Founded in 1974, Bet Tzedek Legal Services is a public interest law firm providing free legal help, legal education and community outreach, policy advocacy, and impact litigation. Its work spans elder law, housing, employment, and guardianships, among other areas, serving people including tenants, workers, older adults, Holocaust survivors, immigrants, LGBTQ+ individuals, unhoused people, families, and small business owners. The organization reports serving up to 100,000 people each year.
Senior Director of Compliance
Lead compliance and risk governance for Bet Tzedek’s free legal services, strengthening oversight and accountability across the organization. The role covers obligations, audits, controls, reporting, and coordination across departments.
Description
- Lead the organization’s compliance infrastructure, reporting to the President and CEO.
- Design and maintain a framework for compliance and risk governance.
- Maintain registers and governance tools for obligations, risks, findings, corrective actions, owners, deadlines, and reporting calendars.
- Review grants, contracts, MOUs, RFPs, regulations, policies, and other source documents to identify obligations and their operational impact.
- Coordinate compliance and risk governance with Finance, Institutional Giving, Legal Programs, Human Resources, Data and Information Technology, and other departments.
- Track obligations, risks, corrective actions, controls, documentation, findings, overdue items, escalations, and closure status.
- Conduct periodic monitoring, sampling, evidence reviews, and follow-up testing.
- Identify and escalate risks, gaps, ambiguities, control weaknesses, operational barriers, and emerging issues.
- Prepare decision-ready compliance and risk reports for the President and CEO and executive leaders.
- Support reporting to the Board of Directors or an appropriate Board committee.
- Lead recurring cross-functional reviews of compliance and risk governance.
- Facilitate kickoff meetings for grants, contracts, and compliance work.
- Coordinate organization-wide responses to audits and compliance reviews.
- Maintain registrations, certifications, and public funding documentation, including SAM.gov records and Certificates of Insurance.
- Develop and update compliance policies, manuals, templates, checklists, guidance, and staff materials.
- Train and advise staff on compliance practices.
- Coordinate pro bono volunteers, external advisors, and consultants supporting compliance work.
- Track organizational risks involving regulations, contracts, privacy and data protection, records retention, business continuity, conflicts of interest, insurance, malpractice, grants, audits, and reporting.
- Carry out other assigned duties.
Requirements
- California license to practice law.
- Five to eight years of progressively responsible experience in compliance, risk management, grants management, contracts, audits, nonprofit operations, legal services, or a related field.
- Experience interpreting complex contracts, grant requirements, regulations, policies, and organizational obligations.
- Experience building and maintaining compliance infrastructure, including registers, dashboards, trackers, policies, templates, automated workflows, controlled document repositories, reporting tools, auditable records, risk-based monitoring, control validation, sampling, evidence review, and follow-up processes.
- Strongly preferred: experience with government contracts, public funding, restricted grants, funder audits, or complex reporting requirements.
- Sound analytical judgment and ability to turn complex information into decision-ready briefings.
- Excellent project management and cross-functional coordination skills.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
- High emotional intelligence and strong interpersonal skills.
- Strongly preferred: proficiency with Microsoft 365 tools such as SharePoint, Lists, Planner, and Power Automate.
- Strongly preferred: experience in a nonprofit, especially a legal services nonprofit or mission-driven organization with public and private funding streams.
- Commitment to and understanding of Bet Tzedek’s mission and core values.
- Must live in Southern California and be able to commute when needed.
Benefits
- Paid holidays, vacation, and sick leave.
- Personal and floating holidays.
- Compensatory time for exempt employees.
- Medical, dental, vision, chiropractic, and acupuncture coverage for employees and dependents.
- Office visit copay reimbursement for HMO members.
- Life and AD&D insurance.
- Long-term disability insurance.
- Employee Assistance Plan.
- Optional employee-paid life and AD&D, accident, critical illness, hospital confinement, and pet insurance.
- Employer-funded profit-sharing plan.
- Employee-contributed 403(b) plan.
- Flexible spending accounts for healthcare and childcare.
- Commuter benefits for transit and/or parking.
- Hybrid or remote workplace designation.