Summary
Description
Legal Aid of West Virginia Seeks an Executive Director
Legal Aid of West Virginia (LAWV), the largest non-profit law firm providing free civil legal services and advocacy in West Virginia, seeks a visionary and collaborative individual to serve as its next executive director. For more than 70 years, LAWV (and its predecessor organizations) has been the primary provider of civil legal services and advocacy to low-income and vulnerable West Virginians. Legal Aid of West Virginia has a motivated and passionate staff of 170, including approximately 80 attorneys located in twelve regional offices across the state.
The next Executive Director will join LAWV at a time of strong organizational leadership, successful staff advocacy, and positive relationships with community partners and those involved in the justice community.
Key Areas of Responsibility Include:
- Providing visionary, strategic and collaborative leadership to accomplish LAWV’s mission and to improve the availability and quality of civil legal aid for low-income and vulnerable people in West Virginia;
- Safeguarding LAWV’s fiscal health, stability, integrity, and reputation through sound financial planning;
- Successfully managing an approximately $14.7 million civil legal aid program in accordance with the policies and programmatic decisions of LAWV’s Board of Directors and the requirements of funders;
- Engaging and inspiring staff members, board members, clients, and other stakeholders to understand and support the organizational mission, including its work to address poverty;
- Working with the Board, leadership team, and staff to develop and implement policies to fulfill LAWV’s mission.
- For additional areas of responsibility, go to Careers – Legal Aid WV
Key qualities or qualifications of the successful candidate include:
- Successful and experienced non-profit, public interest, government or law firm experiences without a law degree; or
- Juris Doctor degree and admission to the West Virginia Bar, or the ability to obtain admission following hiring;
- Significant management experience necessary to direct LAWV’s operations, manage staff, and oversee large budgets, with legal aid or nonprofit experience preferred;
- Significant knowledge of nonprofit budgeting, financial functions, grant reporting, and compliance;
- Broad and deep public interest legal experience across a range of issues;
- Experience working productively with an engaged board of directors;
- Demonstrated commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion activities;
- For additional qualifications, go to: Careers – Legal Aid WV
Application Process:
To receive consideration, candidates should submit their applications by November 15, 2024. Interested candidates should submit a cover letter expressing why they are interested in the position, as well as what they believe they can contribute to the future of the organization and its client community. The letter should be accompanied by a current resume and the names and contact information of three professional and three personal references.
Application materials should be in Microsoft Word or PDF format submitted to executivedirectorapplication@lawv.net. Applications will be held in confidence during the initial stages of the process. The organizational contact for candidates with questions about the position or process is Jennifer Greening, Director of Human Resources and Operations at jgreening@lawv.net . The Board of Directors contact is Andy Nason, President of the Board of Directors, at andyn@peppernason.com .
LAWV’s Board intends to make a hiring decision in early February 2025, with the successful candidate joining the organization soon after. Salary depends on experience based on a competitive public-interest salary scale. Benefits include comprehensive health and dental insurance, a 403b retirement plan with matching contributions and a generous leave package. For additional benefits information go to: Careers – Legal Aid WV
Read more about LAWV’s work at: www.legalaidwv.org
LAWV is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer committed to the value of workforce diversity. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, age, religion, sex, gender identity, national origin, physical or mental disability, protected veterans or sexual orientation.
