The Campaign for Equal Justice (CEJ), the support organization for Oregon’s statewide legal aid programs, is seeking an Executive Director. Oregon’s legal aid programs provide free civil legal services to low-income Oregonians in areas such as safety from domestic violence, income maintenance, safe housing and consumer protection. CEJ works to educate lawyers, other members of the legal community, and the public about the civil legal needs of the poor, operates a robust annual fund drive, and helps to increase government and foundation support for legal aid. You can learn more about our work at www.cej-oregon.org.
JOB DESCRIPTION: The Executive Director is responsible for implementing the mission of the organization, and managing the day-to-day operations of the organization. The Executive Director assists the board of directors in maintaining contacts with community partners such as the Oregon State Bar and affinity bar associations. CEJ has four primary programs: Annual Fund Drive; Education and Outreach: Other Funding Initiatives (state and federal funding and foundation support); and the Endowment. In addition to working to fulfill the goals of each program area, day-to-day responsibilities also include overseeing banking, financial matters, personnel matters, and operating the organization within budget.
Specific duties:
Annual Fund
• Overseeing all aspects of annual fundraising campaign
• Developing fundraising materials
• Recruiting and retaining volunteers (in the range of 250-300 people)
• Overseeing multiple fundraising events each year
• Revenue goals between $1.4 and 1.8 million in recent years’ / donor goal is to increase to 3,000 donors
Education & Outreach
• Creating education materials on the importance of access to justice and civil legal service delivery in Oregon
• Organizing and presenting Continuing Legal Education seminars
• Overseeing communications strategy and execution / media relations / public relations
• Overseeing written communications (annual reports, articles, reports, etc.)
• Coordinating with partners on civil legal needs studies, strategic planning, etc.
Other Funding Initiatives
• Coordinating with legal aid leaders, bar leaders, and bar staff on state and federal funding issues to preserve critical sources of legal aid funding
• Coordinating and overseeing CEJ’s grassroots lobbying efforts
• Overseeing CEJ Endowment
• Supporting legal aid’s efforts to increase foundation support
Administrative Responsibilities
• Managing and supervising all CEJ staff
• Managing and overseeing organization’s finances, including budgeting, bookkeeping oversight, banking, completion of annual audit, filing of annual tax returns, and distribution of funds
• Overseeing and backing up Director of Operations as necessary (i.e. running payroll, managing retirement, bill paying, maintaining insurance, etc.)
• Supporting 21-person board of directors and staffing all board committees
The Executive Director position is an exempt, salaried position. It is a hybrid position, with some days of in-office work required per week and some remote work days possible. Attendance at in-person donor events is required, along with some in-state travel and occasional after-hours or weekend work during the height of the fundraising campaign. CEJ offers full employee benefits including health, vision, and dental insurance; retirement plan; and PTO including sabbatical policy. The compensation range is $95,000-$115,000 DOE.
QUALIFICATIONS:
• Juris Doctor or Master’s Degree in non-profit management or related field.
• Demonstrated commitment to the mission of expanding access to justice; knowledge of Oregon’s civil legal delivery system a plus.
• Demonstrated ability to strategically plan on an organizational level, coordinate and implement projects, set and communicate priorities, and meet deadlines.
• Demonstrated commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
• Demonstrated supervisory and team management skills.
• Experience managing, organizing, and motivating volunteers.
• Aptitude and comfort with public speaking.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Problem-solving ability and strong attention to detail.
• Experience with messaging, public relations, and/or media relations preferred.
• Prior fundraising experience preferred.
• Prior experience with legislative advocacy preferred.
• Prior work with the Oregon legal community is not required, but is preferred.
To apply, send the following to [email protected]:
1) Resume
2) Cover letter that addresses these two questions:
a. Describe your involvement with CEJ over the past five years; and
b. identify key issues you believe that CEJ is facing in the next two years.
Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. Deadline to apply is February 10, 2023.
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