Associate Director of Public Interest Career Advising

Columbia University
United States, New York, New York
May 31, 2025
Job Type: Officer of Administration Regular/Temporary: Regular Hours Per Week: 35 Salary Range: $95,000 - $103,000 The salary of the finalist selected for this role will be set based on a variety of factors, including but not limited to departmental budgets, qualifications, experience, education, licenses, specialty, and training. The above hiring range represents the University's good faith and reasonable estimate of the range of possible compensation at the time of posting. Position Summary The Office of Public Interest/Public Service Law and Careers (PI/PS) at Columbia Law School provides career services, programming, and specialized opportunities to students and graduates interested in exploring public interest, government, and human rights careers. PI/PS is one of the largest and most specialized public interest advising centers at any U.S. law school and leads conversations on campus about cutting-edge racial and social justice issues and other intersections of law and justice. PI/PS also oversees the Law School's pro bono program, Human Rights Internship Program, and the Max Berger '71 Public Interest/Public Service Fellows Program. Please visit https://www.law.columbia.edu/about/departments/PIPS and https://www.law.columbia.edu/careers/public-interest to learn more. The Associate Director of Public Interest Career Advising at PI/PS assists with the management, implementation, and evaluation of a comprehensive public interest professional development program for Columbia Law School students (J.D.s and LL.M.s) regarding public interest/public service legal careers. The incumbent educates, counsels, and assists Columbia Law students regarding their careers through individual counseling and a program of guest lecturers, panels, workshops, and other activities. The majority of the incumbent's time focuses on advising and supporting 1L J.D.s pursuing summer internships and careers in public interest, as well as upper class students interested in immigration, education, gender justice, LGBTQ+, racial justice, environmental justice, civil rights/ public interest law firms and/or other areas of public interest lawyering. The incumbent will also advise LL.M.s who are interested in domestic public interest work and CLS graduates about public sector opportunities (for graduates who are changing roles in the public sector or who seek to enter the sector from private practice). This position reports to the Dean of the PI/PS Office. Responsibilities Counsels and assists individual students interested in learning about domestic public interest work broadly, including those who want to pursue public interest work for summer internships, term-time internships or externships, or postgraduate positions - with the majority of time focused on 1L JDs and LL.M.s. Counseling includes curricular advising, road mapping students' engagement with public interest opportunities and experiential opportunities at CLS, as well as summer internship and post graduate career advising and support. Reviews and provides comments on resumes and cover letters sent through the PI/PS office 1L and LL.M. application materials portals. Counsels and assists CLS graduates interested in public interest careers (for graduates entering the public sector market, or making job changes within the public sector). Produces resources and publications for graduates, including the quarterly Public Interest Alumni Newsletter. Maintains alumni databases and performs regular outreach to public interest alumni and employers. Organizes events for public interest alumni. Advises and supports all students interested in immigration, education, gender justice, LGBTQ+, racial justice, environmental justice, civil rights/public interest law firms, and/or other areas of public interest lawyering, through counseling, employer outreach, application review, fellowship support, and programming. Works with other PI/PS advisers in the development, presentation, and evaluation of a comprehensive cycle of programs on public interest professional development and related issues for students, which include speakers, panels, workshops, webinars, and web content. Assists with the development of printed and web-based materials and publications, webinars, videos, and other resources to educate, train, and support students interested in public interest careers. Helps plan and participate in admitted students' programming and 1L orientation, and career programming. Participates in PI/PS weekly staff meetings, offsites, and subcommittees. Performs additional responsibilities as assigned and requested. Minimum Qualifications J.D. required. Three to five years of experience in public interest/public service advocacy required. Experience with immigration, education, gender justice, LGBTQ, racial justice, civil rights/public interest law firms, and/or environmental justice preferred but not required. Experience as a counselor for, or manager of, a law-related public interest hiring program, fellowship program, internship program, law school advising program or pro bono program preferred. Superior research, oral and written communication skills (including public speaking), outstanding interpersonal and organizational skills, and computer literacy required. Ability to design and manage own projects with minimal supervision, to be organized and a self-starter, to be part of a diverse and collegial team, to work under pressure, and to balance competing responsibilities necessary. Availability for occasional evening and weekend work is required. Must be able to work with diverse constituencies and support an inclusive work environment. Equal Opportunity Employer / Disability / Veteran Columbia University is committed to the hiring of qualified local residents.