Housing Unit Director

Bronx Legal Services seeks a Director to lead the Universal Access to Counsel (UAC) management team in our eviction prevention and housing practice. Bronx Legal Services is the largest provider of free civil legal services in the borough, and is part of Legal Services NYC’s network of local programs throughout New York City. Bronx Legal Services’ mission is to advance society’s promise to the most vulnerable members that they are entitled to equal access to our legal system. In addition to the Director, UAC’s supervisory team currently consists of seven Deputy Directors, and four Supervising Attorneys. The office plans to create a position of First Deputy Director to share some of the administrative and managerial duties of the Director. The practice currently has approximately forty staff attorneys and plans to continue growing. It will have a budget of approximately $11 million in the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2024. Bronx Legal Services’ Housing Unit represents low-income Bronx residents in Bronx Housing Court, administrative proceedings, and in affirmative cases challenging agencies and actors who threaten Bronx residents’ ability to obtain and retain affordable housing.

We also collaborate with local community-based organizations to provide housing rights trainings to other advocates, community members, and community groups. The Director will coordinate overall leadership of our housing practice with the Director of our Tenants Rights Coalition Unit and will lead our Universal Access to Counsel in Housing Court initiative, which is working to implement the NYC law mandating the right to legal counsel in eviction proceedings. The Director will shape the direction and manage the operations of the UAC unit; develop and strengthen relationships with partner community organizations; handle administrative and grant responsibilities; oversee the work of the Supervising Attorneys and Deputy Directors; and work to identify systemic housing-related trends that could be affected by strategic litigation.

The successful candidate(s) should have:

• Minimum of 5 years housing litigation experience
• Demonstrated expertise in local, state and federal housing law and policy, housing

court practice, housing programs and subsidies, and public benefits

• Excellent legal writing, litigation, and advocacy skills
• Strong interpersonal, teaching/training and organizational skills
• A demonstrated passion for social justice and commitment to working with low-income

communities and communities of color.

• Prior supervisory experience, grant management experience, experience working with

community-based organizations, is strongly preferred.

• Proficiency in Spanish or another language commonly spoken in the communities we

serve is also preferred.