Regional Director
Legal Aid Services of Oregon (LASO) is seeking a Regional Director for its Pendleton office. The Pendleton Regional Director leads an office of one-two staff attorneys and two support staff.
Background
LASO is a non-profit organization that represents low-income clients in civil cases. LASO’s eight regional offices serve low-income individuals throughout the state and two specialized programs focus on services to farmworkers and issues impacting Native Americans. LASO is an effective, high-quality legal services program committed to advocacy strategies with the broadest possible impact on client community problems. LASO is actively working to build an inclusive organizational culture that centers on racial equity. LASO is committed to recruiting and retaining a diverse workforce and providing a welcoming and culturally responsive environment for our staff and clients.
Pendleton is ideally situated near national forests, natural wilderness areas and scenic waterways that offer many opportunities for outside recreational activities, with some of the most beautiful scenery in the Pacific Northwest. An historic city that retains echoes of the old west, Pendleton is in sunny northeastern Oregon, about 3 1/2 hours’ drive from Portland and Boise, 250 miles from Seattle, and 45 miles from the college town of Walla Walla, Washington.
Responsibilities
The Regional Director is responsible for the office's overall effectiveness. Duties include supervising legal work, overseeing the career development of staff, planning and priority setting, grant compliance, budget management, and maintaining good relations with community organizations and the private bar. The Regional Director also has an independent caseload and, in that respect, has all the duties of a staff attorney.
Salary/Benefits
Compensation is based on a 35-hour work week. Salary range is $82,700 – 90,200 for 5-10 years’ experience and $91,700-114,200 for 11-30 years’ experience annually; salaries are determined by relevant work experience. Additional compensation of $4,300 to $5,700 annually for bilingual ability, depending on proficiency. Full benefits package including individual and family health, vision and dental insurance coverage; 6% employer retirement contribution; generous paid holidays, vacation and sick leave; and paid moving expenses.
Closing Date
Open until filled. Review of resumes to begin March 29, 2024.
Five years of legal experience required. Proven interest in and commitment to advocacy for the legal rights of low-income and other vulnerable clients. Legal aid experience or demonstrable involvement in poverty law issues, such as domestic violence/family law, public benefits and housing. Substantial litigation experience and excellent legal skills. This position requires excellent communication skills and the ability to promote community visibility, awareness and collaboration. Enthusiasm, creativity, good judgment, initiative, and willingness to work collaboratively. Demonstrated understanding of and commitment to anti-bias principles, cultural competency and addressing systemic racism and other forms of oppression. LASO has a hiring preference for candidates who are bilingual in Spanish and/or another language and are members of the Oregon State Bar.
Send resume, references, and letter of interest by email to:
Jeremy Aliason
Legal Aid Services of Oregon
520 SW Sixth Avenue, Suite 1130
Portland, OR 97204
centraljobs@lasoregon.org
Supplemental question
Please provide a written response to the following question and submit it as part of your application materials. Limit response to 500 words.
LASO is committed to achieving justice for the low-income communities of Oregon. Our client communities include people of color, farmworkers, LGBTQ+ people, immigrants, seniors, people with lived experiences of homelessness, veterans, people with disabilities, and people from other underrepresented groups. It is essential to our mission that we also work to create an inclusive and respectful workplace environment in which differences are acknowledged and valued. How do you think your personal background or experiences, professional or otherwise, have prepared you to: (1) serve our diverse client communities effectively, (2) work effectively with colleagues from backgrounds different than your own, (3) acknowledge the systemic barriers that our clients face, and (4) contribute to our efforts to achieve racial justice? Feel free to provide examples and apply various aspects of your life and personal experiences in your response.
If you require reasonable accommodation for a disability during the application/hiring process, please contact Meghan Collins, Director of Administration, at Meghan.Collins@lasoregon.org.
We celebrate diversity
LASO is committed to being an organization that reflects the communities we serve and is diverse in race, color, national origin, sex, age, religion, marital status, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, ancestry, national origin, or sensory, mental and physical abilities, work background, experience and education. We believe that the outcome of such diversity is our greatest strength and a matter of basic human fairness. It is to this end that we strongly encourage applications from people of color and people from any other underrepresented and historically marginalized group to apply for this position.