Deputy Legal Director, Immigrant Justice
About The Position
The SPLC is seeking a Deputy Legal Director who is passionate about social justice! The Deputy Legal Director (“DLD”) is responsible for the vision, strategic planning, leadership, and management of the Immigrant Justice Advocacy and Litigation Impact Team (“IJA ALIT” or “IJA”). The DLD will lead immigration related litigation and other forms of advocacy to (1) fight against practices that funnel people into deportation; (2) free immigrants from detention through strategic systemic representation and legal reform; (3) change immigration and enforcement systems so they operate justly, humanely, and equitably; (4) enforce laws protecting immigrants from mistreatment by governments or employers; (5) support immigrant communities in states in which we work as they demand respect for their dignity and humanity; and (6) end discrimination based on immigration status or national origin. Who You Are Experienced. Demonstrated experience working on systemic litigation and campaigns related to immigration advocacy. People Manager. Experienced legal staff manager with proven success in leading, training, and developing teams. Clear communicator of goals and priorities, organizational policies, and processes, keeping the SPLC’s best interest at the heart of all communications, decisions, and actions. Effective leader. Established leadership in creating department work plans, setting annual goals, and tracking performance of staff towards achieving the goals. Advocate. Experience working with community organizations, grassroots campaigns and impacted communities, particularly in the South, to help strengthen Democracy by protecting civil rights for Black and Brown communities. Creative. Ability to create vision and take calculated risks in crafting and executing strategies to move litigation forward. Collaborative. Demonstrated ability to work with other ALITs, external organizations, and stakeholders to execute specific strategies to advance the work and cases of IJA. Communicative. Exceptional communication skills and ability to communicate persuasively to a variety of audiences through writing and speaking. Mission, Vision, and Culture Alignment. Demonstrated awareness for SPLC's mission and vision; and a commitment to ideals of justice, equity, diversity and inclusion and fostering an anti-racist work culture and anti-racist principles and learning.
Requirements
- At least ten (10) years of experience federal court civil litigation experience;
- At least seven (7) years of supervisor experience managing legal staff;
- Membership in good standing of at least one state bar in the United States, preferably Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Florida, or Washington, D.C.; and
- J.D. degree from an ABA-accredited law school.
Responsibilities
- Manage a team of legal staff.
- Lead the IJA ALIT by creating work plans, setting annual goals and tracking performance staff towards achieving the goals.
- Set priorities and direct the implementation of cases in consultation with Legal Department leaders.
- Develop and nurture partnerships with, by not limited to, external stakeholders, including community members, other civil rights organizations, legislators, policymakers, and educators.
- Serve as the SPLC spokesperson in national and local public forums and meetings.
- Support advocacy and public educations driven by community organizations and leaders.
- Hire, train, and monitor staff performance and development, and conduct performance reviews.
- Perform other duties as required or assigned which are reasonably within the scope of the duties in this job classification.
- Uphold our JEDI principles by seeking diverse collaborators and partners that can deliver genuine, authentic and impactful work while ensuring their contributions are directed towards the shared mission, vision and values of the center and department’s goals.
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Director
Education Level
Ph.D. or professional degree
Number of Employees
251-500 employees
