Membership Program Manager

Law For Black Lives Call for Applications

Position Description: Membership Program Manager

Deadline: Please submit resume, cover letter, writing sample and at least three references by Friday, January 2, 2026_for priority review. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.

Law for Black Lives (L4BL) is seeking a knowledgeable and experienced relational leader to join the organization as the Membership Program Manager. This position is a unique opportunity to develop and maintain programming for an emerging network of radical lawyers, law students, legal workers, and jailhouse lawyers supporting the work of Black-led organizing and the movement for Black liberation.

About Law for Black Lives

Law For Black Lives (L4BL) is dedicated to transforming the legal field by promoting movement lawyering and cultivating a national community of radical law students, lawyers, and legal workers, building the power of local organizing to defend, protect, and advance Black Liberation, and transforming the law to change the conditions of the struggle and defend Black Lives. L4BL is a fiscally sponsored project at NEO Philanthropy.

Through the coordination and provision of legal support, training, mentorship, research, political education, policy and popular education tools, we are building a legal infrastructure that is responsive, action-oriented and collaborative.

Role Description & Key Responsibilities

The Membership Program Manager will oversee and strengthen membership programs that cultivate political education, practical lawyering skills, and movement readiness among our network.

Working closely with the Membership Director and Membership Development Manager, the Membership Program Manager will help design and execute programs that grow members’ political praxis, movement competence, movement lawyering skills, and commitment to rigorously supporting movement. The person in this role will ensure our members—lawyers, law students, legal workers, and jailhouse lawyers—are equipped to support organizing and transformative social change movements with rigor, discipline, and alignment with abolitionist, Black queer feminist, and anti-capitalist values.

This role requires a strong grasp of lawyering, the legal profession, and the dynamics of movement lawyering. A background in law or legal practice is preferred, as this position calls for fluency in both legal culture and the needs of movement partners.

The Membership Program Manager will work under the direction of the Memberships Director to ensure the Membership Department meets its goal of building and maintaining L4BL’s base of law students, legal workers, and lawyers who are dedicated to L4BL’s mission, committed to supporting L4BL’s activities, and more than capable of providing support to movement organizations working towards Black liberation. Specifically, the Membership Program Manager will be responsible for managing the following key pieces of work:

LEADERSHIP:

• Support the Membership Director in implementing L4BL’s strategic vision for leadership development, skills building, and political education
• Represent the organization to key stakeholders
• Represent the organization and Membership Department at key convenings, conferences, and movement gatherings
• Embody and practice the organization’s core values in all aspects of program design, facilitation, and external engagement
• Provide thought partnership and contribute to long-term strategy to build a disciplined and politically grounded membership base

MEMBERSHIP:

• Develop, lead, and manage a rigorous calendar of membership programs that nurture political education, skills development, leadership, and community among members, including:
  • Practice-Based Groups (online)
  • Support Groups (online)
  • Leadership Programs
  • Immersive Field Trips
  • Town Halls
  • Political Education Webinars
  • Movement Lawyering Skills Training
  • Immersive Intensives and In-Person offerings
• Design and facilitate programs that strengthen members’ capacity to engage in movement lawyering and to provide responsive, accountable support to community and movement partners
  • Develop. manage, and facilitate regular membership program offerings, including regularly scheduled political education, skills training, and CLEs in coordination and collaboration with the Membership Director and the Research, Education, and Training Department
  • Manage members’ Summer School programming and other In-Person Political Education & Training Intensives in coordination and collaboration with the Membership Director
• Manage membership meet-ups and networking events with the Membership Development Manager
• Regularly assess and respond to members’ political education and skills-building needs in collaboration with the Membership Development Manager
• Ensure the overall quality and integrity of the member experience across all programs
• Maintain systems to document, evaluate, and report on program impact, participation, and emerging needs
• Manage communication with members regarding upcoming programs, opportunities, and engagement pathways
• Collaborate with the Membership Director and Membership Development Manager to:
  • Support recruitment and retention strategies.
  • Support tracking membership data and metrics.
  • Coordinate membership-wide meetings and town halls.
  • Support the creation of pathways for leadership and professional development within the membership base.

PARTNERSHIPS:

• Support the organization’s rapid response protocol and coordinate L4BL’s rapid response efforts.
• Work with the Partnerships department to form connections between our membership and local base-building and assist with relationship-building.
• Work with the Partnerships department to support regional Freedom Labs* for collaboration and coordination on local issues and campaigns.

RESEARCH, EDUCATION & TRAINING:

• Work with the Research, Education, and Training department to coordinate membership research efforts and to conduct research on key political, policy, and legal areas,

STRATEGIC OPPORTUNITIES:

• Identify opportunities for resource development, partnership, and strategic alignment that advance L4BL’s mission and strengthen the membership network
• Contribute to long-term strategy and innovation within the Membership Department to ensure sustainability and political rigor

Skills & Experiences

• Deep commitment to and enthusiasm for the mission, values, and vision of L4BL.
• Familiarity and comfort with L4BL’s values and those of fellow abolitionist movement partners with a strong understanding of Black organizing, Black liberation, intersectionality, and anti-oppression principles and practices.
• Proven track record of utilizing personal and professional engagements to successfully engage with Law for Black Lives politics (including Black Queer Feminism, Abolition, and movement lawyering)
• J.D. Required; licensed attorney preferred
• At least 2-3 years of experience working in the legal field, with lawyers, law students, and legal workers.
• Proven ability to design, facilitate, and evaluate political education or professional development programs.
• Ability to effectively facilitate and lead meetings.
• Experience engaging lawyers, law students, and legal workers in political or professional development programs.
• Excellent facilitation and relationship-building skills; ability to foster trust, accountability, and collective leadership among members.
• Exceptional organizational and project management skills, with the ability to manage multiple programs simultaneously.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills, including the ability to present to groups with varied levels of prior knowledge and experience.
• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, collaborative, and values-driven work environment.
• Able to effectively represent L4BL to a variety of audiences and communities.
• Ability to work well with a team.

Position: Full-time salaried employee. Overtime exempt.

Compensation: $85,000 - $93,000 commensurate with experience. Through NEO Philanthropy, this position is offered a full benefits package, including 100% medical coverage for the employee and 90% medical coverage for dependents; 100% coverage for vision, dental, life/AD&D, and long-term disability. NEO also offers a 401K retirement savings plan, Healthcare Reimbursement Arrangement (HRA), Medical FSA, Dependent Care FSA, commuter benefits, Employee Assistance Program, other supplemental benefits and paid time off.

Location: This is a remote position; however, extensive quarterly travel will be required.

Start Date: February 2025

Reports To: Membership Director

Physical Requirements:

• Must be able to lift 25 lbs
• Ability to sit or stand for prolonged periods in meetings or while working on a computer
• Frequently required to sit, stand, walk and reach
• Required to push, pull, lift and carry

Vaccination Requirement: L4BL at NEO Philanthrophy Inc. staff are required to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Requests for medical and/or religious exemptions from the vaccination requirement will be considered on an individual basis.

TO APPLY: Submit a cover letter, resume, writing sample, and three (3)references at bit.ly/L4BLWork.

L4BL at NEO Philanthropy is an equal opportunity employer. We consider applicants for all positions without regard to race, color, religion, creed, gender, national origin, age, disability, marital or veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or any other legally protected status. We strongly encourage Black people, people of color, women, LGBTQ people, people with disabilities, and people who have been directly impacted by the criminal legal system to apply.

Law for Black Lives Guiding Values

• We believe in using the law for the people and that legal tools should be used to build the power of movements.
• We are committed to the liberation and self-determination of all Black people -- including Black women and LGBTQIA folks.
• We hold ourselves accountable to support movements for Black liberation including organic uprisings. This means following the leadership of movement organizers and taking direction and feedback from our partners.
• We are political. We understand that this work requires political lawyering and explicit partnership with movement activists/organizers.
• We strive to think creatively and collectively about how the law can be used to support movements while respecting activists’ and organizers’ political choices.
• We are unapologetically committed to developing and following the leadership of Black people within the law.
• We believe in the importance and necessity of an agile and radical legal infrastructure that supports liberation movements.
• We believe in actively combatting the elitism, hierarchies, and lawyer-centric tendencies within the legal world.
• We believe in an internationalist approach that draws connections between the struggle for human rights and dignity in Black communities in the United States and across the globe.
• We are committed to continued growth and in the words of Mary Hooks, we are willing and ready to be transformed in service of the work.
• We believe in creating a space that is affirming, healing, transparent, and respectful. We work to ensure that those spaces don’t replicate the kinds of oppression, harm, and trauma that we are working against.

Through NEO Philanthropy, this position is offered a full benefits package, including 100% medical coverage for the employee and 90% medical coverage for dependents; 100% coverage for vision, dental, life/AD&D, and long-term disability. NEO also offers a 401K retirement savings plan, Healthcare Reimbursement Arrangement (HRA), Medical FSA, Dependent Care FSA, commuter benefits, Employee Assistance Program, other supplemental benefits and paid time off.

English language proficiency required