Deputy General Counsel : Florida

Florida Education Association

Deputy General Counsel

Based in Tallahassee, Florida
(travel required)

Job Title: Deputy General Counsel
Classification: Management Supervisor: General Counsel, Director of Legal Services
Location: Tallahassee, Florida (travel required)

The Florida Education Association (FEA) is the largest association of professional employees and the largest labor union in the Southeast, representing more than 150,000 members. FEA members include teachers, education staff professionals, higher education faculty and graduate assistants, retirees, education students, and early career educators. FEA represents the professional and working interests of its members and plays a prominent role in shaping state policies that affect public schools. FEA is a merged state association affiliated with both the National Education  Association (NEA) and the American Federation of Teachers (AFT).

Position Summary: The Florida Education Association (FEA) seeks a Deputy General Counsel (Deputy GC) to support the General Counsel (GC)/Director of Legal Services. The primary role of the Deputy GC will be to manage the day-to-day operations of the Legal Services Department, ensuring that members receive effective and efficient services. Additionally, the Deputy GC will be responsible for overseeing the timely and accurate processing and receipt of reimbursements from national affiliates, serve as the FEA Credentials and Elections committee liaison, oversee case management, and handle special assignments. The Deputy GC will serve as an advisor to staff counsel, FEA’s elected officers, and FEA’s management team on a wide variety of issues including union activities, political engagement, board governance, employment law, organizational policies, and education law.

Qualifications:

• Must be a member of The Florida Bar with current good standing.
• At least five years’ experience as a licensed attorney is required.
• Experience in managing administrative staff is highly desired.
• Experience in managing and processing data, reports, and grant management is desired.
• Litigation experience in state and before administrative agencies such as PERC, FCHR, DOAH, or the EEOC, and in arbitration forums is highly desired.
• Experience advising executive officers/leaders is highly desired.
• Ability and willingness to travel, including overnight travel.

Primary Responsibilities:

1. Support the GC/Director of Legal Services with all aspects of advising FEA’s elected officers, Chief of Staff, Governance Board, and management team on organizational policies, grant management, legislative, and labor and employment law matters.
2. Strategically manage the Legal Services Department operations to ensure efficiency and excellent customer service to members.
3. Represent FEA in legal proceedings in various administrative and judicial forums.
4. Supervise and manage Associate staff personnel.
5. Assist the GC/Director of Legal Services with oversight and management of outside counsel on member representation and ULSP cases.
6. Assist the GC/Director of Legal Services with oversight and management of in-house counsel on member representation and ULSP cases.
7. Assist the GC/Director of Legal Services with the development and implementation of legal training programs for leaders and field staff.
8. Oversee the coordination with national organizations on funding and reimbursement under all legal programs.
9. Administer and manage the Attorney Referral Program, the Educators’ Employment Liability Program, Association Professional Liability Program, and Fidelity Bond.
10. Provide sound legal advice and strategies that align with FEA’s vision and goals.
11. Effectively resolve issues through creative and solution-oriented recommendations.
12. Draft and/or edit legal manuals and literature which is distributed to staff and to locals as part of the FEA training program.
13. Serve as a staff liaison to the FEA Credentials and Elections Committee.
14. Perform other duties and inter-Division activities as assigned.

Management Responsibilities:

1. Advance FEA’s vision and mission by identifying opportunities for increased organizational effectiveness and efficiency through shared organizational learning.
2. Recommend programs, policies, and services that are aligned with FEA’s vision, mission, and strategic goals.
3. Provide oversight to and strategize with outside counsel in the defense of FEA staff employment-related litigation and local staff employment-related litigation.
4. Provide oversight to and strategize with FEA staff counsel on member representation cases, such as certification cases (EPC and DOAH) and ULSPs.
5. Report to and advise the Chief of Staff or designee on FEA programs, policies, and services.
6. Manage, execute, and be a steward of the departmental and organizational budget, finances, and other resources.
7. Educate staff on FEA’s mission and goals, and responsibilities to members as owners of FEA.
8. Contribute to the functioning and deliberations of the management team.
9. Support planning, coordination, and implementation of programs and services across departmental and cross-domain boundaries.
10. Continually review and assess programs and services to assure alignment with FEA’s mission and strategic goals.
11. Uniformly and consistently manage, implement, and enforce FEA’s programs, policies and the FEA/FSO Collective Bargaining Agreement.
12. Effectively manage FEA’s human resources through assigning, supervising, and evaluating associate staff.
13. Oversee Case Management Operations and Membership Quality Assurance.
14. Actively support FEA’s Affirmative Action Program and policies.
15. Responsible for special assignments as assigned by the GC/Director of Legal Services.

General Responsibilities:

1. Strong interpersonal skills and diplomatic approach to managing relationships between local affiliates, service units, and staff from individual contributors to senior/executive leadership.
2. Ability to deal with a geographically diverse organization with autonomous, membership-based operating units.
3. Support activities that promote membership recruitment, engagement, and growth.
4. Efficiently utilize technology and software such as the Microsoft Office Suite (Word-Excel-PowerPoint) Microsoft Office 365, SharePoint, Zoom, and Teams.
5. Other duties as assigned by the Chief of Staff or GC/ Director of Legal Services.

Compensation & Benefits: Salary will be based on relevant experience and qualifications within the anticipated range of $110,000 – $122,000. FEA provides medical, dental, vision, life, and long-term-disability insurance to its employees and eligible family members with no monthly employee premiums. Additionally, FEA offers two retirement options, vacation leave, sick leave, and paid holidays.

How to Apply: Interested candidates should submit a cover letter and résumé via email to feahr@floridaea.org. Candidates will be reviewed on a rolling basis. Candidates that apply on or before February 24, 2021 will receive preferential treatment.

FLORIDA EDUCATION ASSOCIATION
IS AN AFFIRMATIVE ACTION/EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

Consistent with the FEA Affirmative Action Plan, minority, female, and physically challenged applicants are encouraged to apply. Please contact FEA’s Office of Human Resources at 850-201-3215 or feahr@floridaea.org to request an accommodation during the application process.

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