Director of WNC Economic Recovery Program

Pisgah Legal Services seeks an innovative and experienced person to lead and direct a multi-year grant funded expansion of anti-poverty work within the broad areas of free tax preparation/tax credits and outreach/enrollment for Affordable Care Act health insurance to take the organization to another level in addressing poverty. This ambitious program, the WNC Economic Recovery Program, is designed to have long-term impact through two main priorities: (1) reduce the child poverty rate in each WNC county and (2) increase the insured rate through quality, affordable health care coverage in each WNC county. The program will work in conjunction with the entire PLS legal aid staff to support expanding free legal assistance to help a growing number of very low-income people each year to solve problems related to basic needs, particularly housing, domestic violence, health care, and insufficient income. 

The Director position is a critical role in designing, leading and expanding current program work to include all 18 counties across WNC and to collaborate with key partners through the region to achieve meaningful results. The ideal candidate will possess a diverse background and relevant experience that includes proven leadership, demonstrated experience in new program development and implementation, effective supervision of both staff and volunteers, project management, program management and evaluation, and a track record of accountability in delivering meaningful program results and large-scale impact.

The Director will join a team of four Managing Attorneys and the Director of Community Engagement and MAVL Program. The position will lead and manage the expansion of PLS tax and ACA services across the 18 county WNC region and ultimately manage an estimated four Program Directors and total staff of approximately 20-25 positions and recruit a pool of 50-75 active volunteers. The scaling up of this anti-poverty program will require dedication, determination and commitment to reducing poverty across WNC. It is anticipated that this position will split time between locations in Haywood and McDowell counties (to be secured) to increase access to the regional programs and provide supervision and support to the staff. Both aspects of the program, described in an overview below, flow together through complimentary overlap in terms of IRS tax reporting and Health Insurance tax credits that must be reconciled through tax filing as well as the priority goals as noted above.

Overview of Tax Preparation/Tax Credit: PLS currently operates a volunteer-based VITA program for free tax preparation in partnership with our medical-legal partnership program. The program has operated for 4 tax seasons with limited funding and staff capacity. The WNC Economic Recovery Program envisions a team of dedicated staff positions and a robust volunteer base to extend free tax services across the 18 counties through regional locations. The program will prioritize very low-income individuals and families eligible for the Earned Income Tax Credit and the new Child Tax Credit. Additionally, the program will target education and outreach for non-filers (those currently under the income threshold to file taxes with the IRS) who would be eligible to apply for the refundable tax credits and increase income for low-income households (IRS averages $7000 per family). A key partner in the WNC Economic Recovery Program is OnTrack Financial Services. PLS and OnTrack will collaborate to reach non-filers and low-income households across the region.

Overview of the Health Justice:  ACA Enrollment & Outreach:  PLS has successfully implemented a program that has grown in staff size and volunteer capacity for 8 years. We have received recognition and funding to replicate our model of using volunteers to assist with enrollment work and leverage staff capacity. In 2020, PLS received grant support to prioritize outreach in BIPOC and rural communities in WNC as we continue to prioritize health equity and access to affordable and quality health care through our Health Justice work. The program currently has a program director and dedicated staff as well as a corps of 30 experienced volunteers. The program currently serves 11 counties in WNC and has tailored the workflow to provide services remotely by phone as necessary during COVID-19. In addition, PLS may receive federal funding for federal ACA Navigator work which requires additional reporting and implementation. The Health Justice team will expand to all 18 counties and provide education and outreach on both health insurance enrollment and tax credit opportunities.  PLS will partner with regional nonprofit Mountain Projects, Inc. for enrollment work and outreach in the far western counties of WNC.

Key Responsibilities

• Implement key aspects of the expanded health and tax services across WNC.
• Provide support in the hiring process that includes:  recruitment, onboarding, training and staff retention.
• Supervise and manage program staff and volunteers.
• Engage community leaders and partner organizations that serve children, and develop key community relationships and partnerships to reach low-income households and non-filing households.
• Provide education, outreach and trainings to constituents of partner organizations.
• Maintain a caseload, commensurate with experience and supervision role.
• Work with community partners to facilitate and incentivize referrals to PLS including review/creation of MOUs and referral processes.
• Help to administer major grant funding to implement this expanded and enhanced program and meeting grant goals.
• Frequent travel within 18 county western North Carolina region

Salary/ Benefits

Salary ranges from $50,310 – $95,434 depending on experience.  Excellent fringe benefits, including 401(k) retirement plan, as well as life, health, and disability insurance.

Resource:  Please see this analysis for a comprehensive overview of the policy implications and poverty reduction opportunity for the tax credits under ARPA-https://www.cbpp.org/research/federal-tax/state-and-local-child-tax-credit-outreach-needed-to-help-lift-hardest-to-reach?utm_source=NLIHC+All+Subscribers&utm_campaign=810b6e2f26-DHRC-Update-8-4-2021&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_e090383b5e-810b6e2f26-293386118&ct=t(DHRC-Update-8-4-2021)