Deputy Director of Operations

POSITION ANNOUNCEMENT (September 2021)

DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS

Legal Assistance of Western New York, Inc.® (LawNY®) has an immediate opening for a deputy director of operations.

LawNY® provides free civil legal help to individuals and families struggling with poverty in a nearly 10,000 square mile 14 county area with an urban center in Rochester and rural counties in western New York, the Finger Lakes and the Southern Tier. We provide services through seven fully staffed offices located in Bath, Elmira, Geneva, Ithaca, Jamestown, Olean and Rochester and we maintain satellite offices in Lakeville and Lyons and a business office in Rochester. Including AmeriCorps paralegals, we presently have approximately 170 staff members, including approximately 85 attorneys.

In 2020, LawNY® closed 4,881 cases benefitting 10,532 people. The breakout of the cases was as follows: housing (27%), income maintenance (26%), family (22%), health (13%), consumer (3%), employment (3%) and other (6%).

LawNY® has a revenue side budget of over $15.2 million, with approximately 90 contracts with various federal, state, county and city agencies, as well as area United Ways, foundations and private donations.

LawNY® is committed to equitable inclusion across race, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, ability, sex, religion, economic circumstances, ethnicity, national origin and culture.  We are striving to transcend the construct of race and be an anti-racist law firm. We encourage staff to bring their whole selves to work each day and pledge to celebrate every aspect of who they are.

Responsibilities:

• Will work as a critical member of the leadership team to strategically plan and execute LawNY®’s mission and initiatives;
• Will directly supervise the director of technology, the HR administrator, the grants administrator, the communications coordinator and to be filled newly created Diversity, Equity and Inclusion management and development director positions;
• Will ensure compliance with federal, state and local employment regulations and requirements;
• Will ensure compliance with grant agreements, contracts and other legal and ethical requirements;
  Will develop and oversee implementation of employee policies, ensuring compliance with local, state and federal law and maintaining ownership of LawNY®’s employee handbook;
• Will lead focused, inclusive decision-making about and implementation of operations, strategies and systems, ensuring that LawNY®’s practices are effective and fully support our litigation, advocacy and outreach;
• Will acquire a thorough understanding of all of LawNY®’s technology systems and technology support needs and work closely with the director of technology in developing and implementing the LawNY® technology plan;
• Will develop methods of communicating more clearly and effectively to media and others about LawNY®’s work and the impact which we have in our clients’ lives;
• Will consult with managers on performance management issues as needed;
• Will partner with managers to ensure consistency of evaluation standards across LawNY®;
• Will work with the executive director and other managers as needed on programmatic and fiscal reports and refunding applications for LawNY®’s major funding streams, including but not limited to those from the Unified Court System, the Legal Services Corporation, the Interest on Lawyer Account Fund, AmeriCorps and the Office of the Attorney General for foreclosure prevention services; and
• Will advise the executive director and chief finance officer about LawNY®’s strategic finance and operations needs and opportunities.

Requirements:

• Must either be licensed to practice law in the State of New York or be eligible for admission to the New York Bar at the time of hiring (must be admitted within one year of hire);
• Significant management level experience in non-profit administration or a similar setting, preferably serving low-income or vulnerable communities;
• Demonstrated experience handling sensitive, confidential situations and information;
• Track record of effective working relationships with diverse employees at all levels;
• Demonstrated knowledge and understanding of best practices for staff development, recruitment and HR compliance;
• Excellent interpersonal, analytical and communication skills, both written and spoken;
• Post COVID, willingness to travel regularly between local offices and to represent LawNY® at external meetings, including in Albany and New York City and at annual national conferences sponsored by the American Bar Association and the National Legal Aid and Defender Association;
• Demonstrated program development skills;
• Strong analytical and critical thinking ability, including capacity to quickly master and manage multiple complex projects;
• Initiative as well as ability to work as part of a team; and
• Ability to foster collaboration internally and externally with a wide range of stakeholders.

Salary and Benefits: 

Salary is dependent on experience and will increase annually based upon LawNY®’s salary scale, budget permitting. The starting salary is $67,000 with five years of experience (the minimum experience level for this position). The salary for ten years of experience is $73,900.  LawNY® provides an excellent health insurance, disability and employee benefits package.

Location:

The position may be based in the business office in Rochester or any of the six fully staffed offices outside of Rochester.

Application Process:

Applicants should submit a cover letter describing qualifications, a resume, two writing samples and full contact information for three references to the attention of C. Kenneth Perri, Executive Director to ensure full consideration. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis, until the position is filled.

LawNY® is an equal opportunity employer. LawNY® encourages applications from diverse candidates. LawNY® welcomes applications regardless of race, color, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, pregnancy, national origin, age, disability, genetic information or any other considerations protected by law. This position is considered exempt pursuant to the Fair Labor Standards Act.