Office Manager/Paralegal – Charlottesville Office

Description

About LAJC

The Legal Aid Justice Center is a nationally recognized, non‐profit organization that partners with communities and clients to achieve justice by dismantling the systems that create and perpetuate poverty. Justice means racial justice, economic justice, and social justice.

Founded in 1967, LAJC provides services in four program areas: Civil Rights & Racial Justice, Economic Justice, Youth Justice, and Immigrant Advocacy. LAJC boldly tackles issues of systemic injustice and aims to raise public and policymaker awareness of some of the most pressing challenges facing low‐income Virginia residents. For more information, visit www.justice4all.org.

From offices in Charlottesville, Richmond, Petersburg, and Falls Church, LAJC fiercely advocates for low‐income clients and communities in Central and Northern Virginia, and its work broadly impacts the entire state. Just in the past year we permanently repealed Virginia’s driver’s license suspension for court debt scheme; helped win the right to legally drive and in‐state tuition in Virginia regardless of immigration status; secured an injunction slashing the number of immigrants detained by ICE at the largest detention center in the Mid‐Atlantic and passed a law giving Virginia oversight authority; won the nation’s first COVID‐specific, statewide, and enforceable workplace safety standards; and decriminalized school‐based disorderly conduct, which was a leading contributor to the school‐to‐prison pipeline, especially for Black girls.

The Charlottesville office is the headquarters of the Legal Aid Justice Center. In addition to supporting fourteen lawyers, two community organizers, and a paralegal, it houses the finance, operations, and a significant portion of the development team. It serves the low‐ income residents of the City of Charlottesville, as well as Albemarle, Fluvanna, Greene, Louisa and Nelson counties. Our advocates work in all four of our programs. This office also hosts several legal clinics for the University of Virginia School of Law and a robust undergraduate volunteer program for intake and reception.

About the Position

The Legal Aid Justice Center is seeking a professional, high‐level Office Manager to provide support to the Charlottesville office. This position will combine responsibility for (i) managing the office environment; (ii) overseeing client intake; and (iii) providing support to LAJC’s lawyers, organizers, paralegal, development, and finance staff. The Office Manager will report to the Director of Finance and Operations and will directly supervise the Legal Assistant. In addition, the Office Manager will oversee the student intern and volunteer program, which provides office support and help with client intakes. Many of our clients are more comfortable speaking and writing in Spanish, so Spanish fluency is preferred. This is a newly created position.

Job Duties

Job Duties

• Oversee intake and client-facing processes for all five jurisdictions for the office, including promulgating and maintaining intake and referrals systems;
• Manage all aspects of the office, including facilities, policies and culture;
• Oversee our non-attorney internship and volunteer programming;
• Lead weekly staff meetings;
• Supervise the legal assistant who will assist with all spheres of office management;
• Assist with additional needs including office accounting, grant reporting, attorney, paralegal and organizer tasks, and development efforts.

Skills Required

Required Qualifications

• Mission-aligned experience (work or lived) working with low-wealth communities and communities of color
• Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail.
• Ability to work and communicate effectively across lines of identity
• Ability to work effectively both independently and collaboratively
• Extremely proficient with Microsoft Office 365 Suite or similar software with the ability to learn new or updated software.
• Systems thinking and demonstrated ability to create structures
• Strong communication and customer service skills
• Excellent time management and prioritization skills with a proven ability to meet deadlines.
• Ability to solve problems and maintain a high degree of confidentiality

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience working in a legal office or prior experience working as an office manager
• Experience interacting with and providing services to low-income clients (work or lived)
• Leadership ability to manage challenges in a fast-paced work environment, including ability to delegate tasks and motivate others
• Spanish fluency
• Management experience (lived or worked)

Work Schedule

M-F 8:30-5:00

Additional Info

Location

Charlottesville, Virginia.

Salary

Salary range is $55,000 to $75,000 based on years of relevant experience and LAJC’s formal salary scale.

Benefits

• Generous leave
• Excellent family health, dental and vision insurance
• 403(b) retirement plan
• Personal professional development budget

Application Instructions

Email a cover letter, resume, and three references to Kyna Thomas, Director of Finance and Operations at hiring@justice4all.org. If you are able, please submit your application as a single PDF titled “[date submitted in yyyy.mm.dd format] [last name] [first name] [position sought].” Please include “Charlottesville Office Manager” in the email subject. The cover letter should highlight any relevant experience (lived or worked) and any specialized skills, such as technology skills and language fluency.

Applications will start being reviewed immediately and on a rolling basis. Questions? Contact Elaine Poon at elaine@justice4all.org.

The Legal Aid Justice Center is an equal opportunity employer, committed to inclusive hiring and dedicated to diversity in our work and staff. We strongly encourage candidates of all identities, experiences, and communities to apply. The Legal Aid Justice Center is committed to strengthening the voices of our low‐income clients, working in collaboration with community partners, and rooting out the inequities that keep people in poverty. We strive to take on the issues that have broad impact on our client communities and to be responsive to client input. Recognizing the particular impact of racism on our clients and staff, we devote special attention to dismantling racial injustice. All applicants must be dedicated to working in and sustaining an environment that enables staff and clients to feel empowered, valued, respected, and safe. In reviewing applications, we look for evidence that applicants have experience and/or thoughtfulness in working with traditionally marginalized populations.