Deputy Director, Healthy Together

Children’s Law Center is a mission-driven organization focused on providing high-quality legal services to children and families in DC.  As an organization, we envision a world in which all children have a strong foundation of family, health and education and are free from poverty, trauma, racism and other forms of oppression. Our mission is to do this work together with DC children and families, Children’s Law Center uses the law to solve children’s urgent problems today, improve the systems that will affect their lives tomorrow and strengthen our community so that change endures.  A key part of our mission is to challenge and reduce ways in which racism and other biases – structural and interpersonal – prevent each of us, our organization and the systems in which we work from providing children a strong foundation from which to thrive.   

Our greatest assets are our people.  We recognize that people with diverse backgrounds, experiences and perspectives fuel our ability to provide the best outcomes for our clients and our community. Staff members at Children’s Law Center advance the organization’s mission through their leadership, result-orientated mindset and commitment to cultural humility.  We are looking for individuals who like to be challenged to grow both personally and professionally and value the opportunity to make a difference in their community.  Children's Law Center's continued success depends on recruiting and retaining individuals who possess and exemplify these attributes. 

Program Description

Healthy Together is a medical-legal partnership (MLP) for DC’s children and one of the longest-operating MLPs in the nation. Children’s Law Center partners with Children’s National Hospital, Mary’s Center, and Unity Health Care to provide legal services to children and families with health-harming legal needs.  Through the partnership, Children’s Law Center advocates for landlords to adhere to the law and fix housing conditions that harm a child’s health; ensures school systems provide appropriate, quality educational programs to students with disabilities; and holds government agencies and health insurance providers accountable for providing medical necessary services to children. By focusing on critical social determinants of health and working side-by-side with the community, Healthy Together reduces the health inequities and racial disparities that many of our client families face.

Job Summary

The Healthy Together Deputy Director assumes a leadership role within Heathy Together and is integral to its success. The Deputy Director supports the Healthy Together Director to formulate and drive Healthy Together’s vision, which includes program design and evaluation, shaping inter-agency and systemic advocacy, appellate strategy, and more. The Deputy Director works closely with the Director to drive innovation within the substantive legal areas handled in Healthy Together, predominantly special education, housing conditions, and access to health care. They assist in the growth and maintenance of Healthy Together and manage and maintain external relationships with all relevant stakeholders, including health care partners.

The Deputy Director plays a primary role in hiring, managing, and developing program staff within Healthy Together. They directly supervise program staff, including Supervising Attorneys, assess performance and ensure high-quality work. The Deputy Director also provides critical project management, grant management and operational support. They assist with building and embedding organizational culture and adherence to CLC’s mission.

The Deputy Director maintains a small caseload, provides brief advice and services, and mentors and trains pro bono attorneys. They lead specific program or cross-organizational projects as assigned by the Healthy Together Director or Legal Director.  

Role Responsibilities

Program Management

• Assists the Healthy Together Director to manage daily operations and ensure staff follow organizational and program policies and procedures.
• Partners with Human Resources and Director on all program staffing needs, including participating in the hiring process, and addressing employment and performance issues.
• Oversees and manages Healthy Together grants, ensuring all grant requirements are met and supports staff compliance.

Leadership

• Ensures Healthy Together’s expertise in relevant practice areas by remaining current on developments in the law and legal practice, developing and leading staff training, and sharing research and case development.
• Drives innovation within Healthy Together to ensure responsiveness to program and community needs which may include new ways of working, creative legal strategies and/or drafting, revising, and implementing program policies and procedures.
• Strengthens relationships and collaborates with our healthcare and other community partners to expand the impact of Healthy Together.
• Supports CLC’s policy and systemic advocacy efforts to address systemic barriers to health and well-being for DC’s children and families.
• Contributes to the successful implementation of CLC's strategic and programmatic plans.
• Partners with organizational leaders to instill a shared vision and mission throughout CLC and to promote a positive and inclusive workplace culture.

Supervision and Mentorship

• Oversees the training, supervision, and development of designated staff (“supervisees”), ensuring they have the tools and resources to perform the requirements of their role while holding them accountable to meeting their duties and responsibilities.
• Supports supervisees in identifying strengths, areas of challenge and provides guidance on professional development and promotion readiness through CLC’s Performance Development Program, ensuring specific and measurable annual goals are set and regularly reviewed.
• Mentors pro bono attorneys handling special education and housing conditions cases. 
• Develops and conducts pro bono attorney trainings and materials as assigned; supports other CLC mentors. 

Case Handling 

• Maintains a limited caseload of up to 5 cases, providing high-quality direct representation and legal case management.
• Supports and handles program intakes as assigned, including provision of brief advice, brief service, and referrals. 

Qualifications, Skills and Experience

• JD and DC Bar Membership.
• Minimum of seven years’ experience in or with legal services preferably with a background in one or more of the following legal needs areas: housing conditions, and/or access to health care (Medicaid denials, terminations, EPSDT), with a strong preference for those with expertise in special education and disability rights.
• Minimum of 3 years’ experience in legal management, supervising attorneys and legal staff providing direct services to clients.
• A commitment to fostering inclusivity and equity, as well as humility when working with clients and colleagues at the intersection of multiple identities, including race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, immigration status, religion, physical and mental disability, and/or limited English proficiency.
• Strong legal analysis, research, writing, and oral advocacy skills.
• Excellent organizational and time management skills.
• Exceptional interpersonal, communication, and relationship-building skills.
• Demonstrated capacity to work independently and collaboratively.
• Proactively identifies issues and works to find creative solutions in the face of obstacles.
• Strong independent judgement and decision-making.
• Current knowledge of the law and legal system, especially in areas that affect low-income and marginalized communities.
• Bilingual English/Spanish a plus but not essential.

Organizational Competencies

• Cultural Humility – an openness to self-reflection and to understanding and respecting other cultural experiences and points of view and viewing individuals as experts in their own culture and experiences.
• Giving and Receiving Feedback – the ability to be self-reflective, give and receive appreciative, coaching, constructive, interpersonal and evaluative feedback.