School Support Specialist

Overview of Job Description:

This position reports directly to the Law Firm's Executive Director of School Advisory and Support Services. The School Support Specialist provides executive and administrative support as directed and/or assigned in furtherance of the Firm's legal services and advisory services work for its nonprofit, school and corporate clients in the areas of school operations, finance, and compliance; state agency and regulator support; grants and contract awards management; related client development and retention efforts, and other duties as assigned. The Specialist also provides executive and administrative support as directed and/or assigned in furtherance of the Firm's non-legal advisory services under the direction of the Executive Director in the areas of: TEA grant and contract project management, applying for new proposals and initiatives in advance of the advisory line of business and supporting staff and consultants on project tasks and deliverables in support of clients. The Specialist is a critical member of the team in maintaining and building relationships crucial to the success of SLHA and supports a variety of special projects that have an organizational impact to clients and SLHA. This is a non-Exempt position under FLSA.

The Specialist must have the ability to exercise good judgement, take initiative, and work independently in a variety of situations. The ideal individual will have strong project management skills, strong written and verbal communication, administrative, and organizational skills, and the ability to multi-task and maintain a realistic balance among multiple priorities and projects in a fast-paced environment. The Specialist must be able to work under pressure to handle a wide variety of projects and confidential matters at times with absolute discretion. Other additional duties and tasks may be assigned as needed by the Firm's Managing Partner or Executive Director.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Draft documents including Board resolutions, routine contracts and agreements, and client and government agency correspondence deferring to legal counsel on legal matters and working under legal counsel's supervision in accordance with rules and law governing practice of law.
• Support clients and/or Firm staff with programmatic and/or technical questions on school finance, operations, and compliance matters that do not require legal counsel.
• Support fiscal compliance reviews and investigations under the direction of Firm staff.
• Support the copy editing and management of the file organization of the Firm's charter model policy and handbook library.
• Research issues as assigned in preparing formal memos and summaries of findings and conclusions for legal and advisory projects.
• Manage filings and various applications with TEA and other federal and state agencies for the advisory services work.
• Ensure training status of SLHA Advisory Services team is up to date with TEA or another regulatory agency.
• Develop systems to maintain records of training hours, on-site visits, and flexible supports completed on behalf of SLHA Advisory Services team.
• Support training support services provided by Firm personnel as directed.
• Determine and acquire data necessary to evaluate advisory project performance and effectiveness; utilizes data to report on program results, identify trends and make recommendations for improvement or new systems and initiatives.
• Support project management efforts for client's up for charter renewal, applying for a new charter application, and other special projects as directed by Firm staff.
• Support clients with programmatic and/or technical questions on charter expansion requests or other Regulator matters that do not require legal counsel.
• Communicate directly with clients on behalf of the Firm and Executive Director.
• Develop and maintain records regarding billable hours spent on specific legal matters, accurately entering information into assigned database system.
• Maintain discretion and confidentiality, including attorney-client privilege of the Firm and its clients, in relationships with all persons involved.
• Perform other related duties as assigned.

Qualifications

• Strong organizational skills that reflect ability to perform and prioritize multiple tasks seamlessly with excellent attention to detail.
• Very strong interpersonal skills and the ability to build relationships with stakeholders, including staff, board members, external partners and donors.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Demonstrated proactive approaches to problem-solving with strong decision-making capability.
• Emotional maturity.
• Team player: highly resourceful team-player, with the ability to also be extremely effective independently but also with project teams as may be assigned.
• Proven ability to handle confidential information of the Firm and Clients with discretion, be adaptable to various competing demands, and demonstrate the highest level of customer/client service and response.
• Demonstrated ability to achieve high performance goals and meet deadlines in a fast paced environment.

Education and Experience Requirements

Bachelor's degree preferred or equivalent work experience.

• Strong work tenure: 2+ years of experience doing similar work successfully for other employers.
• Experience and interest in school advisory and support services is required including in areas such as school finance, operations, compliance, academics and curriculum support, classroom teaching and/or coaching.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Outlook, Teams, and Power Point), Google Platforms, and Adobe Acrobat.
• Preferred proficiency in billing software, sch as Clio and familiarity with use of Apple computers and devices/MacOS.

Pay: From $21.63 per hour

Expected hours: No less than 40.0 per week

Benefits:

• 401(k)
• 401(k) matching
• Dental insurance
• Flexible spending