PLEASE NOTE: To receive full consideration for this position, please submit the requested information through Armstrong McGuire's portal at www.armstrongmcguire.com/jobs. Due to integration issues, applications submitted through 3rd party sites such as Indeed and LinkedIn may not be received.
The Opportunity
Are you driven to ensure full and fair justice for all South Carolinians? Do you believe in providing high quality civil legal services regardless of an individual's ability to pay?
Are you an experienced manager who develops individual leaders and builds strong teams? Are you ready to lead a $14+ million organization with 9 offices and a statewide staff of 150 people?
After more than four decades with SC Legal Services (SCLS), Executive Director Andrea Loney is retiring later this year. Now, SCLS is searching for its next Executive Director.
South Carolina Legal Services is a statewide law firm that provides civil legal services to protect the rights and represent the interests of low-income South Carolinians.
About the Position
The Executive Director of South Carolina Legal Services is the chief executive officer of the law firm. Reporting to the SCLS Board of Directors, the Executive Director is responsible for the direction, administration, supervision, and implementation of the activities of South Carolina Legal Services.
The Executive Director’s primary responsibilities are as follows:
Make recommendations to and partner with the Board of Directors to set strategic goals and objectives, determine priorities, and develop policies and procedures.
Provide leadership and articulate the vision established for SCLS to internal staff, partners, and the broader community.
Inspire a 150-member staff team across 9 offices with a unified vision, nurturing a spirit of compassion, collaboration, and personal accountability.
Coordinate and oversee all aspects of the law firm’s operations and legal service delivery. Be accountable for the administration of all policies, personnel decisions, financial management, management of organizational systems, and the provision of high-quality legal services to low-income persons.
Manage an annual operating budget of $14+ million and assets of nearly $17 million. Ensure fiscal integrity in management of the law firm’s resources and be responsible for fiscal administration of the law firm, including budget development, monitoring the financial operations, implementing financial policies and controls, managing financial and compliance audits, and providing periodic reports on the organization’s financial activity to the Board of Directors.
Solicit and safeguard funding to enable SCLS to serve as many South Carolinians as possible each year. Procure financial resources to support law firm operations through private fundraising efforts and grant development.
Passionately share SCLS’s story of impact across the state, educating members of the legal community, policy makers, and the public at large, and inspiring and asking community leaders and neighbors to invest in access to justice through support of SCLS.
Establish and maintain effective partnerships with community organizations, including the corporate community, client organizations, and other human services provider agencies.
Establish and maintain relationships with the private bar and other organized bar groups, the judiciary, local, state, and national legal services providers, and other stakeholders in the civil legal aid and broader justice communities.
Monitor compliance with law firm bylaws and policies, Legal Services Corporation regulations, other applicable laws and regulations, and grant conditions.
Build on the successes of SCLS’s decades of service to the state.
The Ideal Candidate Profile
SCLS’s next CEO is an attorney who is a member of the South Carolina Bar or eligible for admission to the Bar within one year. The ideal candidate will demonstrate the following key lived experiences, attributes, and skill sets:
Compassionate leadership with an unwavering commitment to equal access to justice.
Executive level experience in a company or nonprofit organization, a law school, branch of a court system, law firm, corporate law department, or relevant government agency or other organization within the legal system. Litigation experience and familiarity with poverty law are desirable.
Experience casting a vision, building a strategy for the vision, and leading the successful execution of that vision through a multi-faceted plan.
History of demonstrating the sound judgment, administrative skill, and financial acumen necessary to oversee day-to-day operations, direct staff, and manage a multi-million-dollar budget.
Strong interpersonal and deep relational skills, with the ability to build trust, garner respect, instill confidence, ensure accountability, and develop camaraderie and teamwork among SCLS’s staff and offices.
Ability to understand the financial complexities and regulatory necessities of an organization that operates with government funding (specifically Legal Services Corporation), government contracts, grant funding, and private donations.
Demonstrated resource development/fundraising experience with success cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding gifts from private and public sources.
Persuasive and passionate communicator with superior skills in oral and written communications tailored to various audiences and cultures, including staff, the board, clients, funders, partner agencies, government leaders, and community leaders.
Demonstrated ability to develop effective and trusting partnerships and work collaboratively with other legal, advocacy, and social services organizations.
Deep appreciation for, understanding of, and experience implementing diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging practices. Natural curiosity and interest in those who view the world through a lens different than their own.
Confident decision-maker who understands when it is time to build consensus and when it is time to act.
Experience working effectively with a board of directors.
About South Carolina Legal Services
Formed in 2002, South Carolina Legal Services is the result of a merger of multiple regional legal aid organizations. SCLS is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization funded by grants from the federally funded Legal Services Corporation, the South Carolina Bar Foundation, local United Ways, state court filing fees, and other federal, state, and local sources.
Governed by a 25-person board of directors, the law firm provides civil legal services to more than 10,000 individuals and families annually. With offices in Columbia, Greenville, Charleston, Conway, Florence, Greenwood, Orangeburg, Rock Hill, and Spartanburg, SCLS offers legal assistance in multiple areas to low-income South Carolinians.
Want to know more? Visit South Carolina Legal Services’ website at https://sclegal.org/.
Are you SCLS’s next Executive Director?
To apply, click on the link to the Executive Director – South Carolina Legal Services position profile at ArmstrongMcGuire.com/jobs. You will see instructions for uploading your compelling cover letter, resume, salary requirements, and professional references. Please provide all requested information to be considered. In case of any technical problems, contact . No phone calls, please, and no applications will be accepted by email or directly from third-party posting sites.
Review of candidates will begin in October and continue until the position is filled. The preferred application deadline is November 15, 2023.
Compensation is based on regional nonprofit, public interest salaries. Benefits include 100% employer-paid health, dental, vision, group accident and death, and short and long-term disability insurance; 401(k) retirement plan with up to 6% match; student loan repayment assistance; SC Bar and Specialty Bar dues; accrued annual and sick leave; 14 paid holidays; and firm-paid trainings.
South Carolina Legal Services actively seeks a diverse pool of candidates. SCLS is an Equal Opportunity Employer that does not discriminate on the basis of actual or perceived race, creed, color, religion, alienage or national origin, ancestry, citizenship status, age, disability or handicap, sex, marital status, veteran status, sexual orientation, genetic information, arrest record, pregnancy or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state or local laws.
