Regional Director – Salem Regional Office

Legal Aid Services of Oregon (LASO) is seeking a Regional Director for its Salem office. The Salem Regional Director leads an office of one supervising attorney, five staff attorneys, three support staff and two temporary, grant-funded positions.

Background
LASO is a non-profit organization that represents low-income clients in civil cases. LASO’s eight regional offices serve the general low-income population throughout the state and two specialized statewide programs provide services to farmworkers and representation on Native American issues. LASO is an effective, high-quality legal services program committed to advocacy strategies that will have a demonstrable effect on 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.

The Salem office serves the civil legal needs of low-income residents in Marion and Polk counties.

Nestled in the lush Willamette Valley, Salem is the state's capital and a dynamic midsize city. Home to an array of vineyards and an annual arts festival as well as boasting proximity to both skiing and the Oregon Coast, Cherry City offers a well-rounded lifestyle. In Marion County, you’ll find tulip and hot air balloon festivals, numerous pumpkin patches, as well as the lovely natural oases of Minto-Brown Island and Silver Falls State Park. The city provides an ideal, family-friendly setting to establish your career and create a lasting home for your family.

Responsibilities
The Regional Director is responsible for the office's overall effectiveness. Duties include supervising legal work; mentoring and overseeing the career development of staff; planning and priority setting; grant compliance; budget management; and maintaining good relations within the office and with community organizations and the private bar. The Regional Director also has a small independent caseload and, in that respect, has all the duties of a staff attorney.

Qualifications
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.

Salary/Benefits
Compensation is based on a 35-hour work week. Salary range is $88,700 – 96,200 for 5-10 years' experience and $97,700 - $120,200 for 11-30 years' experience annually; salaries are determined by relevant work experience. An additional $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
This is a repost. Open until filled. Review of resumes is ongoing.

Applications
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.

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.