Deputy Director

About Western Center on Law and Poverty

For over 50 years, Western Center on Law and Poverty has led the fight to end poverty and secure housing, health care, a strong safety net, and racial and economic justice for all low‐income Californians. Western Center brings about system‐wide change through impact litigation, legislative, policy and administrative advocacy at the state and federal level, and support for legal services and community-based organizations. With offices in Los Angeles, Sacramento, and Oakland, we are California’s largest legal services support center. For more information, please visit our website: www.wclp.org.

Position Summary

The Deputy Director advances Western Center’s mission and values by providing strategic leadership for litigation, advocacy, and organizational culture. This role partners closely with the Executive Director and the Directors of Policy and Litigation to coordinate high-quality advocacy, strengthen organizational effectiveness, and implement the strategic plan. The Deputy Director is both a visionary and hands-on leader, fostering collaboration across teams, mentoring staff, and ensuring that Western Center’s anti-racism and anti-poverty agenda is fully integrated into our work.

Core Responsibilities

Organizational Leadership & Strategy

Partner with the Executive Director and directors team to lead the implementation of strategic plans, align advocacy, litigation, and community engagement, and contribute to organizational governance by participating in staff committees and initiatives such as retreats and hiring processes.

Work with the policy advocacy team, litigators, communications strategist, and community organizer to develop and implement integrated advocacy strategies; coordinate and drive litigation, policy, and support for community-based and legal services organizations to advance Western Center’s mission.

Represent Western Center internally and externally—including in coalitions, media, and funder relationships—and act as organizational, informational, and decision representative.

Collaborate with the Associate Director of Admin to support morale, strengthen office management, and advance organizational culture.

Supervision & Staff Development

Provide strategic leadership by supervising senior and staff attorneys, offering mentorship, feedback, and support for advocacy initiatives, and aligning day-to-day management with long-term organizational vision.

Support staff in developing meaningful performance and professional development goals, conduct regular check-ins and performance reviews, and identify opportunities for training and growth.

Foster an inclusive, empowering, and collaborative work environment that builds staff capacity and supports career growth.

Convene quarterly meetings with team leads and coordinators to strengthen coordination and team culture.

Advocacy & Litigation

Work closely with the Director of Litigation to elevate and support impact litigation that addresses systemic injustices, particularly at issue intersections.

Work closely with Director of Policy Advocacy on broader policy campaign ideation and how to build integrated advocacy strategies.

Collaborate with Communications and organizers to define and promote public outreach and media campaigns.

Maintain a limited caseload (litigation, administrative advocacy, or support center services) as needed.

Development & External Relations

Partner with the development team to assist in securing funding for program activities and ensure timely reporting support on grant requirements.

Compile attorney reports and prepare team summaries for the Executive Director’s reports to the Board.

Represent Western Center in the community, with funders, and in statewide and national partnerships as needed.

Leadership Core Competencies

Integrity: Leads with alignment between values, ethics, words, and actions; fosters trust, and demonstrates the courage to make principled decisions, even in the face of adversity.

Resourcefulness: Approaches challenges and opportunities with creativity, persistence, initiative, and a growth mindset.

Justice: Applies an equity lens to policies, decisions, and systems to address structural barriers and historical injustices in furtherance of and fidelity to Western Center’s mission.

Empathy and belonging: Creates environments of care, dignity, and inclusion where all people feel valued and safe to share their authentic voice.

Strategic and Adaptive Thinking: Balances long-term vision with the ability to pivot in changing environments.

Clear and Direct Communication: Communicates transparently, respectfully, and with purpose to build trust and promote excellence.

Keys to success

To be successful in this job, the Deputy Director will excel in these areas:

Relationship Building: Develops strong, collaborative relationships with a desire to nurture talent, promote skill-building, and encourage career growth. Earns trust through long-term connection and support, open and transparent communication and decision-making, and active listening. Serves as a resource to staff and partners who face challenging circumstances and need support in conflict resolution.

Making a Difference: Demonstrates a track record of significant litigation and advocacy that centers racial and economic justice. Possesses substantial litigation and negotiation experience, strong research and analysis skills, and a persuasive oral and written communication style. Capable of explaining Western Center’s issue areas and litigation concepts in an energizing and accessible manner to staff, interns, community members, funders, media, and stakeholders.

Contributing to One Team: Works across the organization to contribute to the greater good and exemplify Western Center’s mission and values. Leads with an inclusive, approachable, focused, and empowering style to train, mentor, and develop litigation and leadership teams.

Commitment to Racial Equity and Social Justice: Demonstrates in-depth understanding of the historical context of policies that undergird poverty and systemic racism and uses that to frame and prioritize Western Center’s anti-racism and anti-poverty policy goals and advocacy strategies.

Qualifications

J.D. or equivalent, admitted to practice in California (or willingness to sit for the next CA bar exam).

Minimum 8 years of experience as an attorney, preferably in public interest impact litigation or advocacy.

Strong legal and analytical skills and substantial experience with public interest impact litigation and advocacy.

Proven ability to supervise, motivate, and lead attorneys, support staff, and students.

Strong oral and written communication skills that are persuasive and professional.

Collaborative and team-oriented approach with exceptional interpersonal and administrative skills.

Ability to balance multiple priorities in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment.

Strategic thinker who understands the needs of low-income Californians, related social, political, and legal trends, and the dynamics of the legal services and advocacy communities.

Additional Qualifications While no one person will embody all the qualifications listed below, the Deputy Director will possess many of the following professional and personal abilities and experiences:

Experience and expertise in poverty law and knowledge of California and federal programs affecting low-income people.

Prior work at or experience with legal services and/or community-based organizations is a plus.

Lived experiences that motivate and inform personal and professional journey; ability to reflect the experiences, backgrounds, and cultures of those impacted by poverty.

Courageous leadership modeling integrity, conviction, and clarity; demonstrates the courage to fight injustice and seek restorative action on behalf of impacted communities.

Experience building and leading teams in dynamic environments, mentoring and helping team members navigate goals and urgencies with agility, teamwork, shared accountability, and trust.

Flexibility, adaptability, and resilience; exhibits a high tolerance for uncertainty and ambiguity and embraces continuous learning, adaptation, patience, and innovation in service of social justice.

Compensation

This full‐time, salaried position is located at our Los Angeles office.

The salary range for this position is $153,999-189,874. Western Center provides a comprehensive benefits package including medical, dental and vision coverage, life insurance, retirement plan with employer contributions and a modest match, leave policies, vacation, and December holiday office closure at full pay. We also provide opportunities and support to ensure our staff can grow and develop their professional skills.

Western Center strives for a diverse and inclusive workforce and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. Western Center strongly encourages applications from persons of color, women, LGBTQ individuals, persons with disabilities, and persons from other underrepresented groups whose background may contribute to effectively representing low‐income people and underserved communities.

We are committed to providing equal employment opportunities to qualified individuals with disabilities and will make reasonable accommodations for applicants and employees, consistent with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA).

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: $153,999.00 - $189,874.00 per year

Benefits:

• 401(k)
• Dental insurance
• Flexible spending account
• Health insurance
• Life insurance
• Paid time off
• Parental leave
• Vision insurance

Experience:

• Legal counsel: 8 years (Required)
• Leadership: 5 years (Required)
• Management: 5 years (Required)
• public service: 5 years (Required)

Work Location: Hybrid remote in Los Angeles, CA 90010