Legal Aid of Western Michigan (LAWM) seeks an experienced and collaborative professional to serve as our Director of Human Resources.
This is a new position, designed to promote excellence in hiring, staff development, and organizational culture. It is a great opportunity for someone strongly aligned with our mission to protect rights, challenge injustice, and fight poverty through free legal advocacy for people and families.
About LAWM
We are a nonprofit law office. We deliver free legal help to people who live in or near poverty, and senior citizens. We help when civil (non-criminal) legal problems threaten our clients’ basic living needs, like housing, safety from domestic violence, and income-security. We serve clients in 17 West Michigan counties; over 700,000 people in the region are financially eligible for our help. Our work is grounded in the vision that everyone deserves dignity and justice. We envision a West Michigan where no one lacks suitable housing, personal safety, family stability, or other basic life needs for lack of a lawyer.
We currently have just under 70 staff across five offices (Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, Holland, Muskegon, and St Joseph). LAWM is governed by a 21-member Board of Directors, which includes both local attorneys and members of our client communities. We have a budget of approximately $7 million/year with funding from federal, state, and local government grants, philanthropic foundation grants, and private donations.
For more information about LAWM, visit www.lawestmi.org.
About this Position
The Director of HR is responsible for the following areas, in collaboration with the Executive Team and Managing Attorneys:
- Recruiting, hiring, onboarding, and training staff, and supporting staff retention
- Management of HR systems, including benefits administration and personnel-related policies
- Managing annual staff performance evaluations
- Managing staff grievance processes, performance issues, and other HR-related problem resolution
- Supporting and developing a diverse staff, an inclusive work environment, and a healthy, positive workplace culture
- Ensuring compliance with HR-related law, regulations, and funding requirements
- Providing analysis for decisions regarding staffing and compensation/benefit structure
- Acting as a collaborative thought partner to the Executive Director and Executive Team
- Other responsibilities as assigned by the Executive Director
The Director of HR will work in-person in our Grand Rapids office, with occasional travel to the other LAWM offices. The position supervises the Human Resources Assistant. The Director of HR is part of the Executive Team and reports to the Executive Director.
Experience and Qualifications
We expect candidates who move forward in the hiring process to have many or most of these experiences and qualifications:
- Bachelor’s or advanced degree (focus on HR or non-profit related education preferred)
- 7-10+ years’ experience as an HR professional
- Experience in delivering HR processes as identified above
- Management experience
- Commitment to and experience promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion
- Commitment to and experience promoting an engaged, supportive, positive organizational culture
- Ability to analyze and interpret HR-related data
- Certifications or specific training related to HR
- Excellent listening, written, and verbal communications skills
- Ability to work independently
- Excellent organizational skills and ability to meet deadlines
- A team player who values collaboration and group alignment
- A continuous learner
Legal Aid of Western Michigan is an equal opportunity employer.
Compensation
Salary range: $70,000 - $95,000, depending on experience.
LAWM provides an excellent benefits package and is committed to promoting healthy work/life balance. Our staff enjoy:
- Generous annual leave and sick leave
- Thirteen paid holidays per year
- HMO and HSA health insurance options, as well as an opt-out option for staff who do not require health insurance
- Life and disability insurance
- Annual employer contributions to 403b retirement accounts for eligible employees
- Office hours Monday through Friday either 8:30am to 4:30pm or 9:00am to 5:00pm
- Professional development opportunities
In addition, LAWM is a qualifying employer for most loan forgiveness programs.
Application Process
E-mail a resume and cover letter to Emily McGavin at emcgavin@lawesmi.org.
To receive full consideration, please submit your application by Thursday, March 28, 2024. Applications will be accepted and reviewed until the position is filled.