1. Healthcare

Georgia Center for Heirs Property Retention (GCHPR)
GCHPR Center Director
Job Description
Employed by:
Georgia Appleseed, Inc. (a/k/a Georgia Appleseed Center for Law and Justice or GAA)
Immediate Supervisor:
GA Appleseed Executive Director
Status:
Regular Exempt Full-time Employee (Part-time during first quarter is possible)
Job Location:
Atlanta, GA
Special Characteristics:
Passionate about the Center’s mission; Compassionate towards the clients being served;
Tireless in the pursuit of justice; Eager to secure the funding needed to translate vision
to reality; Ready to lead in the creation of a lasting legacy!
Start Date:
March 1, 2015 or as soon as possible thereafter.
Experience Sought:
10+ years
1. Project Background – The Need for the GCHPR
Georgia Appleseed is a nonprofit public interest law center that has been serving the state of Georgia since 2005. Its
projects seek systemic, sustainable solutions to Georgia’s most pressing social justice problems. One such problem
involves the impact of heirs property on low and moderate income Georgians in both rural and urban communities.
As a long term outcome for its Heirs Property Project (see http://www.gaappleseed.org/heir/), Georgia Appleseed seeks
to help low and moderate income heirs property owners to unlock the “wealth” of their real property and secure
protections under the law. Many owners of heirs property are unaware of the tenuous nature of their land holdings and
often lack the resources to obtain the legal services necessary to protect their interests and retain their land.
Georgia Appleseed seeks a sustainable long term solution to this challenge through the creation of Georgia’s first law
center focused on heirs property. The new Georgia Center for Heirs Property Retention (GCHPR) will have an early
geographic focus that is both rural (Ben Hill County) and urban (the Westside Neighborhoods of Atlanta: Vine City,
English Avenue and Castleberry Hills), with a staff attorney to be hired in each location. The Center Director will work in
Atlanta to facilitate access to major supporters and pro bono volunteers.
With grant funding from the Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation, the GCHPR has a business plan in place to help guide
the 18-24 month incubation and subsequent launch of the GCHPR as a self-supporting entity. Additional Babcock
funding has been secured to hire an entrepreneurial Center Director to turn the business plan into reality. Several
community stakeholders, including the USDA Rural Development, Ben Hill County, City of Fitzgerald, and other legal,
advocacy, governmental and civic agencies, are ready to collaborate towards the shared goal of creating the new Center.
2. General Statement of the Center Director Job
Though a direct report to the GAA Executive Director, the Center Director will be expected to work independently to
establish and launch the GCHPR within the 18 to 24 month incubation time table. The GCHPR will have an Advisory
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Committee, composed, in part, of members of Georgia Appleseed’s Young Professionals Council (YPC) as appointed by
the Georgia Appleseed Board of Directors. The Advisory Committee will eventually serve as the formal GCHPR Board of
Directors at the conclusion of the incubation period and upon the successful launch of the Center. The Center Director
will have the benefit of GAA’s own experience in being incubated and launched as a successful, independent nonprofit
public interest law center. GAA will share with the GCHPR policies and practices, as well as time of its Foundation
Relationship Consultant, to support an efficient incubation and launch. The Center Director is responsible for all
administrative, financial management, marketing and promotion of services, staffing and personnel operations, and
other activities that support effective business operations of the GCHPR, but will have the volunteer help of the Advisory
Committee and many other project partners throughout the incubation period.
3. Duties of the Job
Program Development and Administration (30%)
a) Translate the business plan into a viable, sustainable, independent nonprofit law center in the 18 to 24 month
incubation period.
b) Provide leadership in developing programs, organizational and financial plans with the Advisory Committee and
staff, and carry out plans and policies as authorized by the GAA Board of Directors and GAA Executive Director.
c) Promote active and broad pro bono participation by volunteers in relevant areas of the law and other areas of
the Center’s work.
d) Keep the GAA Executive Director and the Advisory Committee fully informed on the condition of the GCHPR and
all important external factors influencing it.
e) Maintain official records and documents, and ensure compliance with federal, state and local law.
f) Maintain a working knowledge of significant developments and trends in the field.
g) Supervise Center activities both in Atlanta and in Ben Hill County.
Finance Administration and Development (35%)
a) Be responsible for developing and maintaining sound financial practices.
b) Work with the GAA Executive Director and the Advisory Committee in preparing a Center budget and see that
the organization operates within budget guidelines.
c) Identify grant opportunities and coordinate grant writing and other fundraising efforts to support the Center’s
mission and ensure that adequate funds are available to permit the organization to carry out its work.
Personnel Administration (10%)
a) Be responsible for all personnel decisions, whether paid staff, independent contractors or volunteers.
b) See that an effective management team, with appropriate provision for succession, is in place by the end of the
incubation period and prior to launch as an independent center.
c) Maintain a business climate, modeled upon Servant Leadership,1 which attracts, keeps, and motivates a diverse
staff committed to excellence for the benefit of the Center’s clients and in furtherance of the Center’s mission.
Communication, Outreach and Education (10%)
a) Publicize the activities of the organization, its programs and goals among diverse audiences.
b) Establish sound working relationships and cooperative arrangements with community organizations.
c) Coordinate outreach and education for landowners about heirs property issues. Collaborate with project
partners on outreach and education programming.
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To learn more about Servant Leadership, go to https://greenleaf.org/what-is-servant-leadership/.
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General Administration (15%)
a) Develop and implement organizational and case systems to achieve effective workloads and case flow.
b) Research applicable existing and proposed laws and regulations.
c) Prepare reports, correspondence, memos, records and forms (without secretarial assistance).
d) Monitor grant deliverables and compliance with grant restrictions, and evaluate Center activities/outcomes.
e) Interact with representatives of comparable organizations.
f) Prepare and deliver formal presentations before both professional and community audiences.
g) Attend meetings, conferences, and seminars requiring periodic and sometimes frequent travel.
h) Secure the services and products of outside sources such as business insurance, security systems, vehicles and
equipment, office supplies and furnishings, and legal or other advisory/support services.
i) Perform immediate supervision of key staff and maintain official records.
4. Qualifications
a) Must have a Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree from an accredited law school and have more than 10 years’ experience
that includes the practice of real estate law and the supervision of other attorneys and support staff; or the
equivalent combination of education, training and experience.
b) Must be a member in good standing with the State Bar of Georgia.
c) Preferred legal experience, for supervision purposes, includes the following:
a. General litigation, arbitration, mediation experience
b. Closing real estate deals (drafting and preparing deeds; standard due diligence and closing requirements
for land conveyance; recording requirements for deeds; lien searches)
c. Preparing legal budgets for different types of cases ; due diligence budget (title/survey/heir location)
d) A business degree and/or business management or accounting experience is strongly preferred.
e) Significant experience in program planning and nonprofit management is a plus.
f) A proven track record of successful fundraising and a grant writing background are strongly preferred.
g) Must have good pro bono networking connections in the metro Atlanta area and be familiar with Georgia’s legal
and philanthropic communities.
h) Must have public speaking/community education experience and excel in written and oral communications to
diverse audiences.
i) Must have experience and comfort with social media as a business tool.
j) Must be able to work from home or in shared office space with little administrative support.
k) Must be empathetic to the special values and challenges of rural life and understand urban poverty issues.
l) Legal experience with heirs property cases or having addressed heirs property in one's own family is a plus.
m) Must have a “glass half full” approach to challenges, even when the going gets tough.
5. Compensation
Salary range: Salary is competitive based on a non-profit scale and is commensurate with experience.
Benefits: Health insurance, paid sick leave, holidays and three weeks’ vacation.
How to Apply: Please send a cover letter, including fundraising and entrepreneurial experience, reasons for your
interest in resolving injustices arising from heirs property, law firm organizational or business management experience,
and any other pertinent information, along with a resume and list of references to Georgia Appleseed, c/o Sharon Hill,
Executive Director, 1100 Peachtree Street, Suite 2800, Atlanta, GA 30309. Applications may also be submitted by
email to [email protected]. Georgia Appleseed is committed to workplace diversity. No phone calls please.
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