Director of Work Equity Program
The National Employment Law Project (NELP) seeks a dynamic, experienced, and skilled individual to be
the Director of the Work Equity team, which advances NELP’s long-term public policy goal of racial
justice in hiring, employment and promotion. The Director of Work Equity will provide leadership to a
highly motivated, experienced team that is working to remove barriers to employment, close the racial
wealth gap, and end employment discrimination and occupational segregation.
Who We Are
NELP is a national non-profit with offices in New York, Washington D.C., Seattle, and Berkeley,
promoting federal, state, and local policies to create good jobs, strengthen workers’ upward mobility,
enforce worker rights, and improve benefits and services for the unemployed. In collaboration with
national and grassroots partners, NELP advances its work through research, advocacy, litigation support
and technical assistance designed to raise wages, end wage theft and workplace violations, strengthen
unemployment insurance, ensure employer accountability for workers in contract employment,
encourage fair chance employment practices, and promote a comprehensive policy framework to build
a good jobs economy. For more information, see www.nelp.org
As advocates for workers’ rights, including the right to collectively bargain, non-management staff at
NELP are members of Local 2320, UAW.
What You Will Do
NELP’s program work is divided into four teams: Social Insurance, Work Equity, Work Structure, and
Work Quality. The Director of Work Equity will bring an innovative mindset and experienced analysis to
ensure that securing work and advancing within work does not depend on skin color, country of origin,
current employment status, criminal history, or credit history. This work has a particular focus on high
impact sectors and targeted geographic regions such as the South. Specifically, the current Work Equity
portfolio includes fair chance employment and may include immigrant workers’ rights. In addition to
leading the Portfolio, the Director will have a particular focus on implementing Breaking Barriers, a
project within the Portfolio that is focused on improving job access, wages and working conditions for
Black workers in Mississippi and Louisiana by building worker center capacity. As the Director of Work
Equity, you will report directly to the Deputy Program Director.
As the Director of Work Equity, you will provide guidance, direction and leadership to the team. In
addition, you will represent NELP as a national policy expert within the areas of the Work Equity
portfolio described above. Responsibilities include:
• Develop and execute an annual work plan that aligns with and furthers the organization’s
strategic plan and theory of change.
• Identify resource requirements across a variety of functions (including communications and
research) and manage the deployment of resources across the Work Equity portfolio.
• Use policy advocacy experience or expertise in racial equity to evaluate the long-term potential
of the portfolio in meeting the mission, financial, and strategic impact goals.
• Engage with allies from other organizations to identify and act upon opportunities for
collaboration or coordination.
• Lead local and state advocacy in priority areas, as described above in the Work Equity portfolio,
by engaging key constituencies, allied organizations, and policymakers.
• Provide strategic support for campaigns, including developing model policies and analyses and
potentially identifying opportunities for strategic litigation.
• Contribute as an expert to NELP’s published reports, newsletters and web materials.
• Represent NELP as an expert in outward-facing activities and coordinate the team’s collective
activities in the public sphere, including conference participation, publications, maintenance and
dissemination of timely and topical resource materials, and communications products, in
conjunction with the communications team.
• Support thoughtful, strategic coordination between the four portfolio areas of NELP’s work and
NELP’s functional teams, which include Government Advocacy, Research, Legal,
Communications and Strategic Initiatives.
• Empower team members to grow and develop professionally through coaching and mentorship,
including direct supervision of three team members.
• Participate in fundraising activities, including assessing possible funding opportunities, tracking
and reporting progress on deliverables and accomplishments, attending meetings with funders,
and assisting with grant reporting.
• Actively contribute to NELP’s work in becoming an anti-racist organization that reflects and
embodies internally the values of social justice, diversity, and inclusion.
Who You Are
You have substantial advocacy experience promoting social justice, racial equity, immigrant
workers’ rights and/or civil rights.
You are an experienced team leader skilled at both motivating and inspiring team members and
ensuring timely and effective execution of the team’s annual plan. You excel at project
management, cultivating positive team dynamics, and strategic thinking.
You are exceptional at translating a team vision into a workable tactical plan. You have a
demonstrated ability to oversee and coordinate programmatic work, develop and implement
work plans, hold team members accountable to processes and deadlines, assess quality of work,
and handle conflict.
You enjoy and have demonstrated success in managing, developing, coaching and retaining
team members. You view it an important part of your role to empower your team members to
grow and develop professionally.
You are an effective public speaker and have experience speaking in a variety of public forums.
You are a persuasive writer and pay meticulous attention to detail.
You are comfortable managing multiple projects and often conflicting priorities; you have strong
time-management skills.
You are comfortable with ambiguity and change.
You have a bachelor’s degree, though a law degree or Master’s in relevant field is preferred.
(Ten years of directly relevant experience and demonstrated effective performance in fulfilling
central elements of the position may be substituted for educational requirements.)
We do not expect that candidates will have this full range of experience, but the following is desirable:
Experience working in the deep South, and/or with worker centers or other community-based
organizations.
Experience working in an advocacy organization or public agency focused on labor law and
policy, labor unions, or workers’ rights.
Start Date, Location, Compensation & Benefits: This position will be based in New York City or
Washington D.C. (though consideration may be given to Berkeley, California as the position location).
Start date will be as soon as possible. Salary is competitive within the non-profit sector and
commensurate with experience and education based on NELP’s collective bargaining scale. Excellent
benefits package. This position is in NELP’s bargaining unit, represented by National Organization of
Legal Service Workers, UAW Local 2320.
To apply: Email cover letter, resume, and three references to jobs@nelp.org, noting “Director of Work
Equity” in the subject line. If you have questions regarding this announcement, please forward those to
jobs@nelp.org, noting “Director of Work Equity” in the subject line. No phone calls or other email
inquiries please. We will consider applications on a rolling basis. Applications due by January 5, 2018.
NELP is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and an equal opportunity, fair chance, affirmative action
employer, committed to building a diverse and inclusive workforce. All qualified applicants will be
considered for employment without regard to race, color, creed, national origin, sex, age, disability,
marital status, sexual orientation, military status, prior record of arrest or conviction, citizenship status,
current employment status, or caregiver status.
