Chief Diversity Equity and Inclusion Officer

What You'll Do

As The Legal Aid Society enters its 150th year, our mission to ensure equal justice depends entirely on the 2,400+ staff members who form our advocacy and administrative backbone. To ensure we continuously center equity and foster an affirming workplace for our staff, volunteers, and clients, we are seeking a dynamic and innovative Chief Diversity Equity and Inclusion Officer (CDEIO) to lead our organizational transformation at this historic milestone.

The CDEIO will serve as a key advisor, ensuring our DEI strategy is deeply integrated into strategic planning, culture, and long-term processes. This leader will move beyond theory to create a visionary roadmap that builds the collective buy-in and accountability required for systemic change. By partnering with executive leadership and staff across all practice areas, the CDEIO will support a unified strategy that reflects the lived experiences of the New Yorkers we represent.

This is an ideal opportunity for a bold strategist who sees DEI as a tool for cultural transformation and thrives on the complexity of leading a diverse, mission-driven organization toward a more equitable future. Join us in ensuring our commitment to justice is as powerful within our walls as it is in the courtroom.

Key Responsibilities

Vision and Organizational Leadership

• Define and implement an inspiring DEI vision, strategic plan, and operational roadmap to turn that vision into a reality
• Advise the executive leadership team on DEI-related issues, ensuring accountability and awareness at the highest levels and support advocacy and change strategies that will lead to affirming work environments
• Partner with The Legal Aid Society's executive leadership and HR teams to help deepen and strengthen an inclusive and diverse internal culture and reinforce DEI principles in employee policies and practice, including recruitment and retention
• Develop a comprehensive staffing plan to hire, manage, and retain high-performing DEI personnel
• Ensure the organization's DEI objectives and underlying values are clearly communicated, understood, and reflected across The Legal Aid Society's culture and processes

Community Engagement & Culture

• Foster a culture of inclusion, respect, and trust across all levels and with external partners to improve the employee experience, reduce DEI-related grievances, and ensure the voices of staff are heard, respected, and valued
• Serve as the primary resource and first responder for staff experiencing discrimination, providing immediate support and organizational action plans
• Develop and implement mandatory DEI training programs for onboarding, management, and general staff
• Create frameworks for respectful cross-departmental dialogue and maintain an informed understanding of staff working conditions
• Collaborate with the Communications team to ensure DEI values are consistently embedded in internal and external messaging

Execution & Continuous Improvement

• Utilize quantitative and qualitative data to track, evaluate, and report on the effectiveness of DEI initiatives
• Establish systems for regular progress updates to promote transparency and collective commitment across all levels of the organization
• Partner with leaders to streamline response processes for DEI challenges, ensuring prompt action on critical systemic issues
• Represent the organization in external research, industry groups, and DEI-focused surveys

Team Leadership

• Supervise the DEI team, overseeing role development, performance assessments, and professional growth
• Manage the department budget, including the selection and oversight of external vendors and consultants
• Identify operational strengths and gaps, proposing necessary resource changes to support evolving DEI initiatives

 Who You'll Work With

• You will report to the Attorney-in-Chief and CEO.

• You will supervise the Senior DEI Program Manager.

• You will frequently collaborate with cross-functional leaders, team, and employee resource groups across the organization.

• 10+ years of senior-level DEI leadership in a complex nonprofit, public interest, or mission-driven organization; experience navigating unionized environments and a JD or Master's degree is strongly preferred
• Proven success leading large-scale DEI initiatives across diverse dimensions, including race, gender, LGBTQ+ identity, and disability, within a large, complex organization
• Expertise in strategic planning and execution, with a demonstrated ability to create visionary roadmaps, establish clear metrics/KPIs, and manage departmental budgets and staff
• Comprehensive and deep technical knowledge of DEI frameworks, systemic oppression, and legal requirements (EEO/human rights laws), maintained through active connection to industry leaders, institutions, and coalitions
• Exceptional communication and facilitation skills, specifically the ability to lead challenging conversations, build trust across diverse stakeholder groups, and serve as a powerful organizational spokesperson
• Advanced data literacy, with proficiency in using quantitative and qualitative analytics to track progress, evaluate initiative effectiveness, and inform high-level decision-making
• Demonstrated mastery of change management, showing the political savvy and emotional intelligence required to dismantle silos, empower staff, and lead through complex organizational shifts
• Strong interpersonal and relationship-building abilities, rooted in humility and compassion, with a track record of resolving conflicts constructively and fostering inclusive, affirming work environments

The CDEIO role is based in New York City and because the Legal Aid Society has offices across the city, this role may require occasional travel within NYC, across the five borough region.

The CDEIO position is mostly sedentary and will require significant time using a computer and monitor as well as communicating and meeting using video. Occasional or frequent physical movement will be required to perform essential job functions which may include, bending, reaching, pulling, pushing, standing or walking for long periods of time, and accessing small spaces.

To find out more details about our generous benefits package, visit our website.

The Legal Aid Society is committed to a work culture of zealous advocacy, respect, diversity and inclusion, client-oriented defense and advocacy, access to justice and excellent representation. We are dedicated to building a strong professional relationship with the people we serve, to understanding their diverse circumstances, and to meeting their needs. Our ability to achieve these goals depends on the efforts of all of us.

As an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Employer, The Legal Aid Society prohibits discriminatory employment actions against and treatment of its employees and applicants for employment based on actual or perceived race or color, size (including bone structure, body size, height, shape, and weight), religion or creed, alienage or citizenship status, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, age, sexual orientation, gender identity (one's internal deeply-held sense of one's gender which may be the same or different from one's sex assigned at birth); gender expression (the representation of gender as expressed through, for example, one's name, choice of pronouns, clothing, haircut, behavior, voice, or body characteristics; gender expression may not conform to traditional gender-based stereotypes assigned to specific gender identities), disability, marital status, relationship and family structure (including domestic partnerships, polyamorous families and individuals, chosen family, platonic co-parents, and multigenerational families), genetic information or predisposing genetic characteristics, military status, domestic violence victim status, arrest or pre-employment conviction record, credit history, unemployment status, caregiver status, salary history, or any other characteristic protected by law.