Senior Director of Litigation
3 months ago
New York
Job Description:\n\nDescription: Title: Senior Director of Litigation Unit: Litigation, U.S. Program Division Center Background: The Center for Reproductive Rights is a global human rights organization working to ensure that reproductive rights are protected in law as fundamental human rights worldwide. With offices in New York City, and Washington, D.C.; Nairobi, Kenya; Bogota, Colombia; and Geneva, Switzerland, the Center is a non-profit, non-partisan organization changing law and policy throughout Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, and the United States. Our 270+ diverse professionals are committed to advancing the Center’s human rights mission through game-changing litigation, legal policy, and advocacy work. This has powered the Center’s exceptional growth to an operating budget of over $67 million and won the respect of law firms in countries around the world. Our global pro bono network includes over 3,000 lawyers across 6 continents, 64 countries, and 130 law firms. Last year, law firms contributed over $35 million USD in pro bono legal services. The Center’s Strategic Plan sets a high mark for impact: By 2030, half of the world’s population will be living under stronger protections for reproductive rights than they were in 2020. The Center has a record of success to back up this ambitious goal. Since our founding in 1992, the Center has transformed how reproductive rights are understood and applied by courts, governments, and human rights bodies worldwide on issues including maternal health, abortion, assisted reproduction, and adolescent sexual and reproductive health and rights. We have won groundbreaking cases before national courts, U.N. Committees, and regional human rights bodies. The Center has also led development of historic, proactive legislation advancing robust protections for reproductive rights. It has built the legal capacity of women’s rights advocates in more than 65 countries and counting. To learn more about the Center, please go to The Job: In the midst of an escalating assault on reproductive freedom in the United States, the Center for Reproductive Rights is seeking a bold, strategic, and visionary litigator to lead its U.S. Litigation team. The Senior Director of Litigation sets the strategic vision for the Center’s litigation efforts nationwide and ensures alignment with broader institutional goals. Reporting to the Chief Program Officer, U.S. Division, the Senior Director works closely with cross-functional leaders in Policy and Advocacy and Corporate Engagement to drive an integrated strategy that secures lasting legal protections and prevents regression across the reproductive rights landscape. As the head of the Litigation Unit, a team of 27 professionals, including 23 attorneys, the Senior Director is responsible for ensuring high-quality legal execution and internal coordination. This includes overseeing case development and implementation, translating strategic goals into impactful litigation, and ensuring the team’s legal work is timely, coordinated, and rigorous. The Senior Director also provides unified leadership across the Litigation Unit’s internal structure, directly supervising senior leaders and cultivating an inclusive, transparent, and accountable team culture. They are responsible for fostering alignment across workstreams, providing guidance to team leaders, and ensuring that staff are well-supported in their growth, collaboration, and contributions. A core component of the Center’s litigation model involves partnering with leading law firms, corporate legal departments, and other pro bono allies. In collaboration with the Center’s internal pro bono team, the Senior Director will steward and grow a robust network of pro bono partners, expanding capacity, deepening expertise, and extending the reach of the Unit’s litigation docket. Finally, the Senior Director plays a key role in external engagement, serving as a visible leader and spokesperson for the Center’s litigation work. They will represent the Center in courtrooms, coalitions, donor briefings, media opportunities, and other public forums, helping to elevate the Center’s visibility and cultivate support for its mission. This position requires approximately 35% travel. This position will be based in the Center’s New York City headquarters in a hybrid model of 3 days in-office, 2 days working-from-home. Primary Responsibilities: Strategy Development The Senior Director of Litigation is responsible for developing and executing a bold and effective litigation strategy to advance reproductive rights and justice across the United States. They will ensure that the Litigation Unit’s work is grounded in legal excellence, responsive to emerging threats and opportunities, and advances the Center’s broader long-term strategic goals. The Senior Director will collaborate with the Chief Program Officer, U.S. Division, to ensure cohesion across the Division’s integrated strategy and will work closely with leaders of the Policy and Advocacy and Corporate Engagement teams to maximize the Center’s impact. Serve as a key strategic advisor to the Chief Program Officer and an active member of the U.S. Division leadership team. Contribute to cross-divisional priority setting, high-level decision-making, and long-term planning. Lead the development of an ambitious, impactful, and cohesive state and federal litigation strategy to secure legal guarantees for reproductive rights, prevent regression, and advance the Center’s integrated U.S. Division strategy. Drive strategic thinking and innovation by setting long-term goals, fostering a culture of experimentation, and translating complex ideas into actionable litigation strategies responsive to changing legal and political conditions. Collaborate with fellow senior leaders across Corporate Engagement and Policy and Advocacy Units to ensure that each team’s work is strategically aligned and mutually reinforcing. Identify timely opportunities for coordinated action on high-impact issues and in key jurisdictions, bringing forward bold and creative ideas that maximize the Center’s overall impact. Represent the Litigation Unit in division-wide and organization-wide strategic planning forums, offering insights that reflect both deep subject matter expertise and a broad, cross-functional perspective. Program Execution The Senior Director is responsible ensuring that the Unit’s work is carried out with excellence, coordination, and urgency. They are accountable for translating strategic goals into impactful legal action, overseeing the quality, timeliness, and effectiveness of the team’s litigation activities. Ensure that litigation activities are aligned with the Division’s integrated strategy and reflect the Center’s long-term vision and values. Provide strategic input on case development, litigation priorities, and related non-litigation work, in coordination with senior leaders. Effectively execute annual and multi-year plans, while adapting to changing external conditions and emerging priorities. Oversee development and management of Unit budget. Track progress toward programmatic goals and ensure clear lines of accountability across the team. Identify gaps, risks, or areas where course correction is needed, and guide timely, strategic adjustments and prioritization. Lead and participate in coordinated rapid response efforts to legal and political developments by working with internal teams to take timely, strategic, and effective action in response to crises and opportunities. Stay abreast of U.S. legal developments and regularly brief the Chief Program Officer and CEO, and the Center leadership on jurisprudential developments, emerging risks, opportunities, and their implications for the Center’s strategy and operations. Proactively elevate issues through the appropriate channels from the Litigation Unit to the Chief Program Officer and CEO, ensuring they receive timely and regular updates to support effective decision-making. Lead and contribute to the preparation of high-quality materials and updates on litigation work for the Chief Program Officer, CEO, Board of Directors, and other senior stakeholders, including in advance of meetings and events. People Management The Senior Director will provide unified leadership for the Litigation Unit, fostering a cohesive and aligned team while directly supervising senior leaders who manage distinct teams and workstreams. The Senior Director is responsible for ensuring these leaders have the guidance, resources, and feedback needed to succeed, while cultivating a strong, inclusive team culture grounded in transparency, accountability, and collaboration. This role calls for someone who can address challenges proactively and create an environment where staff feel supported and able to thrive. Recruit, develop, and performance manage a diverse, high-performing Unit Leadership Team. Ensure all lawyers in the Unit comply with applicable ethical and practice rules. Address personnel or operational challenges with transparency and care, supporting a problem-solving culture and timely resolution of issues. Inspire commitment and build high-performing teams by developing staff, mentoring future leaders, and fostering a results-oriented culture grounded in clear direction and accountability. Cultivate an inclusive Unit that values open communication, shared ownership of successes and setbacks, and a commitment to professional growth, equity, and well-being. Communicate with clarity and purpose, share decisions transparently, and build strong relationships internally and externally, including across lines of authority, through emotional intelligence, strategic foresight, and interpersonal savvy. Model the Center’s core values (global inclusivity, integrity, impact, and excellence) with self-awareness and a steady, non-reactive presence. Demonstrate humility, learn from experience, and lead with confidence and composure. Pro Bono Relationships Pro bono partnerships are a vital component of the Center’s litigation model, enabling the Unit to expand capacity, deepen expertise, and broaden its reach across jurisdictions. The Senior Director of Litigation will maintain and strengthen relationships with leading law firms, corporate legal departments, and other pro bono partners to ensure these collaborations are effectively scoped, strategically aligned, and meaningfully integrated into the Unit’s docket. Cultivate new relationships with law firms, legal departments, and other potential pro bono collaborators to expand the Center’s capacity, extend the reach of its legal strategies, and deepen impact across jurisdictions. Serve as the lead point of contact for high-value pro bono relationships, including managing firm assignments, resolving challenges, and coordinating with Development and Communications to highlight impact and strengthen donor engagement. Partner with the Center’s pro bono team to identify, scope, and integrate pro bono support across the Litigation Unit’s active and prospective cases, ensuring alignment with strategic priorities, effective delegation, and timely communication with external partners. External Engagement Lead the Litigation Unit’s external-facing strategy and represent the Center with a range of stakeholders, including clients, donors, coalition partners, the media, and the broader legal and advocacy communities. The Senior Director will be a key voice for the Center’s litigation work and play a critical role in enhancing the Center’s visibility and strengthening external partnerships. This requires approximately 35% travel for court appearances, in-person meetings, conferences, retreats, and events. Represent the Center and our litigation work in external coalitions, at public events, and in strategic partnerships, elevating the Center’s visibility and leadership in the field. Ensure key external relationships critical to the success of the U.S. integrated strategy are developed and well-managed to support strategic alignment, collaboration, and information sharing. Build and maintain relationships with local and diverse community-based partners, particularly those serving or led by historically marginalized groups. Ensure the Litigation Unit’s external messaging is aligned with the Center’s integrated strategy and organizational values. Serve as a spokesperson for the Center’s litigation work in media engagements, and, when appropriate, prepare other Center spokespeople for their own media appearances. Contribute to the development and review of external communications materials, including press releases, media advisories, public statements, and website content. Participate in donor-facing meetings. Ensure timely, strategic, and accurate reporting on the Litigation Unit’s work for funder proposals, grant reports, and donor briefing materials. Compensation: The annual salary for this position is $245,000. This salary will be subject to a downward locality adjustment if future authorization is granted to work outside the location listed in this posting. Union Status: This position is non-union. FLSA Exempt Status:?Exempt. Job Band: Senior Director (S11) Benefits:Health: The Center provides a comprehensive health insurance plan with no in-network deductible and best-in-class reproductive healthcare coverage, including infertility. The Center also offers Dental and Vision coverage. Well-being: The Center offers resources to help prevent and recover from burnout through different programs that enable mental, physical, and community well-being. The Center provides generous leave, including paid parental leave, personal days, vacation, and sick leave. We are closed the last week of December to allow staff to spend winter holiday time with their loved ones. Investment: After the first year of employment, the Center will contribute 7.5%* of your annual salary to a 401(k) (*applicable only in US and Kenya). Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion The Center is committed to inclusive hiring and dedicated to diversity in our work and staff. We strongly encourage people from all communities to apply. If you are excited about this role but unsure about whether your experience aligns with the job description, we encourage you to apply. You may be the right candidate for this or other roles. To learn more about the Center’s commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, please visit Diversity, Equity and Inclusion | Center for Reproductive Rights. Center policy on visa sponsorship for U.S.-based positions: Applicants for employment in the U.S. must have valid work authorization that does not now and will not in the future require sponsorship of a visa for employment authorization in the U.S. by The Center for Reproductive Rights. Requirements: 20+ years of professional experience with at least 15 years in the active practice of law, and at least 10 ye
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