Summary

Public Rights Project is a public interest legal nonprofit launched in 2017 to empower state and local governments to protect the rights and freedoms that define us as Americans. We support progressive state and local governments to enforce civil rights, consumer protection, and environmental laws. We work with state and local government offices, including Attorneys General, District Attorneys, and City Attorneys' Offices. We help them identify promising legal theories to enforce their residents' legal rights, and we help them marshal the resources to take action. We also run fellowship programs to embed early-career attorneys (3-5 years out of law school) in government for two years and to support the professional development of current mid-career attorneys in public service.

The Director of Fellowships will work closely with the Public Rights Project (PRP) Legal Director and the entire PRP team. The person in this position will oversee PRP’s two fellowship programs, including curriculum development, recruitment and selection processes, planning all fellowship-related events, and supporting all operational aspects of our growing, national fellowship programs. 

This is a full-time, exempt position based in our Oakland office, with the option for remote work from other parts of the country. PRP currently has staff in Oakland, Los Angeles, Boston, and New York.

Salary commensurate with experience; expected range $75,000-90,000 with generous benefits.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Fellowship

  • Day-to-day management of PRP’s two fellowships programs: the Public Rights Project Fellowship and the Affirmative Leaders Fellowship

  • Lead process to identify, recruit, and onboard host offices for Public Rights Project Fellowship

  • Spearhead recruiting and selection process for fellows in both programs, including refinement and execution of our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion strategy

  • Coordinate all aspects of fellowship selection process including recruitment of candidates, marketing of fellowships to law schools and broader legal community, enlisting of volunteer reviewers, initial candidate review, virtual interviews, and in-person selection processes

  • Develop content for communications to prospective and current host offices; prospective, current, and alumni fellows; partner organizations; and external audiences

  • Refine and augment training materials and other educational components of fellowship programs, in coordination with the rest of PRP’s Legal Team

  • Oversee delivery of fellowship programming, in coordination with the rest of PRP’s Legal Team

  • Coordinate and support fellows in both programs, including through regular check-ins, collection of updates and success stories, and ongoing communications to the cohorts

  • Coordinate with PRP’s Communications Director to place stories about fellows and PRP’s efforts to support state and local equitable enforcement

  • Coordinate obtaining continuing legal education certifications for PRP fellowship programming and administering credits to participant fellows

  • Track and analyze fellowship-related data

  • Create and execute our inaugural fellowship alumni programs

  • Work closely with PRP’s development team to secure grant funding to support our fellowship programs, including drafting grant proposals and reports and meeting with current and prospective funders as needed

  • Oversee expense reimbursements and accounts receivable for all fellowship-related revenues and expenses

  • Manage the budget for both fellowship programs, including producing reports and analyses of the programs’ revenues and expenses

• Event Planning

  • Manage all administrative aspects of 4+ fellowship-related events per year, including annual orientations for both fellowship programs and mid-fellowship convenings 

  • Manage and oversee all event planning contracts and vendors; including overseeing the administration of travel and accommodations for fellow; identifying space for trainings and receptions; and acting as onsite lead for convenings

• Other duties as assigned

Education and Experience

• Bachelor’s degree and 3-5 years of experience in law, fellowship programs, policy, government, research, or other relevant fields. May substitute 5 years of related experience for the degree requirement

• Law degree or experience working for legal nonprofits, law firms, law schools, or other legal organizations preferred

• Experience with fellowship programs as staff and/or as a fellow a plus

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Expert, detail-oriented, and proactive project and program management skills, including managing multiple programs concurrently

• Excellent oral and written communication 

• Ability and willingness both to complete and to oversee administrative tasks in support of team goals

• Experience monitoring, analyzing, and managing a budget

• Ability to deliver high-quality content and produce results on a deadline

• Ability to conduct research and provide analysis

• Experience or ability to learn the following systems: Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint, Salesforce, Asana, Netsuite

• Ability to work well with others and diverse groups

• Ability to manage and collaborate with vendors and outside consultants 

• Interest or experience in the following subject matters:

  • Civil Rights

  • Consumer Protection

  • Environmental Law

  • Workers’ Rights

• Commitment to building a culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion at PRP and in our fellowship programs

• A belief in the power of state and local government to make positive, progressive change in the world

• A passionate commitment to economic, racial, gender, and environmental justice

Organizational Relationship

Reports to the Legal Director

Physical Demands

Requires sitting, talking and listening for up to 8 hours per day. Certain situations may require lifting items up to 20 pounds. Position requires the ability to travel by car or plane for local and national travel up to 20 days per year.

Work Environment

30-40 hours a week. Based in Oakland with ability to work virtually.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

• Public Rights Project is committed to the principles and practices of equal employment opportunity. A diverse and inclusive workplace, both at Public Rights Project and within the government offices we serve, is a key ingredient for achieving our mission of building equitable enforcement capacity within state and local government. 

• We aim to assemble a team that reflects the world we live in and the communities we serve, including with respect to race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, and immigration status. People with personal or family experience with the type of harms we seek to combat, including wage theft, predatory lending, fraud, discrimination, and environmental degredation are particularly encouraged to apply.

How to Apply

Please send a resume and cover email to jon@publicrightsproject.org. Applications will be considered on a rolling basis.