ABOUT THE ORGANIZATION

Public Rights Project (PRP) is a public interest legal nonprofit with an all-remote team based throughout the United States. Our mission is to help local government officials fight for civil rights.

Since its founding in 2017, PRP has litigated in more than 100 cases (either as a party or amicus), trained 131 prosecutors and government lawyers in 24 states, built a partner network of over 670 government offices, elected officials, and community-based organizations in 43 states, secured court victories on police accountability, abortion, immigrant, worker, and voting rights, and helped to recover over $46 million in relief for marginalized people. Learn more about our work.

PRP launched its Election Protection Hub (EPH) to support local election officials as they fight to protect the voting rights of their residents and secure safe and fair elections. The EPH provides training, technical assistance, and legal backup to election administrators to enable them to respond to election threats quickly and effectively.

In addition, PRP’s EPH participates in broader election protection and pro-democracy coalition work, both to support litigation by partner organizations and to more effectively coordinate resources to defend against efforts to undermine free elections, threaten marginalized communities, and threaten the rule of law. 

JOB SUMMARY

Public Rights Project (PRP) seeks to hire an experienced attorney and manager to serve as Deputy Director in its Election Protection Hub (EPH). The Deputy Director will be a key member of PRP’s team representing and advising state, local, and tribal local election officials in support of election administration and the expansion of voting rights. 

The Deputy Director, EPH will–reporting to and working alongside the Director, EPH– supervise the EPH’s Staff Attorneys and the EPH’s Paralegal / Program Coordinator. The Deputy Director will also: support the Director, EPH in identifying opportunities for advocacy; serve as a senior consultant on EPH representative matters; draft, revise, and supervise amicus briefs; develop, revise, and supervise technical assistance materials; and represent the EPH in external meetings with government officials, coalition partners, and other stakeholders. In close collaboration with the Director, EPH, the Deputy Director will design, implement, and refine systems that support the quality, efficiency, sustainability, and impact of PRP’s EPH. 

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Team Leadership and Management

• Directly supervise EPH staff attorneys;
• Monitor staff and resource allocation and support the EPH Director in aligning team deployment with strategic objectives;
• Participate in and, as needed, lead regular meetings for the EPH Team; and
• Contribute to an innovative, inclusive, and supportive group of advocates.

Legal Strategy and Representative Work

• Advise, counsel, and represent in court proceedings local election officials;
• Analyze federal and state election and voting laws and related constitutional provisions across a range of U.S. jurisdictions;
• Draft, review, edit, and provide feedback on analytic and persuasive written work product, including legal technical assistance; 
• Serve as lead attorney on strategic legal projects for the EPH, including amicus briefs and technical assistance; and
• Serve as consultant on litigation case selection and strategy.

Systems and Operational Infrastructure

• Ensure ethical, compliant, and high-quality practice by developing and implementing internal protocols and accountability systems for EPH staff;
• Build and refine systems to improve the EPH’s infrastructure, workflows, and operational efficiency;
• Implement and modify processes for monitoring, documenting, and notifying attorney staff of case law developments relevant to the EPH’s work; and
• Oversee the collection and utilization of metrics and measures relating to the work of the EPH.

Strategy, Advocacy, and External Engagement

• Participate in key coalitions of election-related groups;
• Represent the EPH in external meetings, coalitions, conferences, media briefings, and other public-facing engagements with government and non-government stakeholders;
• Support communications about the EPH, including through public speaking, conversations with the press, and drafting press statements, “explainers,” and op-eds;
• Build and maintain relationships with coalition partners to advance coordinated election protection and pro-democracy advocacy efforts.

Cross-Team Collaboration

• Engage with the Litigation Team and Civil Rights Hub to align representative matters, share legal strategy, and coordinate cross-program advocacy efforts;
• Partner with Development Team to gather substantive information, metrics, case updates, and strategic framing for grant proposals, reports, and funder briefings; 
• Collaborate with Operations to ensure accurate and consistent use of Salesforce and other internal systems to support case tracking, reporting, and cross-team coordination.

EDUCATION AND/OR EXPERIENCE

• Licensed to practice law in a jurisdiction of the United States;
• At least 10 years of relevant experience as an attorney. Relevant experience may include government enforcement, complex civil litigation, and/or advice to government officials. Experience with election law and/or election administration is strongly preferred;
• 2 to 4  years of direct managerial experience is required;
• Experience building and developing high-performing legal teams;
• Prior experience with remote work in large teams in support of fast-moving and mission-driven work is preferred;

• Experience working with state and local government officials is a plus. 

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES

• Outstanding managerial experience, particularly experience managing and mentoring early- and mid-career attorneys;
• Excellent judgment about both legal issues and strategy;
• Strong communication skills, both writing and speaking;
• Strong project management skills and ability to use tools, such as Asana and Salesforce, to support the participation and contribution of other team members; 
• Familiarity and comfort working on issues of election law, federal law, constitutional law, and other relevant legal topics;
• Outstanding writing and editing skills, including drafting and editing complex briefs and legal analysis;
• Team player who can work with government partners, co-counsel, community-based organizations, and other advocates, as well as internal teams;
• Demonstrated positive and respectful attitude, ability to work well with diverse people and communities, capacity to show presence, self-confidence, common sense, and good listening ability;
• Belief in the power of state and local government to make positive change in the world; and
• Willingness to travel.

OTHER DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Contribute to grant proposals, reports, and periodic communication pieces in addition to previously identified EPH support work.
• Other duties as designed.  

ORGANIZATIONAL RELATIONSHIP

This position reports to the Director, Election Protection Hub. This position will also work closely with the Chief Program Officer, other program team directors, Election Protection Hub staff, and other Program Team staff. 

PHYSICAL DEMANDS

Requires sitting, talking, and listening for up to 8 hours per day. Certain situations may require lifting items up to 20 pounds. 

WORK ENVIRONMENT

Fully remote organization and team. This role requires travel several times a year to PRP events, case hearings, conferences or meetings. The Deputy Director will likely travel once per month, but potentially more frequent travel closer to major election dates. We currently have remote staff in Boston, Chicago, Kansas City (MO), Los Angeles, New York, Oakland, Seattle, and Washington, DC, as well as other cities.

COMPENSATION

The determined salary range for this role is set between $121,440 - $182,160, exact salary will be based on candidate experience. For internal equity purposes, PRP will not negotiate with candidates outside of the role’s designated range.

PRP HIRING COMMITMENT

PRP is committed to the principles and practices of equal employment opportunity. A diverse and inclusive workplace, both at PRP and within the government offices we serve, is a key ingredient for achieving our mission of building equitable enforcement capacity within state and local government. 

We aim to assemble a team that reflects the world we live in and the communities we serve with respect to race, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, and immigration status. People with personal or family experience with the type of harms we seek to combat, including wage theft, predatory lending, fraud, discrimination, and environmental degradation are particularly encouraged to apply.