What are the responsibilities and job description for the Executive Director position at Veterans Legal Institute?

About Veterans Legal Institute

Veterans Legal Institute’s mission is simple - to provide world-class legal pro bono assistance to homeless, at-risk, disabled, and low-income veterans to eradicate barriers to housing, healthcare, education, employment, and to foster self-sufficiency.

VLI is a full-service law firm that represents the complete suite of veterans’ legal needs including family law, discharge upgrades, veterans benefits, housing, consumer law, civil litigation, trusts, estates, and probate, healthcare, business, non-profit.

From the beginning, VLI has been committed not only to its clients but to the overall California veteran community. For instance, VLI joined forces with policymakers in Sacramento to expand access to justice for disabled California veterans. Before SB 498 was passed, many veterans were disqualified from legal aid because their disability compensation made them “over-income.”

Disabled veterans were in a Catch-22 situation, as some were too “rich” to qualify for legal aid, but too poor to afford a private attorney, due to their service-related disability. VLI partnered with Senator Tom Umberg to push for this critically needed legislation, which allowed disabled veterans to access justice while not being penalized for their disability. As a result, disabled veterans throughout California can now qualify for the legal services they desperately need – and deserve.

VLI also advocates on behalf of its clients by providing community education and policy advocacy in an effort to increase awareness, resources, and overall protections to current and former members of the US military. VLI is amongst the only military-specific full public-interest law firms in the United States.

In 2023, VLI secured over $2.9 million in benefit awards for disabled veterans, including over $165,000 in monthly compensation. VLI receives between 200-400 applications per month for legal services serving 150 on average each month. Most importantly, VLI is a pro bono law firm, which means that the veterans served never need to worry about receiving a bill for VLI’s life-changing services.

Strategically centered in Orange County, it has served as a key legal support for the nearly 100,000 veterans in the county and many more located in the southern California region. Heading into its tenth year, VLI has already served over 10,000 veterans in Orange County and beyond.

Sadly, on average, twenty veterans die by suicide in the United States every day. The work of VLI provides vital practical care for those who have sacrificed so much for their country.

Position Summary

At an exciting time of growth and transition, VLI seeks a visionary Executive Director whose leadership will expand on the work of the founding Executive Director to support, advance, and grow the mission of this veteran-focused legal services organization. The Executive Director directs all aspects of the organization’s operations including donor relations, fundraising and development, recruitment of attorneys, human resources, finances and budgeting, public relations, and strategic planning. Together with the Board and staff, the Executive Director will strengthen the organization, create new opportunities for funding, and be a strong ambassador for VLI in the community.

Duties : Promote the Mission

Support the mission of VLI at the operational, strategic, and policy-making levels.
Cultivate new relationships, and further develop current relationships with a deep knowledge of our community, assuring that the organization has an effective long-range strategy to achieve its mission, provide leadership for its programs, strengthen organizational matters, and implement Board-approved financial plans.

Fundraising and Development

Design and execute VLI’s development strategy including donor relations, corporate / foundation partnership development and cultivation, attend Orange County Bar Association and other events, strategic planning, creation of the Impact Report, lead fundraising campaigns, oversee fundraising special events- most notably “Lawyers for Warriors”.

Strategic Planning

Develop a sustainable expansion plan, using metric-driven models, to grow the organization and extend its ability to serve veterans beyond VLI’s current regional footprint.

Finances

Supervise the creation and manage the organizational budget, manage bills / invoices, reimbursements, and craft a yearly financial health review.

Oversee and exercise authority over all budgetary matters, in collaboration with the Staff and Board of Directors.

Maintain VLI’s financial health through County and State budget advocacy, private fund development, and other appropriate sources of revenue.

Board Administration / Support

Report to the Board concerning the organization, community needs, proposals and initiatives, financial issues, and other matters, and lead the Board in their involvement in fundraising and volunteer activities.

Attend and participate in all Board meetings, set the agendas, prepare reports and supporting materials, and keep the Board and its Chairperson regularly apprised of all significant developments including but not limited to financial, staff, programs, clients, and community.

Draft policies for the approval of the Board and prepare procedures to implement those policies; review existing policies annually and recommend changes to the Board as appropriate.

Human Resources and Public Relations

Manage all hiring, termination, and employee evaluations for the organization.

Determine new staffing needs and make recommendations to the board regarding the same.

Draft legislative proposals, oversee website management, and represent VLI as the Point of Contact for all media inquiries.

Organizational & Staff Oversight

Oversee a staff of nonprofit professionals, attorneys, paralegals, support staff and volunteers. Provide leadership and guidance, foster collegiality and respect, and support professional development.

Lead the recruitment of pro-bono attorneys, draft and execute contracts, manage insurance in relation to organizational processes, and foster continued collaboration with Legal Aid Executive Directors.

Lead and oversee planning for the development of VLI’s organizational goals.

Requirements :

7 years leadership experience within a nonprofit. The Executive Director will be a strong spokesperson and ambassador for the organization both internally and externally.

10 years of experience in nonprofit fundraising, specifically major gifts, donor / board relations, and grant writing.

An authentic connection to VLI’s mission.

Strong financial acumen along with experience creating and managing budgets within a nonprofit organization.

Knowledgeable about the CA legal process / landscape or a demonstrated ability to adapt. The Executive Director will directly recruit pro-bono attorneys with the support of the staff.

The Executive Director is a front-facing professional and will need to have flexibility to attend multiple events a week in addition to typical in-office work.

Compensation

Compensation ranges from $125,000 to $175,000, commensurate with experience and a competitive benefits package.

To Apply

Veterans Legal Institute has retained the services of ThinkingAhead Executive Search.

Interested applicants should send a resume and statement of interest to Jonathan McIntosh, Partner at jmcintosh@thinkingahead.com .

Salary : $125,000 - $175,000

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