibilities include the following:
• Lead NYLPI’s innovative approach to community lawyering and comprehensive advocacy campaigns, including:
• Developing and supporting new initiatives in collaboration with NYLPI’s leadership, staff, and outside partners;
• With the Executive Director, approving, supporting, and overseeing all significant litigation, policy, campaign, and media efforts;
• Developing creative litigation and advocacy strategies;
• Developing press relations and media strategies to promote the institution and its work;
• Identifying trends, systemic issues and policies that affect clients and communities and proactively finding innovative solutions;
• Developing and implementing new ways of evaluating the effectiveness of our practice;
• Provide oversight and be a resource for the work of attorneys and other program staff.

For additional information regarding qualifications, experience and how to apply, please visit the website.

Temporary – Fund position, not to exceed three (3) years. 

Overview of Responsibilities:

The National Community Engagement Development Coordinator will develop and implement plans to build the capacity of state federations and local councils to establish and sustain effective relationships with community-based organizations around a shared vision for building power for working people in their communities.  Working with Campaigns Department staff in the field, he/she will help these organizations to build and deepen relationships with community groups, based on mutual respect and trust that lead to collaboration and collective action.    They will work with AFL-CIO field staff, State Federations, Central Labor Councils and/or Area Labor Federations to develop and execute a unified strategic community outreach plan.

The National Community Engagement Development Coordinator  will assist AFL-CIO field staff, state federations, and local and area labor councils to create labor and community based coalitions and partnerships by engaging community-based  and civil rights groups, faith-based, youth and student organizations, worker centers, and other progressive organizations and linking them with the local labor movement around issue, legislative, organizing, and political campaigns and efforts that highlight working family issues and help advance a shared agenda around good jobs, access to quality health care, quality public education, affordable housing, racial justice, immigrants’ rights, environmental stewardship and other social justice concerns.

The National Community Engagement Development Coordinator will work report to the Director of Governance, Organizational and Leadership Development and will work as part of state campaign teams in the states he/she is assigned.

Duties Description:

• Work with field staff, state federations and labor councils leaders in long-term community engagement strategic planning; develop and implement training programs for local and state leadership and delegates.
• Work collaboratively with field staff, state federations and labor councils in assigned states to develop community engagement programs.
• Provide ongoing strategic support to field staff, state federations and labor councils in implementing their community engagement plans, including help with mapping their communities,   surveying their local union leaders/delegates to analyze existing community relationships, and training their community engagement committees.
• Identify potential new relationships that would grow the capacity of the labor movement to represent the interests of all workers.
• Work with campaigns department staff to develop detailed plans for the State Federations, targeted area and local councils for each targeted ally group, with the goal of building strategic and enduring relationships at the local level
• Work with department staff, state federations and their community partners to develop joint campaigns.
• Identify, train and support department staff, state federation, labor council and grassroots leaders within labor and the community to build capacity for collective action.
• Ensure that local relationships with allied organizations are complementary to relationships that the AFL-CIO has at the national and local level.
• Extensive travel is required.

Qualifications:

• At least 7 years of union, community or political organizing experience.
• At least 7 years’ experience working with a broad array of organizations in a coalitional or alliance formation on issues of social and economic justice at the local level.
• Demonstrated experience creating labor -community coalitions or organizations including the creation of 501c3 organizations.
• Demonstrated experience in grant writing for the creation of labor community coalitions or other social justice organizations.
• Demonstrated organizing experience in building unity among diverse groups and in recruiting and mobilizing others to take action.
• Experience working with state federations and/or local labor councils.
• Ability to assess and analyze complex political situations and respond appropriately.
• Demonstrated experience in developing and executing written campaign plans is essential.
• Demonstrated ability to develop and drive effective and creative programs, convene and facilitate meetings and balance the interests of various stakeholders.
• Excellent verbal communication skills and effective interpersonal skills.
• Excellent interpersonal skills and the ability to manage relationships in complex political and sensitive organizational situations.
• Demonstrated successful ability to develop community and labor strategies to implement programs by capturing the resources and capacity of a broad array of partners.
• Demonstrated knowledge and understanding of basic principles and skills involved in community organizing, leadership development, campaign planning and implementation.
• Demonstrated substantial experience performing as a trainer, facilitator and mentor in the principles of union organizing and coalition building.
• Willingness to travel for extended periods of time and work long, irregular hours including weekends.
• Demonstrated excellent written and verbal communications skills.
• Computer proficiency is required; database/spreadsheet, social networking skills, power point, etc.
• Ability and active license to drive a car.
• Excellent listening, interpersonal and problem solving skills.
• Spanish language or other language ability preferred. 

Apply here.