Senior Advisor, Affiliate Legal Programs

ACLU • San Francisco, NY

5d • Hybrid

About The Position

The ACLU seeks a full-time Senior Advisor, Affiliate Legal Programs for its Affiliate Support and Nationwide Initiatives Department (ASNI) at the National office. The role is part of the Program and Strategy Team, which works with ACLU affiliates to strengthen programs and coordinate regional, multi-state, and nationwide efforts. The position is represented by ACLU Staff United (ASU), a collective bargaining unit. A hybrid arrangement is preferred, with in-office expectations of two days per week or eight days per month in New York, NY; Washington, DC; or San Francisco, CA. U.S.-based remote candidates will also be considered. Frequent travel is a core component of the role.

Reporting to the Senior Director of Program and Strategy, the Senior Advisor serves as a strategic resource to affiliate Executive Directors, Legal Directors, and legal teams. The advisor helps affiliates assess and improve legal program strategy, docket development and management, staffing and leadership, program infrastructure, cooperating attorney relationships, and alignment with affiliate priorities. The role supports legal work as part of integrated advocacy, helping affiliates determine how litigation and other tools—including organizing, communications, legislative, and advocacy work—can best be combined to advance shared goals.

Across the affiliate network, the Senior Advisor identifies and shares effective practices, develops practical tools and resources, supports learning communities and convenings, and helps affiliates assess program capacity and progress. The position also connects affiliate and National legal programs around shared priorities, advises ASNI on investments in affiliate legal programs, and collaborates with colleagues on strategic planning, leadership development, and organizational alignment.

Requirements

• J.D. required.
• Significant experience leading or advancing a civil rights or civil liberties legal program at a national and/or state organization.
• Experience recruiting, training, managing, and motivating diverse, high-performing legal teams in a nonprofit setting.
• Demonstrated experience and familiarity with building legal strategies or programs that integrate advocacy and communications.
• Strong facilitation, strategic advising, and presentation skills, including experience leading workshops, trainings, convenings, and planning processes.
• Ability to build relationships and trust among a large and diverse group of stakeholders.
• Strong organizational skills and attention to detail.
• Experience managing legal staff or familiarity with best-practice approaches to people management.
• Strong project management skills, including the ability to lead complex workstreams, manage multiple priorities, and meet deadlines.
• Willingness to take on small tasks and understand their importance to organizational success.
• Strategic, critical, and creative thinking.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills.
• Commitment to the ACLU mission and to equity, inclusion, belonging, diversity, and respectful collaboration.

Responsibilities

• Advise affiliate Executive Directors, Legal Directors, and other leaders on building and sustaining effective legal programs suited to their circumstances.
• Assess affiliate legal programs and help leaders identify and implement improvements in quality, effectiveness, and impact.
• Support hiring and onboarding of affiliate Legal Directors and advise on docket development, case selection, litigation management, staffing, supervision, program planning, intake and referral systems, and cooperating attorney relationships.
• Help affiliates set appropriate goals for their legal programs and support implementation and progress toward those goals.
• Identify, develop, and scale effective practices across affiliate legal programs, translating lessons into practical frameworks, tools, and models.
• Help affiliate leaders develop integrated advocacy approaches that coordinate legal, organizing, legislative, communications, and other capacities.
• Promote and support use of Department resources and frameworks, adapting them to affiliates’ circumstances and capacity.
• Develop tools and approaches for assessing program capacity, effectiveness, and progress, and support regular reflection and learning.
• Synthesize trends, innovations, challenges, and lessons across affiliate programs into guidance for Legal Directors, ASNI, and National colleagues.
• Identify technologies, tools, and operational efficiencies that can strengthen affiliate legal programs.
• Create and sustain learning communities, cohorts, convenings, workshops, and other learning opportunities for affiliate legal staff.
• Represent the Department in National and affiliate planning processes and bring affiliate program perspectives into National strategy discussions.
• Lead or facilitate collaboration between National and affiliate legal programs on shared priorities, including multi-state strategies and projects.
• Strengthen connections between affiliate legal programs and National departments, surfacing opportunities and barriers and helping identify solutions.
• Advise ASNI colleagues on grants and other investments in affiliate legal programs.
• Work with ASNI colleagues on strategic planning and leadership development, including legal priorities, leadership pipelines, competencies, and succession planning.
• Share relevant information with ASNI leadership to support organizational assessments, evaluations, and interventions.
• Manage or work with vendors and consultants, contribute to special projects and events, perform other role-related duties, and travel frequently.

Benefits

• Generous paid time-off policy.
• Comprehensive healthcare benefits, including medical, dental, and vision coverage.
• Parental leave.
• Gender-affirming care and fertility treatment.
• 401(k) plan with employer match.
• Annual professional development funds.
• Internal professional development programs and workshops.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: Ph.D. or professional degree