Deputy Director, Archives and Research at The NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, Inc.

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The NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF) is the country’s first and foremost civil and human rights law organization. Founded in 1940 under the leadership of Thurgood Marshall, who subsequently became the first Black U.S. Supreme Court Justice, LDF was launched at a time when the nation’s aspirations for equality and due process of law were stifled by widespread state-sponsored racial inequality. From that era to the present, LDF’s mission has been transformative — to achieve racial justice, equality, and an inclusive society.

The LDF operates in a hybrid work environment where employees are expected to be in the office a minimum of two days per week, unless otherwise indicated.

Along with a resume and cover letter, applicants are expected to submit an independently authored piece of writing. While it may have undergone review or editing by others, it should primarily reflect your own work.

Responsibilities:

Departmental Leadership

Reports directly to the TMI Director and provides supervision across both the Research and Archives teams.
Serve as a thought-partner with the TMI Director to develop and implement strategic goals for the department, ensuring alignment with broader organizational objectives.
Lead department meetings and retreats, including agenda development in collaboration with the TMI Director and Managers, to ensure strategic alignment and team engagement.
Collaborate with TMI Director on budgeting and the recruitment and hiring of key Research and Archives staff, including TMI fellows and scholars, to ensure alignment with organizational and departmental needs and strategic priorities.
Guide and mentor staff to fully understand and effectively execute their job responsibilities, fostering accountability through performance reviews, professional development, and leadership opportunities.
Build and maintain relationships with internal and external stakeholders to enhance departmental initiatives and resources, which include managing budgets, grant compliance, and vendor contracts in coordination with the TMI Director.
Develop and complete annual professional development plans to stay current on developments in the field.
Represents TMI in public forums, including conferences, media appearances, and other external engagements, to elevate the Institute’s research, archival projects, and advocacy.
Help identify and support cross-functional projects that connect research, archives, and public education.

Archives Oversight

Lead in coordination with the TMI Director the strategy, development, and execution of archival projects to preserve and promote LDF’s civil rights legacy in collaboration with the team.
Work with the Archives Department on refinement, implementation, and management of LDF’s efforts to review its archived records for publication.
Work with the Archives Department on the dissemination and promotion of LDF’s archival records, including those housed at the Library of Congress, both internally and externally.
Support archives team members through meetings to ensure work product meets high-quality standards, maintains TMI’s voice, and advances LDF advocacy goals within an established timeframe and budget.

Research Oversight

Develop and support the implementation of the research agenda to align with TMI and LDF’s strategic priorities, including qualitative and quantitative research design, public-facing reports, and policy briefs in collaboration with TMI Director.
Supervise research team members, including senior researchers, fellows, and associated team members, to ensure products meet high-quality research standards, maintain TMI’s voice, advance LDF advocacy goals, and are completed within an established timeframe and budget.
Support TMI researchers in the preparation and submission of IRB applications, grant submissions, and the submission of grant reports of research activities.
Review research findings for publication, ensuring that reports, papers, and presentations accurately reflect the data and adhere to ethical standards across all research stages, from proposal to publication, to prevent misconduct and promote transparency.
Coordinate the evaluation of TMI’s publications for external review in collaboration with the TMI Director to ensure the integrity and quality of research outputs. Selecting appropriate reviewers, facilitating constructive dialogue, and synthesizing insights guide revisions or project advancements, maintaining scholarly excellence and innovation.
Supervise the oversight of the Social Science Research Network (SSRN), National Police Funding Database, and the Death Row USA Report, ensuring the reports and website data are current.
Develop and update research policies and procedures (manual).
Oversee interdepartmental rapid research requests, ensuring that requests are aligned with LDF’s strategic priorities.
Provide editorial oversight and strategic review of TMI’s research publications to ensure rigor, clarity, and alignment with LDF’s advocacy goals.
Facilitate interdisciplinary collaborations with scholars and advocacy partners.

Qualifications

Ph.D. preferred, J.D. and/or MLIS, or equivalent advanced terminal degree in a relevant field (e.g., law, history, archival studies, Black studies, political science).
Minimum 10 years of professional experience with expertise in public history, academic research, or civil rights advocacy, including supervisory experience.
A minimum of 8 years of experience managing staff, including nonprofit program management, with a demonstrated ability to lead diverse teams.
Strong written and oral communication skills, with a strong track record of published work in academic (peer-reviewed or law review), policy, or public-facing outlets.
Deep knowledge of Black history, civil rights history, and contemporary racial justice issues.
Significant experience working within nonprofit or academic institutions.
Proven success managing diverse, multidisciplinary teams across program areas.
Adaptable, collaborative, self-motivated, creative problem solver with careful attention to detail.
Experience with public speaking with the ability to effectively represent LDF’s mission to diverse external audiences.

Preferred

Demonstrated expertise in archival management, collections development, and historical research.
Experience developing and managing publications, research workflows, and strategic campaigns.
Experience managing budgets.
Successful record of using multiple campaign strategies to achieve positive social change, including, for example, advocacy, research, archives, organizing, communications, and litigation.
Familiarity with open-access publication platforms, data visualization tools, or digital humanities methods is a plus.

This is not an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties, skills, efforts, requirements, or working conditions associated with the job. While this is intended to be an accurate reflection of the current job, management reserves the right to revise the job or to require that other or different tasks be performed as assigned. This description does not constitute a contract of employment, and LDF may exercise its employment-at-will rights at any time.

The Salary Range For This Position Is: