Associate Director of Administration

The Bronx Defenders (BxD) – an innovative, progressive, holistic legal defense office in the South Bronx – seeks an experienced administrative professional to help lead our programmatic administrative support staff, as the Associate Director, Administration

Founded in 1997, The Bronx Defenders is a public defender nonprofit that has developed a nationally recognized model of representation called holistic defense, which provides people with teams of lawyers, social workers, and advocates to defend them zealously in court as well as to address the underlying drivers and enmeshed penalties of legal system involvement.

Since opening our doors, we have grown into an organization of more than 400 staff members defending nearly 20,000 New Yorkers each year in criminal, family, civil, and immigration proceedings who face incarceration, family separation, eviction, and deportation, among other devastating consequences.

Today we are reimagining the role of public defense even further, using community organizing and engagement, legislative advocacy, and impact litigation to partner with the communities we represent to bring about long-lasting systemic change.

We also share our model and lessons learned with current and future public defenders. We run two legal clinics at NYC law schools and train public defenders from one end of the country to the next on how to move to a holistic model of representation.

Responsibilities

The Associate Director Administration leads the intake process by managing the team in the execution of an efficient intake process as well as creating and implementing systems to improve the workflow in our case management system. This role will lead the intake process and manage teams across three (3) Practice areas.  

Critical areas for success are Leadership & Supervision, Practice Coordination as well as Programmatic Reporting & Data Management as detailed below.

Leadership & Supervision 

Hire, train and supervise Practice administrative staff who support three (3) practice areas

Collaborate with the Managing Director of Administration to develop and implement an organization-wide plan to ensure quality case entry and conflict check processes  

Manage day-to-day operations of Practice administration including coordinating coverage, monitoring incoming requests and referrals, responding to inquiries, and managing case entry  

Monitor team workload to ensure equitable distribution of work and support supervisees in meeting the expectations of their work

Develop internal systems to track legal cases, applications, and program impact using case management software

Cover court shifts, intake and case entry for supervisees, including nights and weekends, as necessary 

Troubleshoot Practice issues 

Evaluate performance and provide constructive feedback to supervisees, facilitating growth and professional development

Coordinate individual and team meetings to review workflow 

Availability for interborough (NYC 5 Boros) travel as necessary

Availability for evening and weekend coverage as necessary

Practice Coordination 

Develop and implement an organizational plan to ensure quality case entry and conflict check processes for the Intake Team

Collaborate with supervisors and managers to support work-product quality and provide supervisor coverage

Monitor program deliverables, ensuring compliance with funder requirements and legal regulations

Programmatic Reporting & Data Management

Lead the reporting process for designated Practices, including reconciling data daily, weekly, and monthly for monthly reports 

Reconcile data daily, weekly, and monthly for reports 

Create monthly reports for designated Practices 

Provide regular reports on program performance and client outcomes to funders and executive leadership

Qualifications

7 years of legal administrative experience, with a minimum of 4 years in a management/supervisory role

Experience providing legal administrative supporting for multiple teams or disciplines

Skilled in using case management systems as well as conducting intake processes with accuracy, precision and timeliness  

Legal industry experience, primarily with nonprofit or public defense organizations

Experience working with racially, ethnically and socioeconomically marginalized communities as well as the ability to effectively engage and collaborate with people with various backgrounds, identities and experiences  

Ability to work well independently as well as collaboratively with an interdisciplinary team of lawyers and non-lawyers 

Skilled in multitasking, thinking critically and creatively, as well as finding innovative solutions to unique problems, in a fast-paced, high-stakes environment  

Meticulous attention to detail 

A record of success supervising and mentoring teams as evidenced by:

Commitment to developing and mentoring supervisees 

Skilled in providing constructive feedback 

Strategic management; balancing staff needs and capabilities against individual and team workload 

Ability to receive constructive feedback, demonstrate introspection and shift behavior accordingly 

Ability to exercise excellent judgment, discretion, and confidentiality with sensitive matters 

Compensation

Salary is commensurate with experience. The salary range for this position is $100,000 to $120,000 annually. Full-time employees are also eligible for a comprehensive benefits package including but not limited to medical, dental, and vision coverage; a 403(b) plan with employer contribution; and a generous vacation, sick leave, and parental leave policy.

Approximately 70% of The Bronx Defenders' staff, including attorneys and non-attorneys, are represented by UAW Local 2325 - Association of Legal Aid Attorneys (AFL-CIO). This position is not within the bargaining unit.

This position is exempt. By law, exempt employees are compensated hourly based on their annual rate and therefore are entitled to over-time, whereas exempt employees are not.

To apply, please click APPLY TO THIS JOB ONLINE and upload your resume and cover letter in one document. Your resume will be used to determine your salary based on the number of years of directly relevant professional experience and should include all relevant professional experience. Applications without a written cover letter will not be considered.

The Bronx Defenders is an equal opportunity employer and is cultivating an anti-oppressive workplace that embraces staff with a diversity of backgrounds, identities and experiences. We acknowledge the ways in which systemic oppression and injustice can undermine access to professional opportunities and are committed to conducting hiring and promotion processes that are equitable and accessible to those commonly excluded from the workforce. We do not discriminate against and in fact specifically encourage applicants from marginalized communities to apply, including those who identify as Black, Indigenous, people of color, queer, transgender, gender non-conforming, disabled, neurodivergent and those directly impacted by criminal, civil, family and immigration legal systems. We value lived as well as professional experience and particularly welcome applications from the Bronx community that we work with.