Job title: Director of Public Interest and Government for the Center for Co-op and Career Development, School of Law
Company: Northeastern University
Job description: About the Opportunity
The Center for Co-op and Career development oversees all aspects of career planning for the law school’s J.D. and LL.M. students students. This includes responsibility for year-round co-op placements, student advising, continuous employer outreach and engagement, on-campus interviewing programs (OCI), professional development programming, and postgraduate placement.
Northeastern University School of Law’s year-round Cooperative Legal Education Program (“Co-op”) is the law school’s signature experiential program and a core component of our students’ professional training. The law school is regularly ranked #1 for Practical Training due to the strength and sophistication of its co-op program. There are currently over 1000 co-op employers, around the nation and the world, and maintaining and strengthening relationships with existing employers, as well as identifying and recruiting new employers, is a main responsibility of the Center for Co-op and Career Development.
The Center for Co-op and Career Development is responsible for metric/outcome reporting requirements to the American Bar Association (ABA) and to the National Association for Law Placement (NALP), and those outcomes feed directly into the law school’s national ranking and reputation.
The Director of Public Interest and Government oversees and manages all aspects of career development, employer relations, co-op placement and funding, fellowship applications and sponsorships, and post-graduate placement for law students seeking careers in public interest and/or government. Northeastern University School of Law is known for its leadership and success throughout the broad public interest legal world: the law school is regularly ranked #1 for Public Interest. In an increasingly competitive environment – with many other law schools vying to claim the “public interest mantle,” it is a high priority for Northeastern to maintain its status as a public interest leader and its reputation for excellence in the field. The Director of Public Interest and Government, working with other stakeholders throughout the law school and the larger legal community, bears a significant responsibility for crafting and leading this effort.
The Director of Public Interest and Government has direct oversight of program development and delivery related to professional and career development for students focused on Public Interest and Government careers. The Director is responsible for managing employer outreach and marketing and for the Public Interest/Government on-campus interview (OCI) program. The Director leads the effort to research and develop relationships with key stakeholders in order to identify fellowships that match the interests and skills of public interest-oriented law students.
The Director is accountable for meeting established goals and metrics related to Co-op and post-graduate placement, monitoring NUSL public interest requirements for graduation, and providing student advising. Finally, the Director of Public Interest and Government works closely with the Center for Public Interest, Advocacy and Collaboration (CPIAC), serving as the main representative of the Center for Co-op and Career Development with CPIAC and its various stakeholders.
The Director of Public Interest and Government is currently responsible for supervising and developing two full-time staff members in the areas of public interest, government, and judicial clerkship advising. The Director is a key member of the Co-op and Career Development leadership team, meeting regularly with the Assistant Dean to assist with reviewing and revising co-op policies and procedures, review and redistribute staff workload, identify gaps in service to students, graduates and employers and create plans for filling any such gaps, and troubleshoot issues relating to employers or other stakeholders. The Director serves as a thought leader and strategic partner for the Assistant Dean and, may at times, act as proxy supervisor of staff members in the absence or unavailability of the Assistant Dean.
There are two Directors in the Center for Co-op and Career Development, and the other Director plays a parallel role in the Private Sector practice areas. Directors must remain deeply engaged with and knowledgeable about the industry sectors for which they bear responsibility, this includes regularly educating themselves regarding industry trends and market direction and revising career advising, programming, and employer outreach to align with those trends.
Responsibilities:
1) Leadership and Supervision:
- Serve on the Co-op Office leadership team, working closely with the Assistant Dean, the Director of Private Sector, and the Associate Director for Operations and Data to ensure successful delivery of services to students, employers, and other stakeholders, as well as acting as a strategic partner and thought leader alongside the Assistant Dean.
- Supervise and provide mentorship to Associate Directors, fostering their professional growth.
2) Co-op and Postgraduate Career Advising and Placement:
- Provide oversight of all public interest and government co-op placement and student outcomes from those placements.
- Advise public interest-oriented students and graduates on employment opportunities and strategies, and track placement progress across multiple practice areas.
- Maintain a portfolio of law student advisees, offering weekly student advising slots; reviewing and providing comprehensive feedback on student application materials; conducting mock interviews to prepare students for their meetings with employers, and liaising with the appropriate departments (i.e. Academic and Student Affairs) regarding students experiencing particular difficulties.
- In collaboration with the Assistant Dean, develop goals for Public Sector advising teams related to co-op and post-graduate placement.
3) Program Design, Development, and Delivery:
- Design, develop, and execute both annual OCI (on-campus interview programs) and professional development programs related to the broad array of public interest career fields, which coordinates interviews between public interest employers and students for post-graduate jobs.
- Deliver professional development education programming to students involving Government Honors Programs, Fellowships, Public Defenders and Prosecution (state and federal), Legal Services, Impact Litigation, and Non-Profit Legal Organizations. This includes planning, presenting, inviting speakers as needed, and managing the budget for specific events.
- Plan, develop, and co-present several skills-based Professional Development programs multiple times per year, including programs on interviewing skills, post-graduate job search strategy, and networking.
4) Employer Outreach:
- Develop, execute, and regularly update an employer outreach plan that aligns with law student interests and law school goals while incorporating industry trends.
- Identify and recruit high-quality employers in alignment with the law school’s goal of increasing the geographic diversity of our student and graduate placement.
- Maintain strong and productive relationships with a full range of public interest and government employers.
5) Strategic collaboration and other duties:
- Manage the law school’s PIR (Public Interest Requirement) by developing PIR-qualifying opportunities for students who do not satisfy the requirement via co-op or clinical work.
- Collaborate with the Offices of Financial Aid and Development to manage funding initiatives for unpaid public interest and judicial co-ops.
- Work with the Office of Admissions to provide information and presentation to prospective and admitted law students.
- Serve on appropriate law school committees, working groups and task forces on matters related to public interest, student professional and career development, as assigned by the Dean or Assistant Dean.
Qualifications:
Required Qualifications
- Knowledge and skills are typically acquired through the completion of a J.D. from an accredited law school and at least 5 years of relevant work experience (e.g. career counseling and student advising), this includes at least 3 years of legal practice experience in public interest or government.
- The typical candidate will have at least 3 years of managerial/supervisor experience
- Demonstrated experience designing, planning, and delivering sophisticated and varied professional development programs for students, interns, and/or junior-level attorneys.
- Demonstrate excellent verbal and written communication skills, this includes public speaking and presenting skills.
- Strong political acumen, as well as the ability to collaborate and communicate effectively across all levels of the organization
- Demonstrated commitment to diversity and inclusion and a proven ability to work with a diverse group of students, staff, and faculty
- Must be self-directed, able to make independent decisions
- Strong attention to detail, problem-solving skills, exceptional organizational skills and the ability to organize time and priorities, including multiple tasks and deadline pressures.
- Must be available for periodic travel for purposes of employer outreach, job fairs, and select professional conferences
- Must be available to attend occasional evening events related to student professional development and missional goals for the Co-op Office and School of Law (networking events, industry events, etc.). Advanced notice will be provided whenever possible.
Preferred Qualification:
- Demonstrated knowledge of entry-level attorney opportunities throughout public interest sectors and of pathways to those positions, as well as an understanding of the public interest legal market, hiring trends, and a willingness to learn new and emerging practice areas.
- Demonstrated experience with strategic planning, including planning toward specific metric goals.
Documents to Submit: Please submit your resume properly addressed and formatted cover letter, resume, and list of references in one PDF submission.
Additional Information: Questions? Contact Quaime V. Lee, Assistant Dean for the Center for Co-op and Career Development, at q.lee@northeastern.edu.
Position Type
Student Services
Additional Information
Northeastern University considers factors such as candidate work experience, education and skills when extending an offer.
Northeastern has a comprehensive benefits package for benefit eligible employees. This includes medical, vision, dental, paid time off, tuition assistance, wellness & life, retirement- as well as commuting & transportation. Visit for more information.
Northeastern University is an equal opportunity employer, seeking to recruit and support a broadly diverse community of faculty and staff. Northeastern values and celebrates diversity in all its forms and strives to foster an inclusive culture built on respect that affirms inter-group relations and builds cohesion.
All qualified applicants are encouraged to apply and will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, age, sex, sexual orientation, disability status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.
To learn more about Northeastern University’s commitment and support of diversity and inclusion, please see .
Expected salary:
Location: Boston, MA
Job date: Fri, 20 Oct 2023 02:05:27 GMT
