Deputy Director

Tahirih is seeking an experienced attorney with deep management expertise to serve as its Deputy Director with accountability for delivery of holistic legal services and community education nationally. S/he will directly manage  local office directors, promote and cultivate local office growth; ensure programmatic consistency and quality nationally; support legal staff nationwide regarding key ethical and strategic legal services questions that arise; publicly represent the organization; and lead Tahirih’s expansion to two additional sites within the next three years.  S/he will look for strategic legal impact opportunities and support the drafting of amicus briefs, impact litigation, and public policy advocacy where appropriate. 

Based at Tahirih’s national headquarters office in Falls Church, VA, the Deputy Director will report to the Executive Director and will be a key player on the senior leadership team, participating in strategic decision making as Tahirih builds capacity and expands nationally. This position will require regular travel to Tahirih’s current (Houston and Baltimore) and future (two cities yet unidentified) local offices.
 

Primary Responsibilities

Programmatic

• Lead a high performing team of local directors who manage all aspects of local service delivery, community education and outreach, financial and operational sustainability of their offices.
• Institute a consistent monitoring, evaluation, and learning plan across local offices, including establishing qualitative and quantitative performance measurements.
• Ensure that all program activities maintain a high level of quality and ethics, supporting the mission and values of Tahirih.
• Provide technical assistance to local Directors and staff attorneys on matters related to relevant substantive areas of law, professional responsibility, and legal ethics.
• Ensure social services staff and their local Directors receive quality technical assistance on complex social services situations, professional responsibility and ethics.
• Serve as the “go to” person for programmatic trouble shooting and relationship management.
• Ensure high quality and consistent legal and social services throughout the organization, particularly supporting “best practices” knowledge sharing across offices.
• Ensure the quality, efficiency, and consistency of Tahirih’s pro bono legal program, including national-level training materials, retainer agreements, pro bono attorney engagement protocols, metrics, and key law firm relationships.
• Champion technologies to support national-level pro bono legal and social services’ program (e.g., pro bono attorney web-portal, brief bank, online training, etc.).
• Identify local and national trends and challenges facing Tahirih’s clients with a view to informing public policy advocacy.
• Strategize with public policy team regarding opportunities for initiating or contributing to impact litigation and amicus briefs.

Outreach and Development

• Coordinate with Communications Team to publicize Tahirih’s legal victories, briefs, practice-oriented guides and observation of trends with the larger legal community.

Represent Tahirih with external constituency groups, including community, governmental, and private organizations.

• Cultivate relationships with corporations, individual donors and foundations to support the organization.

Finance and Administration

• Lead local Directors in developing annual local office budgets in conjunction with the Director of Finance and Executive Director
• Oversee all personnel, budget and contract decisions for the five offices, ensuring sound fiscal management and continued financial viability of each office
• Work with the Operations Team to ensure Tahirih’s services are in compliance with all federal, state, and city regulations, certifications, and licensing requirements, including valid solicitations permits, current business registration, current insurance coverage, timely tax filings etc.

The Tahirih Justice Center (Tahirih) is a growing national non-profit organization that protects courageous immigrant women and girls who refuse to be victims of violence, elevating their voices in communities, courts and Congress. Through pro bono holistic legal services, community outreach and education and nonpartisan public policy advocacy, Tahirih empowers and supports women and girls seeking protection from gender-based human rights abuses such as domestic violence, sexual assault, human trafficking, female genital mutilation, “honor” crimes, and forced marriage. Tahirih is a Bahá'í-inspired organization and works to create a world where women and girls enjoy equality and live in safety and with dignity.  Winner of the 2010 Meyer Exponent Award which recognizes outstanding nonprofit executive directors and the 2007 Washington Post Award for Excellence in Nonprofit Management, Tahirih has a staff of 48 with offices in Falls Church, VA; Houston, TX; and Baltimore, MD.