Northeast Legal Aid, with offices in Lowell, Lawrence and Lynn Massachusetts, seeks an Executive Director to lead a $3.4 million dollar program with an LLC that has emerged from the consolidation of two highly regarded, nonprofit organizations dedicated to providing free legal aid on civil issues to low income households.
About the Position
| The next Executive Director will lead NLA in a time of great change and opportunity as the organization undertakes initiatives to coordinate legal work and strategies, support professional development, update technology, and grow resources. |
High Priority Roles and Responsibilities for the next Executive Director:
- To articulate a clear strategic vision for NLA’s future, including its coordinated legal work with its LLC;
- To safeguard its focus on clients;
- To strengthen relationships throughout the community as the leader and public face of NLA;
- To lead and implement the recommendations of the strategic planning process;
- To develop leadership throughout NLA;
- To bring offices and staff together to a shared vision and full potential;
- To develop and expand the resources of NLA.
Qualifications of the next Executive Director:
- Possession of a JD and the willingness and ability to become licensed in Massachusetts
- A passion for advocacy for the legal rights of low income clients
- Ten years in the practice of law
- Success in resource development, including grant writing and private fundraising
- Management experience involving staff supervision, financial oversight and reporting, budget development, and compliance with grant, contract and legal requirements
- An open and compassionate communication style
- Confident leadership and decision-making skills
- Experience working productively with individuals and organizations with shared or diverse goals, including staff, Board of Directors, bar associations, judiciary, client communities and the general community
- Interest in advancing technology solutions in service of clients and efficiency
- Experience in a multi-million dollar, multi-site nonprofit organization a plus
- Experience in a legal aid organization a plus
Application Process
Applications will be accepted until the position is filled. To receive full consideration, you are encouraged to submit your application materials by July 18, 2014. Please submit a letter expressing in detail your interest in the position, your qualifications for the position, and what you believe you can contribute to the organization’s future. Please include a current resume, and names and contact information for three professional references.
Materials should be emailed to lgipson@mvlegal.org in Microsoft Word or pdf format.
Northeast Legal Aid is being assisted in the search by LeAnna Hart Gipson. She can be reached at 614-905-2145 or lgipson@mvlegal.org. Candidates with questions about the position or process are encouraged to contact her.
Northeast Legal Aid expects to make a hiring decision by August, 2014 and to have the successful candidate join NLA soon thereafter. Salary is dependent on experience.
Northeast Legal Aid is an equal opportunity employer and encourages candidates with disabilities, women, persons of color and others who represent distinct linguistic or cultural communities to apply.
Northeast Legal Aid is a newly-created legal aid program, resulting after the restructuring of Merrimack Valley-North Shore Legal Services (MVLS) and Neighborhood Legal Services (NLS). MVLS and NLS together have a long history of providing high-quality representation to poor people, including engagement in complex legal work resulting in benefits to large numbers of people. For over 35 years MVLS and NLS have been the legal services agencies serving the Merrimack Valley and North Shore regions of northeastern Massachusetts, and have established many local connections which inform and enhance our work.
NLA receives funding from the federal Legal Services Corporation, the Massachusetts Legal Assistance Corporation, the Massachusetts Bar Foundation, and other sources. NLA provides civil legal services to low-income and elderly persons in housing, consumer, mortgage foreclosure, elder law, family law and benefits cases. It has an active practice serving undocumented persons and employs class action strategies through its LLC, the Northeast Justice Center.
The NLA main office in Lawrence is 30 miles northwest of Boston and close to the ocean, lakes, and mountains. The region offers many cultural and recreational resources.