Executive Assistant to the Project Director

Legal Services NYC (LSNYC) fights poverty and seeks racial, social and economic justice for low-income New Yorkers. For over 50 years, we have challenged systemic injustices that trap people in poverty and provided legal services that help our clients meet basic needs for housing, income and economic security, family and immigration stability, education, and health care. LSNYC is the largest civil legal services provider in the country; our staff of more than 600 people in neighborhood-based offices and outreach sites across all five boroughs helps hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers annually. We partner with scores of community-based and client-run organizations, elected officials, public agencies, pro bono lawyers, and the courts to maximize our effectiveness. Our work fights discrimination and helps to achieve equity for all low-income New Yorkers.

LSNYC employees have numerous opportunities for growth and professional development, including access to our internal Justice Learning Center, which provides opportunities to earn free CLEs and gain experience as a trainer. 

Manhattan Legal Services seeks an Executive Assistant to the Project Director

MANHATTAN LEGAL SERVICES seeks an Executive Assistant to the Project Director.  This office is part of Legal Services NYC, the largest provider of free civil legal services for low-income people in the country. We are dedicated to fighting poverty by providing high-quality legal services in areas such as housing, family law, public benefits, employment, consumer, education, immigration, and disability rights, with special units serving particularly vulnerable populations including survivors of domestic violence, people living with HIV, and LGTBQ+ community members. We are committed to working in partnership with community-based organizations in the low-income communities we serve in order to address the causes of poverty.

The Opportunity and Responsibilities

Manhattan Legal Services seeks a highly skilled Executive Assistant to the Project Director to support the leadership and operations of a large, dynamic legal services office. This is a senior administrative and operational role reporting directly to the Project Director and working closely with the leadership team and Director of Administration.

The Executive Assistant serves as a key liaison between the Project Director, staff, board members, elected officials, and external partners, and plays a central role in ensuring the smooth day-to-day functioning of the office. The ideal candidate is highly organized, exercises excellent judgment, maintains discretion with confidential matters, and thrives in a fast-paced, mission-driven environment.  The Executive Assistant to the Project Director will support MLS leadership in the following areas:

• Provide high-level administrative support to the Project Director, including calendar management, scheduling, correspondence, and meeting preparation
• Support the MLS Board of Directors, including preparing materials and taking minutes at evening board meetings
• Serve as a point of contact with elected officials, community partners, funders, and external stakeholders
• Assist with planning and coordination of MLS events, meetings, and outreach activities
• Coordinate and support hiring processes, onboarding, and employee orientation
• Process and track personnel and HR-related documents
• Monitor staff timekeeping and assist with related administrative follow-up
• Support intern and fellowship programs as needed
• Assist with facilities management and office operations
• Help manage escrow and other fiscal-related administrative tasks, including accounts payable support
• Evaluate, improve, and help implement office systems, procedures, and workflows
• Coordinate and support receptionists and secretarial staff, including scheduling and coverage
• Assist with office-wide scheduling, meetings, and administrative coordination
• Support special projects and initiatives at the direction of the Project Director
• Prioritizes conflicting needs; handles matters expeditiously and proactively; and follows through on projects to successful completion, often with deadline pressure.
• Maintains confidentiality and discretion
• Provide other support as needed.

Qualifications and Skills

The successful candidate will demonstrate:

• Previous secretarial or administrative assistant experience is required
• Strong commitment to social justice and experience working with or supporting diverse, low-income communities
• Significant administrative or executive assistant experience, preferably in a nonprofit, legal, or public-interest setting
• Post-secondary education or equivalent professio