Position Overview:
Job title: Child Welfare Program Attorney
Status: Full-time Exempt Employee
Starting salary: Commensurate with experience

About Us:
The Ohio Access to Justice Foundation (Foundation) is a nonprofit foundation committed to ensuring that Ohioans who are low-income or who lack access can fully and fairly participate in civil systems that produce just outcomes. To achieve this, the Foundation promotes access to justice, funds civil legal aid, expands legal capacity, fosters innovation, and collaborates with partners to achieve systemic change.

Position Overview:
We seek a mission-driven attorney to lead and support grant-funded projects aimed at improving the quality of legal representation for children, parents, and kinship care providers involved in the child welfare system. This attorney will spearhead a multi-faceted initiative alongside a team of partners. This initiative includes assessing the current child welfare system; creating and distributing tailored, high-quality attorney education, establishing financial incentives both to enter child welfare practice and to provide high-quality representation, and supporting innovative service delivery models. All these efforts aim to boost access and elevate the quality of legal representation for parents, children, and kinship caregivers in, or at risk of involvement with, Ohio’s child welfare system.

Major Duties:
• Manage and support new project implementation.
• Provide subject matter expertise in child welfare law.
• Build and maintain partnerships with the private bar, especially with child welfare attorneys, service providers, consultants, and others operating in the child welfare ecosystem.
• Lead the collaboration with project partners and the Ohio Department of Children and Youth, ensuring robust, regular communication between partners and stakeholders.
• Ensure strategies and projects are data driven and informed by and responsive to community needs.
• Contribute to strategic planning and organizational development.
• Create contingency plans in response to potential changes in the project.

Qualifications:
• Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree
• Licensed to practice law in the State of Ohio
• Minimum of 2 years of experience in child welfare or a related field
• Minimum of 3 years of experience in project management or program administration
• Demonstrated commitment to improving access to justice
• Outstanding communication skills
• Experience engaging and collaborating with diverse community stakeholders
• Strategic, detail-oriented, and analytical self-starter with strong organizational and time management skills
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.)

Benefits:
The Foundation offers a competitive compensation and benefits package, including insurance (life, health, dental, disability), 401(k) matching, paid time off, paid holidays and a hybrid work schedule after 4 months of employment.

The Ohio Access to Justice Foundation is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We do not discriminate based on race, color, religion, sex, gender identity or expression, age, disability, military status, national origin, sexual orientation, ancestry, familial status, or any other basis prohibited by law. We strongly encourage candidates from diverse backgrounds to apply.

How to apply:
Interested candidates should submit a resume and cover letter detailing their qualifications and interest in the position to [email protected] or via Indeed.
Applications without a cover letter will NOT be considered.

Please note: Applicants must be authorized for employment in Ohio. Sponsorships are not available.