Legal Program Manager
At a glance
TrustLaw - Thomson Reuters Foundation
Full-time
New York, US
16 October 2024
TrustLaw is the global pro bono service of the Thomson Reuters Foundation. As the world’s leading pro bono legal service, TrustLaw helps high-impact NGOs, social enterprises and media organizations, to grow, streamline their operations and navigate complex laws and regulations by connecting them with free legal assistance from the best law firms and corporate legal teams around the world. We also deliver groundbreaking legal research on key social and policy issues that our members use to support their advocacy and law reform efforts, and we deliver innovative capacity-building workshops on legal issues across the globe.
The Foundation is recruiting a Legal Program Manager to lead our TrustLaw program across North America and the Caribbean (NAC). The position is based in New York. The post holder line manages and works closely with our NAC Legal Officer and our NAC Program Officer.
Key Responsibilities
In this opportunity, your primary responsibilities will include:
- Provide strategic direction and leadership of the TrustLaw service in NAC.
- Design and implement strategies to expand and strengthen the TrustLaw service, identifying key strategic opportunities and relationships and supporting the team to deepen TrustLaw’s work across the focus areas of access to law, responsible business and independent media.
- Coordinate the development of the annual strategy, plan and targets for NAC in close collaboration with the regional team.
- Line manage a Program Officer and a Legal Officer, supporting their growth, development and performance.
- Oversee a large TrustLaw regional portfolio of law firms, corporations, referral partners, NGOs, social enterprises, media organizations and other key stakeholders, with a responsibility for stewarding strong relationships, tracking partner progress, and building an active, engaged membership in the region.
- Design and manage multiple cross-border research and other projects that address the most critical social and policy needs facing our members and contributing towards achieving impact through a high-quality end product.
- Lead the delivery of core service tasks in the region (e.g., scoping legal projects so that the requests clearly explain the legal needs, vetting members, connecting projects with lawyers, managing pro bono requests, feedback, reactivation), ensuring excellent quality of service.
- Maintain in-depth knowledge of TrustLaw processes and systems, serving as the first point of call for any questions from officers and managers in the region and ensuring guidance and best practices are followed.
- Support the global growth of the TrustLaw team by providing training to all TrustLaw staff on core skills (such as effective recruitment and relationship management techniques or legal matter management).
- Manage the service in the region, including by setting up and testing Salesforce reports for the region, undertaking operational projects for the region and ensuring systems and information are up to date and accurate.
- Ensure that resources in the region are used wisely and in line with TRF/TrustLaw strategic objectives.
- Track and report on progress against the region’s annual targets, deliverables and activities, including by working with the NAC team to coordinate updates to the board, quarterly reports, etc.
- Design and execute a robust regional communications strategy that includes member events and promotion of TrustLaw publications, managing website content and TrustLaw member communications.
- Ensure regional communications outputs and plans align with global standards and plans.
- Maintain a high profile in the region by representing TrustLaw and the Thomson Reuters Foundation by speaking publicly on our work at panels, conferences, workshops or other speaking engagements.
- Provide leadership or support, as appropriate, in the design, implementation and resourcing of strategic Thomson Reuters Foundation projects in the region or globally.
- Assist with other duties as required.