Search for University Jobs in Law

Associate Director of Public Interest Programs, Career Development Office (4517U), Berkeley Law - 62157

About Berkeley

At the University of California, Berkeley, we are committed to creating a community that fosters equity of experience and opportunity, and ensures that students, faculty, and staff of all backgrounds feel safe, welcome and included. Our culture of openness, freedom and belonging make it a special place for students, faculty and staff.

The University of California, Berkeley, is one of the world's leading institutions of higher education, distinguished by its combination of internationally recognized academic and research excellence; the transformative opportunity it provides to a large and diverse student body; its public mission and commitment to equity and social justice; and its roots in the California experience, animated by such values as innovation, questioning the status quo, and respect for the environment and nature. Since its founding in 1868, Berkeley has fueled a perpetual renaissance, generating unparalleled intellectual, economic and social value in California, the United States and the world.

We are looking for equity-minded applicants who represent the full diversity of California and who demonstrate a sensitivity to and understanding of the diverse academic, socioeconomic, cultural, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, and ethnic backgrounds present in our community. When you join the team at Berkeley, you can expect to be part of an inclusive, innovative and equity-focused community that approaches higher education as a matter of social justice that requires broad collaboration among faculty, staff, students and community partners. In deciding whether to apply for a position at Berkeley, you are strongly encouraged to consider whether your values align with our Guiding Values and Principles, our Principles of Community, and our Strategic Plan.

At UC Berkeley, we believe that learning is a fundamental part of working, and our goal is for everyone on the Berkeley campus to feel supported and equipped to realize their full potential. We actively support this by providing all of our staff employees with at least 80 hours (10 days) of paid time per year to engage in professional development activities. To find out more about how you can grow your career at UC Berkeley, visit grow.berkeley.edu.

Departmental Overview

UC Berkeley's School of Law is one of the nation's great centers for legal education, ever exploring and pushing new intellectual boundaries while tackling urgent, real-world issues. The law school is also known for its vibrant and engaged community of students and scholars who are committed to providing leadership and making a difference on problems of local, national and global import. Currently ranked among the top law schools in the country, the School of Law has ambitious development goals as it looks to continue producing leaders in law, government, and society.

The Career Development Office (CDO) provides legal career advice to law students and alumni. The office is staffed by eight attorney-counselors, each with legal practice experience. While all of the CDO's attorney-counselors are generalists and can speak to the most common legal career paths, each of the counselors also has areas of specialization, representing the four major categories of legal employers: judicial clerkships, public interest, government, and the private sector.

CDO helps students explore a variety of legal career options-both traditional and nontraditional-and determine how to pursue them.

The Associate Director for Public Interest Programs ("AD") provides expert career counseling to Berkeley Law's 900 J.D. students and the members of its 10,000+ alumni community, in particular those interested in pursuing public interest legal careers.

The AD utilizes their extensive contacts in the public interest/public sector legal community and their continually updated (and in-depth) knowledge of the rapidly evolving job market in this community (and its likely future direction) to provide individually tailored, client-driven career counseling to our students interested in an internship or career in public interest or the public sector.

The AD also utilizes their knowledge, experience, and the results of their on-going market research and analysis to independently create, plan, develop, and implement cutting-edge programs, networking events, other activities, services, and resources. The goal of these programs, events, services and resources is to educate students about the full range of their public interest/public sector career options and to assist them in developing their job search and networking skill sets in the public interest/public sector setting. The AD also administers programs that offer financial support to students pursuing public interest work (i.e., summer fellowship and post-graduate fellowship programs). They need to continually evaluate existing programs, services and resources for efficacy and make appropriate changes. More importantly, the AD must also autonomously design, develop and implement innovative new ones on an on-going basis in response to emerging trends and evolving student interests.

The AD oversees the delivery of these services, programs and resources through career services staff and through various print, digital, and social media.

The AD must go beyond merely maintaining and enhancing existing contacts with potential public interest employers (and others in the public interest legal community with specialized expertise). They must also cultivate new relationships in order to ensure our students have the best available access to public interest networking and job opportunities as soon as they present themselves. In order to succeed in this, the AD must be an active and involved member of local and national associations that provide access to potential new contacts, such as Equal Justice Works, the National Association of Law Placement, and OneJustice.

As a recognized leader in providing public interest career advice (and expert in the public interest legal job market), the AD would be expected to participate in the leadership of these organizations by offering their services as a presenter or panelist at education conferences and by contributing articles to their publications (and perhaps even to local and national media).

Because the AD needs to have current knowledge of the state (and direction) of the public interest legal job market, the full range of public interest legal career options, potential employers, and potential networking contacts with relevant expertise, they must be familiar with relevant information sources and be a tenacious, exhaustive, and creative researcher.

Application Review Date

The First Review Date for this job is: December 15, 2023

Responsibilities

• Researches, and analyzes the current state of the public interest legal services and public interest legal job markets and forecasts emerging trends in those markets.
• Identifies existing and up-and-coming career and job options and assesses (on a continuing basis) their short-and long-term feasibility for our students.
• Researches and periodically assesses the evolving career development needs of the attorneys who comprise the alumni community.
• Based on this on-going research, analysis, assessment and trend-spotting, designs and develops, and implements an array of workshops and programs, services, and resources (including online guides and webcasts) to meet the current career development needs of our students interested in public interest legal careers.
• Recommends and manages improvements, revisions, changes, and adjustments to the existing array of career consulting services, programs, and resources AND devises, develops and implements entirely new services, programs and resources.
• Provides one-on-one, individually tailored and client-driven career consulting services to students interested in pursuing public interest careers - or who are seeking public interest internships.
• Assists students in conducting their own (skills and interests) self-assessments.
• Provides students not only with general advice based on their expert knowledge of the public interest legal market, but also specific job leads and networking contacts developed through continuing cultivation and expansion of the Law School's -- and the AD's -- professional network.
• Amplifies and promotes best practices in diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging when working with students and when helping to create professional pathways and opportunities for career growth.
• Develops and maintains the Law School's existing professional network of potential employers, other law school legal career professionals, and others in the legal field who may be in a position to provide information and assistance to our students interested in pursuing public interest work.
• Maintains and enhances their own professional network and leverages it on behalf of students.
• Establishes new positive working relationships with public interest organizations, and others in the legal community who may be of assistance to our public interest-oriented students (and who may be of assistance in fundraising and in enhancing the campus's relationship with outside organizations).
• Develops and oversees presentation and delivery of broad and complex career-focused programs and events workshops, and resources.
• Manages career services staff on specific administrative tasks they undertake in support of public interest programming (e.g., room reservations, catering arrangements, drafting and posting event announcements, etc.).
• Determines, based on their knowledge of technical systems, the most innovative and effective media for delivering content - online, print, blogs, social networking website posts, twitter, live webcasting, etc.
• Liaises with various other Law School departments, in particular, its several multi-disciplinary research centers (especially the Henderson Center for Social Justice), faculty members, student organizations, and other administrative units at the Law School, especially the Center for Clinical Education, the Field Placement Office, the Financial Aid Office, the Public Interest Working Group, the Public Interest Career Support Committee, and the Berkeley Law Alumni Center, to understand their needs and goals and explore and develop mutually beneficial programs, resources, and services.
• Participates in panel discussions and presentations and researches and writes articles relating to public interest legal careers and career development through local and national public interest organizations, like OneJustice, Equal Justice Works, the National Association for Law Placement, and other legal organizations, like the American Bar Association, and even through the local and national press as the opportunities arise.

Required Qualifications

• Advanced knowledge of career decision making, and job search techniques.
• Knowledge of career services, employer, alumni, and faculty needs and expectations, recruiting and staffing methods, employment trends.
• Detailed knowledge of the public interest legal job market and at least general knowledge of the private sector legal job market.
• Extensive professional network of practicing attorneys and potential employers.
• Highly effective problem identification and solving skills, presentation skills, verbal communication, written communication, and organization skills.
• Ability to work with people from diverse backgrounds and levels of experience.
• Creative, entrepreneurial, forward-looking, and energetic approach that can identify and pursue new potential programs and innovative ways to present and deliver their content.
• Highly developed knowledge of principles and processes for providing outstanding client and personal services. This includes client needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of client satisfaction.
• Excellent knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; and learning and motivation.
• Must be committed to creating a community that fosters equity of experience and opportunity, and ensures that students, faculty, and staff of all backgrounds feel safe, welcome, and included.
• Must demonstrate a sensitivity to and understanding of the diverse academic, socioeconomic, cultural, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, and ethnic backgrounds present in our community.
• Demonstrated commitment to and understanding of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging, and ability to apply and integrate core concepts of DEIB into everyday practice.
• Excellent computer skills (including Excel and PowerPoint and other presentation software) and the ability to quickly adapt to new software programs and online resources.

Education/Training:

• Advanced degree in related area, such as a Juris Doctor, a Master of Law (LL.M), and/or equivalent experience/training.
• Significant (5 years min) public interest legal practice experience

Preferred Qualifications

• Advanced knowledge of career development theories helpful.
• Knowledge of needs assessment theory, processes, and practice, workshop and program design and implementation helpful.
• Knowledge of and/or ability to learn UC programs.

Salary & Benefits

For information on the comprehensive benefits package offered by the University, please visit the University of California's Compensation & Benefits website.

Under California law, the University of California, Berkeley is required to provide a reasonable estimate of the compensation range for this role and should not offer a salary outside of the range posted in this job announcement. This range takes into account the wide range of factors that are considered in making compensation decisions including but not limited to experience, skills, knowledge, abilities, education, licensure and certifications, analysis of internal equity, and other business and organizational needs. It is not typical for an individual to be offered a salary at or near the top of the range for a position. Salary offers are determined based on final candidate qualifications and experience.

The budgeted salary or hourly range that the University reasonably expects to pay for this position is $90,000.00 - $104,640.00.

• This is a 100%, full-time (40 hours per week), career position that is eligible for full UC benefits.
• This position is exempt and paid monthly.
• This is a hybrid position, eligible for up to 20% remote capability.

How to Apply

To apply, please submit your resume and cover letter.

Conviction History Background

This is a designated position requiring fingerprinting and a background check due to the nature of the job responsibilities. Berkeley does hire people with conviction histories and reviews information received in the context of the job responsibilities. The University reserves the right to make employment contingent upon successful completion of the background check.

Equal Employment Opportunity

The University of California is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or protected veteran status. For more information about your rights as an applicant, please see the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission poster.

For the complete University of California nondiscrimination and affirmative action policy, please see the University of California Discrimination, Harassment, and Affirmative Action in the Workplace policy.



To apply, visit https://careerspub.universityofcalifornia.edu/psp/ucb/EMPLOYEE/HRMS/c/HRS_HRAM.HRS_APP_SCHJOB.GBL?Page=HRS_APP_JBPST&Action=U&FOCUS=Applicant&SiteId=21&JobOpeningId=62157&PostingSeq=1