Associate General Counsel (Policy & Network Support)

Application Deadline: May 6, 2024, 11:59PM CT for full consideration 

Instructions: Click the following link abortionfunds.bamboohr.com/jobs and upload your resume and cover letter. If you have any questions or trouble with the application process, send a message to jobs [at] abortionfunds.org

Date to Hire: July 22, 2024

Hiring Timeline: The hiring timeline listed here is our best estimate, and intended to assist applicants with planning throughout the process. If the timeline changes by more than a week, we will inform all applicants.

• April 25 - Job Posting Open
• May 6 - Job Posting Closes
• May 20 - Conduct Phone Screens
• June 3 - Conduct Virtual Interviews
• June 17 - Conduct Final Interviews
• June 24 - Selection, Reference Checks & Job Offer
• July 22-  Day One!

Are you looking for us?

You are a principled, thoughtful, and empathetic leader who believes in the power of the law to effect change as deeply as you understand its limitations. You are comfortable with nuance and complexity, and provide pragmatic and accessible legal advice that empowers the people around you to move boldly and with intention. You are attuned to the shifting legal and political landscape impacting abortion access and eager to deepen your knowledge of the legal issues impacting communities on the ground. You are a clear, direct, and courageous communicator, regardless of method or audience, and thrive on collaboration. You understand and appreciate different perspectives and value your relationships with coworkers and collaborators as much as the work you accomplish together.

Organizational Overview:

The National Network of Abortion Funds (NNAF) builds power with members to remove financial and logistical barriers to abortion access by centering people who have abortions and organizing at the intersections of racial, economic and reproductive justice. Together with our members, we advocate for cultural and political change to ensure access for people who face the greatest obstacles to abortion access: people with lower income, people of color, young people, and transgender and gender nonconforming people. This is an exciting time for NNAF as we grow, nurture new funds emerging in underserved areas, deepen our support for funds working within the reproductive justice framework, and co-lead a bold national coalition campaign to increase abortion access by restoring Medicaid coverage for abortion. We are working to make access to abortion a reality for everyone, no matter their resources. We are building a movement, mentoring young leaders, and working toward a world in which everyone can shape their own futures and families.  We invite you to join us as the newest member of our dedicated and growing team at a time when we are explicitly focused on scaling our network and building the infrastructure of abortion funds to be fully staffed organizations with robust abortion funding budgets.

NNAF is comprised of a multi-racial, multi-religious, gender expansive staff of 70, located across the United States. We know how important it is to support our remote staff to maintain connection and cohesiveness as a team. To this end, we ensure weekly one-on-one supervision, face-to-face virtual staff meetings, quarterly in-person meetings, and more.

Title: Associate General Counsel (Policy & Network Support)

Supervised by: General Counsel

Supervises: N/A

Status: The position is full-time, exempt, salaried.

Union eligible position: No

Compensation: $100,791 - $123,127, commensurate with experience, with competitive benefits package

Location: Flexible (Remote)

Benefits: Best in Class benefits package currently including 100% employer paid health insurance plus 50% for dependents/families, a 5% employer retirement match, 32-hour work weeks, 3 weeks vacation, 13 holidays, generous sick time, and a commitment to professional development.

Position Description

The Associate General Counsel, Policy & Network Support collaborates closely with the General Counsel to offer responsive, practical, and values-aligned information and advice to support the programs, operations, and membership of the National Network of Abortion Funds (NNAF). They serve as a thought partner to NNAF’s departments, staff, and network of abortion funds as they navigate the shifting legal landscape that applies to abortion access, and envision and pursue opportunities to amplify the voices and experiences of abortion funds and people who have abortions in spaces where laws and policies are made or changed. In partnership with NNAF’s Movement Building Team and General Counsel, the Associate General Counsel plays a key role in envisioning and implementing the legal and policy strategy for the Network and positioning NNAF as a thought leader in the reproductive health, rights, and justice movement.  

Essential Job Functions 

Legal Strategy and Technical Support for Network (approximately 60% of the position)

• Track legal and legislative developments impacting abortion funds and people who have abortions.  
• Envision and create resources and offerings for member funds that provide legal information and practical advice about legal issues relevant to them and their work.
• Develop and maintain collaborative relationships with movement partners and other values-aligned organizations to create and streamline legal resources, support, and opportunities available to member funds.
• Provide technical assistance to NNAF’s member funds to support them in assessing and managing risk and understanding and navigating the laws that apply to them and the people they support.
• Collaborate closely with member funds, NNAF’s fund-facing departments, movement partners, and other values-aligned organizations to develop and implement NNAF’s legal and policy strategy and position NNAF as a thought leader in the reproductive health, rights, and justice movement.

Legal Oversight and Risk Management (approximately 20% of the position)

• Research and provide legal advice regarding legal and legislative developments relevant to NNAF’s operations and programs.  
• Collaborate across departments to define, assess, develop, and implement policies, procedures, and programs that further NNAF’s mission and values, effectively manage risk, and are compliant with laws applicable to them.  
• Build and manage relationships with outside counsel, as appropriate. 

Management (approximately 10% of the position)

• Department Leadership: 
• Collaborate with and support the General Counsel in effectively implementing department workplans.  
• Organizational Leadership:
• Serve as a key member of the Leadership Team and leader in the organization and among stakeholders, as applicable. 
• Prepare and present reports and analysis to the Leadership Team, Board of Directors, and funders, when necessary. 
• Translate organizational values into organizational culture, and support effective coordination across departments.
• Participate in the development, oversight, and evaluation of the Strategic Plan, and create and monitor the department budget and annual operating plan.
• Supervise assigned staff, as needed and appropriate: Write position descriptions and hire assigned staff.  Conduct supervision and evaluations and foster a relationship of mutual feedback. Provide ongoing mentoring to facilitate strategic growth for assigned staff and monitor individual work plans. Conduct necessary performance improvement plans, terminations, and other personnel actions in accordance with personnel policies.

Other (approximately 10% of the position)

• Actively participate in required convenings, summits, retreats, and staff meetings, and participate in required virtual staff communications.
• Protect the organization by keeping information confidential.
• Update professional knowledge by participating in educational opportunities approved by NNAF, maintaining networks, and participating in professional organizations as relevant to your role.
• Perform duties required of all staff to support smooth internal operations such as submitting timely expense reports, reimbursement requests, and timesheets. 
• Perform other duties as assigned by your supervisor.

Travel Expectations

Ability to travel as the job requires, approximately 6-8 times minimum per year. Travel will primarily be overnight, for approximately 2-5 days, and national. Regardless of where you live, and barring travel delays outside of your control, you must be able to arrive at the destination on-time.

Benchmarks

• Support NNAF’s operational, strategic, and programmatic objectives by serving as a thought partner and providing practical, reliable, and nuanced legal advice to its departments and staff.  
• Support our network of member funds by staying attuned to the ever-evolving legal landscape that applies to them and their work and providing legal information, practical advice, and coordination that is responsive, grounded, and values-aligned. 
• Develop and maintain meaningful and collaborative relationships with member funds, movement partners, and other values-aligned organizations to shape and implement NNAF’s policy and legal strategy.  
• Submit all baseline work accurately and on time every cycle.  Baseline work includes bill.com (monthly) submissions or submitting reimbursements within 30 days of expenses, workplanning in Trello (keeping your own annual and quarterly workplan updated and participating in maintaining your department's, if applicable), Slack and email communication (daily), timesheets in ADP (bi-weekly), participating in all staff meetings (monthly) and department meetings, and consistently working core hours.


Qualifications 

Job experience requirements

• Juris Doctor degree from an accredited law school.
• Active license to practice law in any state or territory of the United States. 
• Three or more years of relevant legal experience, such as law firm or in-house employment.  

Specific skill sets 

• Excellent legal research, writing, and analytical skills, including the ability to condense complex legal concepts into accurate, practical, and accessible advice and information for non-lawyers, without sacrificing nuance.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, including collaborating effectively, understanding and appreciating different perspectives and aligning expectations, recognizing when others should lead, and navigating and maintaining meaningful relationships with coworkers and collaborators.
• Effective project management skills, including the ability to manage competing priorities, work under pressure and meet deadlines, and quickly and easily adapt strategies and approaches as circumstances change.  
• Experience providing legal advice directly to clients.  
• Demonstrated commitment to giving and receiving feedback that strengthens relationships and helps people grow.  

Preferred skill sets

• Experience advising nonprofit organizations, either in-house or as outside counsel. 
• Knowledge of the legal frameworks applicable to abortion access, and knowledge of reproductive justice and other social justice frameworks.  
• Experience providing legal advice that directly impacts and centers people who hold marginalized identities or are from under-resourced communities. 

Qualities

• Committed to abortion access and full reproductive health care for all.
• Committed to an intersectional framework that includes, but is not limited to gender, economic, and racial justice.
• Ability to enjoy collaboration and be a part of a dynamic, highly productive and integrated team; maintain flexibility and effectively manage ambiguity in a responsive work environment.
• Self-motivated, resourceful, creative, and able to work without significant day-to-day supervision.
• Open to giving and receiving feedback and committed to practicing this regularly.
• Belief in bucking the trend through progressive policies to create a new vision for our future.
• Appreciation of working with diverse staff and board in an organization committed to racial justice.

Work Environment 

The physical demands and work environment described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with different abilities to perform the essential functions. 

• This position is fully remote. You must be able to participate in online virtual communications including email, video conferencing, and other online tools used to facilitate virtual office culture and work sharing. 
• This position is full-time. You and your supervisor will agree to your regular full-time schedule, which should include  attendance during core business hours from 12:00pm – 5:00pm Eastern Time, Monday through Thursday. You may be required to work occasionally on evenings and weekends, as needed.
• You must be able to conduct business in English. Fluency in languages other than English is a plus. 
• Smoke- and drug-free environment.
• Some work at off-site locations may be required. NNAF aims for accessibility in any off-site location that we have control of, but some of them may not be fully accessible.
• This role routinely uses standard office equipment such as computers, phones, and scanners. You are regularly required to communicate effectively via computer, via phone, and in person.
• This role requires frequent sitting. 

NNAF is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate against any individual based on any non-merit factor, and is committed to an equitable workplace where everyone is treated as a respected and valued member of the team. In fact, NNAF actively seeks to build and maintain a diverse staff with regard to race, culture, ethnicity, class, religion, physical ability, age, gender, and sexual orientation. As an organization working in solidarity with the reproductive justice movement, NNAF is committed to fostering the leadership and elevating the voices of women, young people, people of color, Native people, immigrant and refugees, low-income people, LGBQ+, and transgender, gender non-conforming, and non-binary people, people who have had abortions, people with disabilities, young parents, people who were formerly imprisoned, people who have received funding for abortions, and people living in the many intersections of these experiences. We encourage people from these communities to apply.

Best in Class benefits package currently including 100% employer paid health insurance plus 50% for dependents/families, a 5% employer retirement match, 32-hour work weeks, 3 weeks vacation, 13 holidays, generous sick time, and a commitment to professional development.