The Center for Family Representation Inc. (CFR) is an award-winning, innovative law and policy organization that serves primarily Black and Brown families and youth in Queens, Manhattan, the Bronx, and Staten Island with an interdisciplinary legal defense model that serves more than 2400 clients every year. CFR was originally founded in 2002 to dramatically change the trajectory of indigent parents being prosecuted by the City’s Administration for Children’s Services (ACS). Our goal is to defend and protect our clients’ rights, reduce the harm of family separation and prevent or minimize the time any child spends in the foster system.

CFR provides interdisciplinary family defense with a model that was unique at our founding and that is now being replicated nationally: we assign every client an attorney and a social work staff member, and teams have the support of parent advocates, who are parents with direct personal experience of having been investigated and prosecuted by ACS. CFR was the first agency in the country to integrate parents with lived experience into legal teams and now has 8 parent advocates working in all four of our family defense locations. CFR’s Early Defense Practice represents parents during an ACS investigation (to avoid court involvement where possible). Our SCR Practice assists parents in clearing their names from state maltreatment records.

As an agency committed to securing justice for families, we built the Youth Defense practice (YDP) to defend youth at risk of family separation through incarceration. YDP uses the same interdisciplinary model to represent youth being prosecuted in Queens and Manhattan in Supreme Court Youth Parts, during Probation Adjustment and in Delinquency proceedings in Family Court. CFR’s Home for Good program provides legal and social work services to CFR clients in immigration, civil legal services and criminal defense matters, to afford clients an efficient and well-coordinated one-stop solution to a range of issues that threaten family stability.

Recognized as experts in our fields, we annually train over 500 practitioners in the city, state and around the country on strategies to promote family preservation and interdisciplinary representation, and we provide community based “Know Your Rights” presentations to parents, youth and service providers. We advocate at the city, state and national level for policies that reduce the harm of family separation, and promote parent engagement and justice for youth and families.

Current opening:

CFR is hiring an Executive Assistant (EA) to the CEO. The EA will report directly to the CEO but also provide additional support to senior and executive team members, as directed, to ensure that organizational goals and objectives are accomplished and that operations run efficiently. The EA will primarily be responsible for providing general administrative, research, and communications support to the CEO. They will also be a part of conversations and planning to further the strategic goals of the organization. They will be tasked with handling highly-sensitive/confidential information and requests for information and performing administrative functions such as preparing correspondence, receiving visitors, arranging conference calls, arranging travel and scheduling meetings. May also train and supervise other staff. The EA will be expected to collaborate with staff at all levels of the organization and may have the opportunity to support CFR’s civic engagement and client resource work.

Responsibilities would include but are not limited to:

Administration
- Coordinate the scheduling of Internal and External meetings as needed
- Provide administrative assistance, such as writing and editing emails, drafting memos, and preparing communications.
- Handle confidential information
- Provide support around coordination of vacation schedules and related administrative tasks
- Maintain quality filing and communications systems including contact management, document management, and archiving
- Work closely with Development Director and Supervisor for Government Affairs and Policy on scheduling needs
- Analyzing data and providing insights to inform decision-making
- Work closely and effectively with the CEO to keep them well informed of upcoming commitments and responsibilities, following up appropriately.
Meeting Preparation and Facilitation
- Facilitate internal and external meetings as needed, specifically Director level meetings, including sending invitations, gathering materials and preparing agendas
- Maintain notes for Director and other management level meetings and follow up on next steps and action items to ensure that progress is made in between meetings
- Support the CEO in coalition and external engagement work including coordinating and scheduling meetings, preparing agendas
Project Management and Strategic Support
- Sort, screen, and distribute correspondence to the CEO, determining priority levels.
- Work closely with the COO, CFO as necessary to further strategic goals of the organization
- Provide project management support for large projects impacting the organization
Board and Stakeholder Support
- Serve as a liaison, as needed, to Board of Directors
- Organize meetings and events for convenings, retreats, various board meetings, and other logistics
- Arrange and handle all logistics for Board meetings and events: schedule meetings; draft agendas; develop, compile, and distribute presentation materials; and record meeting minutes on behalf of the Board Secretary

Location: CFR has a generous telecommuting policy that allows staff the flexibility to work from home when there are no in-person client or organizational obligations. The Executive Assistant should expect to attend weekly in person meetings, which take place in different boroughs, in person one-on-one meetings with the CEO as needed, as well as other in person obligations as dictated by organizational needs. Some evening in-person events may be necessary.

Travel: Travel to conferences and work events may also be required as well as throughout the Five Boroughs.

Annualized Salary: $70,000 - $85,000

QUALIFICATIONS

Qualifications:

Minimum of 3 years working as an executive assistant
Strong leadership and project management skills
Experience working in the nonprofit social justice sector or in a public defender’s office
Strong time management and communication skills
Detail oriented
Demonstrated proactive approaches to problem-solving with strong decision-making capability
Forward looking and strategic thinker who actively seeks opportunities and proposes solutions.
Have experience handling highly confidential information
Cooperative & collaborative team member;
Ability to give constructive and positive feedback;
Advanced Microsoft Office skills, with an ability to become familiar with firm-specific programs and software.

Ideal Candidates will also have:

Have prior experience, either lived or through advocacy, with the NYC family policing system, education, housing or public benefits’ systems or other social justice experience
Have experience working in unionized office;
Experience successfully working in a hybrid working environment;

APPLY

Candidates should submit their application through CFR’s Career Portal.

CFR strives to create an inclusive and antiracist environment for all of its staff. Candidates from all backgrounds are encouraged to apply. CFR is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Center for Family Representation, Inc.

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