The Position

The National Women’s Law Center seeks a Director of LGBTQI Equality to coordinate and drive its litigation and policy efforts to protect and advance the rights of LGBTQI+ people at work and in schools. Priority areas of focus include defending against efforts to rollback, restrict, or eliminate legal rights and anti-discrimination protections for LGBTQI+ individuals; advocating for trans inclusion and defending against state and federal anti-trans policies; limiting the use of religion as a license to discriminate against LGBTQI+ people, women, and girls; and ensuring that sex discrimination protections are interpreted and enforced to protect LGBTQI+ people. The Director will also collaborate with members of the Reproductive Rights & Health team, the Child Care & Income Security team, and the Strategy & Policy team on cross-cutting issues related to LGBTQI+ equality and play a leadership role in coordinating LGBTQI+ equality advocacy. All of these efforts are to be shaped and informed by a gender and racial justice analysis. The Director of LGBTQI Equality sits on the Education & Workplace Justice program team.

This is a full-time exempt position of 37.5 hours per week.

The Organization

The National Women’s Law Center fights for gender justice — in the courts, in public policy, and in our society — working across the issues that are central to the lives of women and girls.

We use the law in all its forms to change culture and drive solutions to the gender inequity that shapes our society and to break down the barriers that harm all of us — especially those who face multiple forms of discrimination, including women and girls of color, LGBTQI+ people, and low-income women and families.

For more than 50 years, we have been on the leading edge of every major legal and policy victory for women. Find out more at NWLC.org.

Responsibilities

• Identify priorities and shape strategies for the Center’s policy and legal work related to LGBTQI+ equality, with a particular focus on the rights of workers and students;
• Collaborate with the Center’s Campaigns & Communications team to help inform narrative shift and culture change work related to trans inclusive policies and practices and other LGBTQI+ equality issues;
• Coordinate, align, and implement cross-cutting Center-wide strategies related to LGBTQI+ policy in collaboration with staff across NWLC program teams;
• Engage with federal and state policy makers on policy efforts related to LGBTQI+ equality;
• In coalition with organizational partners, lead and collaborate in identifying policy priorities and crafting and implementing strategies to forward policy priorities;
• Direct and participate in NWLC’s response to legislative and regulatory proposals related to LGBTQI+ equality;
• Draft and edit written materials for a wide variety of audiences relating to legislative and regulatory proposals, such as federal and state legislative testimony, comments on proposed regulations, factsheets, blogs, reports, and talking points;
• Participate in drafting and editing amicus briefs related to LGBTQI+ equality and pursue and respond to litigation to forward our policy goals on these issues;
• Work with Center researchers to analyze and present data related to the experiences and needs of LGBTQI+ individuals in clear and compelling ways;
• Build and maintain close working relationships with coalition partners and work to expand partnerships with new stakeholders, with a focus on promoting integration and collaboration across movements and mobilizing women’s rights, survivor justice, and reproductive rights and justice partners for LGBTQI+ equality, and vice versa;
• Participate in fundraising efforts for Center initiatives;
• Represent the Center at public events, trainings, conferences, and in the media;
• Supervise staff and interns, and manage projects and staff supporting those projects, using project management strategies;
• Otherwise support the broader work of the Education & Workplace Justice team and the Center.

Qualifications

The ideal candidate will possess:

• A law degree and admission to a state bar with ability to waive into the DC Bar if not already admitted;
• At least 7 years of relevant experience;
• Significant experience with and deep understanding of legal and policy issues related to LGBTQI+ issues;
• Significant experience with and deep understanding of antidiscrimination law, including the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, ideally gained through both policy advocacy and litigation;
• Experience advocating with state and federal policymakers;
• Creativity and initiative in identifying strategies to advance policy goals;
• Demonstrated ability to build trust and credibility with key stakeholders, including ability to influence and engage diverse audiences and to build long-term collaborative relationships with key organizational and individual partners;
• Strong research, analytical, oral and written communication skills;
• Experience with supervising projects and/or staff, including delegating tasks, mentoring and providing feedback, with a collaborative and collegial approach, an ability and desire to work in a team-based environment, and an orientation to the work that recognizes and values the contributions of all team members;
• Willingness and ability to travel up to 10% of the time;
• Strong time management, organizational, and interpersonal skills;and
• Demonstrated commitment to and experience working on gender and racial equity and centering LGBTQI+ communities and communities of color in the approach to work.

Additional preferred skills and knowledge:

• Litigation experience is preferred.
• Experience with and a deep understanding of the Equal Access Act, Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act, and the freedoms recognized by the First Amendment of the Constitution.

Key Relationships

The Director of LGBTQI Equality reports to the Vice President for Education & Workplace and works closely with members of the Education & Workplace Justice team, including the Senior Director of Litigation for Education & Workplace Justice, as well as teams across the Center, including the Campaigns and Communications Team and the Research Team. Current supervision responsibilities include one senior counsel.

Compensation & Benefits

A salary within the range of $129,700-$156,857 will be provided to the successful candidate who has at least 7 years of experience directly relevant to this role, consistent with the National Women’s Law Center’s compensation framework. The successful candidate’s salary within this range will be determined by the number of years of relevant experience they bring to the role.

The Center offers a comprehensive benefits package, and four weeks of annual vacation.

NWLC is a non-profit organization whose headquarters and staff are based in Washington, D.C. This role is based in D.C. and will be eligible for some telework while also being expected to work in person on a regular basis. The successful candidate will need to live in or relocate to the DMV (broadly defined as DC, Maryland, or Virginia). for our team.

The first 90 days of employment will be considered a probationary period.

Classification

This position is a management role and as such is not included in the union-represented bargaining unit, NWLC United, affiliated with the Nonprofit Professional Employees Union/IFPTE Local 70.

How to Apply

To apply, please submit a resume and cover letter outlining how your professional background is a good fit for this position. Resumes should include exact start and end dates (month and year) of employment. Applications accepted until the position is filled.

Applicants will be contacted if selected for an interview. We kindly request that interested parties refrain from calling, emailing, or visiting NWLC’s offices to express interest or check on the status of their application.

The National Women’s Law Center is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer and values a diverse workforce.  We strongly encourage and seek applications from people with disabilities; people of all gender identities and sexual orientations; people of color; and veterans.

Research indicates members of marginalized groups tend to underestimate their qualifications and apply only if they are a 100% match. If you are passionate about NWLC’s mission and think you have what it takes to be successful in this role, even if you don’t check all the boxes, please apply. We’d appreciate the opportunity to consider your application.

Reasonable Accommodations

If you require reasonable accommodations during any part of the hiring process, please email please email NWLCHR@nwlc.org.