Chief of Child Advocacy Unit

Duties & Responsibilities
Vision & Operational Leadership

Advocacy: Elevate the youth voice within child welfare system
Strategic Direction: Collaboratively devise and implement the CAU’s mission, core values, and strategic goals in alignment with the Defender Association.
Executive Collaboration: Serve on the senior leadership team to contribute to organization-wide decision-making and proactively communicate court and community updates to CAU staff.
Multidisciplinary Integration: Partner with the Chief of Social Services to seamlessly execute a multidisciplinary team model of service delivery.

Legal Practice & Case Management

Caseload Management: Maintain a modest personal caseload to remain abreast of the law, while overseeing unit-wide case assignment protocols, staffing coverage, and equitable resource allocation.
Complex Litigation Support: Consult and guide attorneys on complex legal, ethical, and strategic issues (e.g., permanency, termination of parental rights, education, and older youth rights).
Systemic Advocacy: Collaborate with the appellate litigation team on cases presenting significant legal or systemic issues.

Quality Assurance & Data

Representation Standards: Establish and enforce rigorous standards to ensure representation is consistently trauma-informed, culturally responsive, and effective at elevating youth voices and wishes.
Data-Driven Evaluation: Create systems for data collection to evaluate case outcomes, track budget/staffing needs, and continuously improve unit performance.
Funding Initiatives: Utilize data and client feedback to assist with grant proposals, funder reporting, and identifying new financial opportunities.
Talent Development & Culture

Team Supervision: Supervise and mentor supervising attorneys, supervising social workers, and administrative staff through recurring 1:1s and performance evaluations. Create an environment of support and mentoring for the entire department.
Recruitment Strategy: Work with the Directors of Recruitment and Training to build robust pipelines for hiring and retaining staff and interns.
Professional Growth: Foster a culture of anti-racism, wellness, and accountability by proactively supporting staff public speaking, leadership, and educational opportunities.

Qualifications
Required

Education: Juris Doctor degree and active admission (or eligibility for admission) to the Pennsylvania Bar.
Litigation Experience: Minimum of 7–10 years of direct legal representation in dependency or child welfare proceedings, with strong knowledge of PA and federal legal frameworks.
Management Experience: Minimum of 5 years of management experience, demonstrating the ability to lead effectively in a high-volume public defense environment
Core Values: Demonstrated commitment to public defense, children’s rights, diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Leadership: Track record of utilizing clear, positive and collaborative communication to foster a supportive teamwork environment or demonstrated potential to develop this competency

Preferred

Jurisdictional Expertise: 5+ years of extensive practice navigating dependency court systems in Philadelphia.
Multidisciplinary Leadership: Proven experience directing cross-functional teams (social workers, mental health professionals, educators).
Systemic Impact: Track record of involvement in appellate, impact, policy, or legislative advocacy related to child welfare.
Talent Development: Documented success in creating formal training programs or staff retention initiatives.

Benefits & Perks

Comprehensive Benefits: Affordable medical care options plus employer paid vision, dental, life and long- term disability insurances
Generous Time Off: 25 days of paid time off (PTO) annually, in addition to all federal holidays
Wellness Initiatives: Dedicated, separate sick leave policy alongside organizational programming to support your physical and mental health
Family Support: 10 weeks of paid parental leave
Retirement: Generous retirement savings plan with Employer Match
Commuter Benefits: Free Septa All Access Key card
PSLF: We are a Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) eligible employer
Culture: Meaningful, mission-driven work within a supportive, learning-focused, and collaborative environment.