Training Manager (JD Required)

Who We Are

Children’s Law Center is a mission-driven organization focused on providing high-quality legal services to children and families in DC. As an organization, we envision a world in which all children have a strong foundation of family, health and education and are free from poverty, trauma, racism and other forms of oppression. Our mission is to do this work together with DC children and families, Children’s Law Center uses the law to solve children’s urgent problems today, improve the systems that will affect their lives tomorrow and strengthen our community so that change endures. A key part of our mission is to challenge and reduce ways in which racism and other biases – structural and interpersonal – prevent each of us, our organization and the systems in which we work from providing children a strong foundation from which to thrive.

Our greatest assets are our people. We recognize that people with diverse backgrounds, experiences and perspectives fuel our ability to provide the best outcomes for our clients and our community. Staff members at Children’s Law Center advance the organization’s mission through their leadership, result-oriented mindset and commitment to cultural humility. We are looking for individuals who like to be challenged to grow both personally and professionally and value the opportunity to make a difference in their community. Children's Law Center's continued success depends on recruiting and retaining individuals who possess and exemplify these attributes.

Job Summary

The Training Manager will be responsible for analyzing, designing, developing, implementing and evaluating training programs tailored to the needs of all staff and volunteers. The role will focus on developing and implementing a training program that supports the organization’s mission, builds staff skills and, in partnership with program leads, ensures legal staff stay current with evolving laws, best practices, and emerging trends in their practice areas. The role involves identifying training needs, developing legal-specific learning content and overseeing professional development training delivery to staff. The Training Manager will also promote cost-effective training solutions, leveraging partnerships and resources to ensure that training is accessible and impactful within a non-profit environment.

Role Responsibilities

Program Design and Development

• Consult with program leads to develop and update training programs, materials and resources tailored to staff needs and reflecting the organization's unique challenges and priorities.
• Create detailed training schedules and ensure training programs are aligned with organizational goals and objectives.
• Design inclusive training programs that accommodate varying legal experience and resources with clear and measurable learning goals.
• Utilize available non-profit resources, partnerships with law schools or pro bono experts to design training solutions.

Learning Needs Assessment

• Conduct learning needs assessments by collaborating with program leads and conducting surveys and interviews to identify employees' current and future development and training needs.
• Collaborate with HIRED to support staff career progression and talent retention strategies by identifying skill gaps and creating pathways for further professional development.

Training Delivery

• Oversee the execution and delivery of training programs, ensuring they are delivered on time, meet defined learning objectives and are developed in accordance with universal design principles to promote accessibility and inclusion.
• Ensure all training for legal staff required under grants to the organization is undertaken by CLC staff and delivered by CLC staff.
• Organize and facilitate in-person and virtual training sessions on various topics relevant to staff, including legal advocacy, pro bono work and issues that impact the organization’s mission and operations.
• Deploy various training methods to ensure staff receive training tailored to their roles and responsibilities and create training materials and instructional content to enhance learning as required.
• Work with subject matter experts to ensure training content and materials are regularly updated to reflect changes in laws, regulations, legal technologies and best practices.

Training Coordination

• Identify and engage external trainers and subject matter experts to provide training on topics as necessary.
• Coordinate staff with expertise to lead in-house trainings.
• Manage organizational training calendar.
• Support volunteer and intern training, ensuring they understand the duties and responsibilities of their roles and the organization's mission.

Tracking and Evaluation

• Track and manage lawyer and social work compliance with mandatory training certifications and requirements.
• Develop mechanisms to assess the effectiveness of training programs, including post-training assessments and feedback to continuously improve the quality and impact of training programs.
• Keep accurate records of training participation, certification and development progress for all staff via the organization’s learning management system (LMS).
• Provide regular reports to the Director of Pro Bono and Integrated Legal Services detailing training activities, feedback, costs, the success of training programs and suggested areas for improvement.

Legal Technology Training

• Implement training on legal-specific software, tools and platforms as needed, such as legal research databases (e.g., Westlaw, LexisNexis).
• Coordinate with the Evaluation and Learning Team on case management system (e.g., Legal Server) training.
• Ensure that legal staff are proficient in using legal technology and remain informed on new legal technology innovations.

Budget Management and Resource Allocation

• Manage organizational training funds for all staff.
• Identify cost-effective training resources, including leveraging free or low-cost training platforms, virtual learning tools, partnerships with universities or law firms and in-house expertise.

Community and Stakeholder Engagement

• Foster relationships as needed with local law firms, law schools and other non-profits to develop partnerships for training and legal support.

Required Skills and Experience

• JD and Bar membership in any jurisdiction (DC preferred). Bar membership does not need to be active for this position.
• At least seven years’ experience in training, legal education or professional development.
• Post-JD litigation experience, including trial experience.
• Experience designing and implementing training programs.
• Strong interpersonal, communication and facilitation skills, with the ability to engage a diverse group of legal and non-legal staff.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in legal services environment preferred.
• Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to build relationships across all levels of the organization.
• Strong presentation and communication skills, with the ability to engage and inspire diverse audiences.
• Commitment to fostering an inclusive and diverse workplace culture.
• Passion for continuous improvement and lifelong learning.
• A demonstrated commitment to social, economic, and racial justice.
• Ability to be self-reflective and give and receive constructive and corrective feedback.
• Ability to work with colleagues across programs to achieve objectives.
• Ability to build and maintain strong relationships with external stakeholders.
• Demonstrated experience in managing multiple projects simultaneously and adapting training plans in response to evolving needs.
• Familiarity with e-learning platforms, adult learning principles and instructional design methodologies.
• Experience with training software, learning management systems (LMS) and virtual platforms preferred.
• Teaching experience a plus.
• Certification in training and development (e.g., ATD, CPTD) a plus.
• Experience with data collection and analysis a plus.

Organizational Competencies

• Cultural Humility – an openness to self-reflection and to understanding and respecting other cultural experiences and points of view and viewing individuals as experts in their own culture and experiences.
• Giving and Receiving Feedback – the ability to be self-reflective, give and receive appreciative, coaching, constructive, interpersonal and evaluative feedback.
• Conflict Management – a process which is designed to guide individuals and groups from the moment of conflict to the implementation of an identified solution. This process incorporates skills and techniques, including recognizing points of conflict, identifying the facts and feelings involved to get to the root of the issue, investigating equitable solutions, implementing and evaluating solutions, and supporting and guiding others throughout the process.

Hybrid Working Conditions

Children’s Law Center is currently operating on a hybrid work schedule. Employees are required to work in-person from Children’s Law Center’s office a minimum of two days per week. At least one of these days must be either Tuesday or Wednesday. The hybrid work schedule is subject to change based on organizational needs and/or best practices for health and safety. Hybrid work expectations may vary depending upon role responsibilities.

Work Authorization

Applicants must be authorized to work for any employer in the U.S. Children’s Law Center is unable to sponsor or take over sponsorship of an employment visa at this time.

Background Checks

Candidates who receive a conditional offer of employment will be subject to a background check.

EEO

Children’s Law Center is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to equal employment opportunities for all applicants and existing employees. We evaluate qualified applicants without regard to ancestry, age, color, disability, genetic information, gender identity, gender expression, marital status, military or veteran status, national origin, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, and any other basis protected by federal, state, or local law, ordinance, or regulation. In compliance with federal law, all persons hired will be required to verify identity and eligibility to work in the United States and to complete the required employment eligibility verification form upon hire. We invite you to visit our website to learn more about our company and our career opportunities (https://childrenslawcenter.org/get-involved/careers/).

Our Commitment

Children’s Law Center is dedicated to building a world that is inclusive in approach and has equal opportunities and equitable outcomes for all. Our organization is committed to developing and supporting a robustly diverse, equitable, inclusive and anti-racist community, where all members can create and feel a sense of belonging. Through our collective deliberate efforts, we work toward racial and social justice for children and families in DC.