Office Manager and Development Assistant

About Us

We are an equal opportunity organization. We welcome qualified applicants of all races, physical abilities, ethnicities, genders, gender identities or expressions, national origins, sexual orientations, creeds, religions, and ages. We also welcome qualified applicants who are pregnant, have veteran status, have a history of union membership or activism, and who have been previously incarcerated or system involved.

Texas Defender Service (TDS) seeks an experienced, motivated Office Manager and Development Assistant. This is an exciting opportunity to join a vibrant, growing team dedicated to serving people harmed by incarceration in the State of Texas.

The salary range for this position starts at $50,000 depending on experience. Texas Defender Service offers an excellent, fully employer-paid benefits package. This position reports to the Deputy Director. The location of this opportunity is Austin, Texas.

Our Mission

At Texas Defender Service, we fight for the end of mass incarceration and excessive punishment in Texas through direct representation, policy reform, and public education. We champion the dignity and humanity of people harmed by mass incarceration, and advocate for a reimagined legal system that is just, humane, and free from racism and cruelty.

History

Texas Defender Service is dedicated to ending mass incarceration and excessive punishment in Texas through direct representation, policy reform, and public education. For over a quarter century, we have fought for justice for the most disadvantaged people impacted by Texas’s criminal-legal system.

Since 2018 alone, Texas Defender Service has saved 58 lives from execution or a death sentence. We have given voice to the humanity of our clients, their families, and their communities, and led transformative policy initiatives for people facing serious sentences, including help create a statewide public defender office to represent capital defendants in their

state habeas proceedings, and achieving passage of a law, among the first of its kind, to permit new trials for defendants whose convictions were premised on junk science. Texas Defender Service has argued and won five cases before the United States Supreme Court, and achieved countless victories for clients who faced serious punishments because of their mental illness, intellectual disability, or race.

Today, TDS represents people sentenced to mandatory life without parole as children, advocates for second chances for people seeking to return home on parole so they can be reunited with their communities, and champions the cases of people who are innocent and were wrongfully convicted. TDS leads important research and policy-reform efforts that expose the fundamental need to build a more humane, evidence-based legal system, including reports on Texas's disturbing shortcomings in freeing the innocent and racial bias in Harris County's use of the death penalty. In 2024, we launched our pro bono program to match deserving candidates seeking parole with pro bono attorneys to advocate for their return to their communities and families.

Our legal advocacy and research is frequently profiled in the New York Times, the Texas Tribune, the Houston Chronicle, the Houston Landing, Texas Monthly, the Associated Press, People magazine, and many other publications.

Position Overview

The Office Manager & Development Assistant is the administrative and operational backbone of Texas Defender Service. This role supports the Deputy Director and Executive Director by keeping internal operations running smoothly, supporting financial and office systems, and assisting with fundraising and development efforts. The ideal candidate is highly organized, detail-oriented, and excited to support a mission-driven organization. This is a full-time, in office position.

Key Responsibilities

Office & Operations Management

• Ensure the smooth and efficient daily operation of the TDS office
• Manage incoming and outgoing mail, phone calls, and general inquiries
• Maintain office organization and administrative systems
• Coordinate purchasing of office supplies and other operational needs

Financial Operations Support

• Assist with day-to-day financial tasks, including bookkeeping support, bill payment, expense reports, and logging checks
• Coordinate with the organization’s accountant and assist with audit preparation

Development & Fundraising Support

• Manage and maintain TDS’s donor database, ensuring accuracy and completeness
• Process and acknowledge donations, including preparing acknowledgment letters and coordinating handwritten thank-you notes and Impact Reports
• Track donations from foundations and individual donors
• Proofread grant proposals and other fundraising materials
• Support planning and execution of the annual Light of Justice Luncheon and other fundraising events

Human Resources & Administrative Support

• Assist with staff onboarding and offboarding
• Provide administrative support to the Executive Director and Deputy Director, including travel booking, board meeting preparation, and expense tracking
• Provide paralegal support for legal filings, like proof reading, printing, and assembling

Qualifications

• Strong organizational and administrative skills with high attention to detail
• Experience with office management, nonprofit administration, or development support preferred
• Comfort working with financial information and databases
• Strong written and verbal communication skills
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and work independently
• Commitment to TDS’s mission and values

Compensation & Benefits

• TDS covers 100% of employee medical, dental, and vision insurance
• Generous paid time off and holidays
• Supportive, mission-driven work environment

Compensation & Benefits

• TDS covers 100% of employee medical, dental, and vision insurance
• Generous paid time off and holidays
• Supportive, mission-driven work environment