Human Resources Assistant – Oakland

Are you interested in using your skills to help support the largest anti-poverty social justice nonprofit law firm in the Bay Area? Use your skills to help address social injustice, break cycles of poverty and support individuals, families and communities obtain justice and opportunity!

Join BayLegal’s dynamic HR team and become an advocate for justice!

Bay Area Legal Aid (BayLegal) is on the front lines fighting for our clients’ rights. Last year, BayLegal removed legal barriers to health, safety, and stability through representation, legal advice and information, referrals, community education, and advocacy for more than 75,000 low-income individuals and their families throughout seven Bay Area counties.

As a regional anti-poverty civil law firm that has been serving our local communities since the 1960s, we are committed to working alongside our clients and community partners to address inter-generational poverty and social inequality.  We have built upon our origins as separate neighborhood legal services organizations into a regional non-profit law firm with over 150 employees.  We practice in multiple legal substantive areas to help our clients protect their livelihoods, their health, and their families. BayLegal works to prevent domestic violence and sexual assault, increase economic stability, protect consumers, expand access to healthcare, and prevent homelessness.  Our clients include the working poor, families with children, foster youth, seniors, immigrants, veterans, individuals impacted by the criminal justice system, and persons with disabilities. By serving clients at a wide range of access points, including our six regional county offices, our mobile advocacy clinics, and our nationally recognized legal hotlines, BayLegal has a unique viewpoint to identify patterns of illegal practices and barriers to our clients’ rights in need of broader advocacy and potential impact litigation. For our clients, BayLegal makes the difference between staying in poverty and thriving toward a brighter future.

Position

BayLegal seeks an experienced non-profit Human Resources Assistant with a strong commitment to public interest and social justice advocacy.  The COVID-19 public health and economic crisis has made civil legal services ever more critical to help individuals and families avoid homelessness and devastating debt and to provide opportunities for stability and self-sufficiency.  In this position you will work alongside and report to the Human Resources Manager in furthering BayLegal’s mission and operations as a non-profit law firm.  This position is based in our Central Support Office in Oakland, California.  Central Support is responsible for ensuring smooth and expert centralized administration to support employees and advocacy throughout the regional firm and advance broad vision and mission goals.  See COVID-19 Temporary Remote Work description below.

As a Human Resources Assistant, you will have the opportunity to:

• Learn and assist with the diverse operational needs of a large non-profit law firm dedicated to addressing legal needs of low-income communities to reduce homelessness, enhance stability, and address social injustice.
• Perform a wide range of administrative tasks and services to support effective and efficient operations of the organization’s human resources department.
• Assist with administering tests, scheduling appointments, and collecting new hire paperwork.
• Answer frequently asked questions from applicants and employees relative to standard policies, benefits, hiring processes, etc. refers more complex questions to Human Resources Manager.
• Assist with processing Personnel Action Notice forms for employee status changes.
• Assist in maintaining accurate and up-to-date human resource files, records, and documentation.
• Conduct data entry in the preparation of HR related reports. Exercise diplomacy, sound judgment and initiative in screening, prioritizing, and coordinating incoming communications (mail, email, phone, meeting requests, etc.) in a wide range of areas requiring a thorough knowledge of BayLegal’s procedures and policies.
• Assist on complex assignments and special projects with independent action and a high degree of initiative.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Requirements/Qualifications/About the Successful Candidate:

• Humility in working with colleagues, clients, vendors, and community members across the spectrum of diversity, including race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, immigrant status, religious identity, physical and mental disabilities, and/or limited English proficiency.
• Strong commitment to social justice and anti-poverty advocacy.
• Associate degree in HR-related field required (Bachelor’s preferred) with 5+ years’ related administrative experience.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Proficient with Microsoft Office Suite or related software.
• Excellent interpersonal skills with the ability to manage sensitive and confidential situations with tact, professionalism, and diplomacy.
• Strong personal work ethic and ability to organize time, manage diverse activities, and meet critical deadlines with minimal
• Proficient with or the ability to quickly learn human resource information system (HRIS), and similar computer applications.
• Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail.
• Curious and self-directed with an ability to anticipate what needs to be

Compensation and Benefits

We offer a diverse, family friendly environment, and compensation based on competitive public interest salaries along with a generous benefits package. BayLegal’s benefits package includes 100% employer covered medical, dental, and life insurance for employees and up to 40-50% for dependents; long term disability insurance; stipends for bilingual employees whose language skills are used in the provision of work tasks; student debt repayment program; dependent childcare employer contribution program and 401k retirement plan following first year.  Paid leave policy includes: sick leave; parental leave; 14 holidays each year and vacation (starting at 13 days and increasing with additional years of employment).

Temporary COVID-19 remote work

Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, all BayLegal employees are primarily working remotely. While BayLegal has implemented detailed health and safety protocols to minimize risk of exposure and has an evolving plan for reopening our local offices, we anticipate remaining primarily remote throughout much of 2021. All employees are expected to be available to travel to BayLegal offices and services locations as needed and in compliance with public health advisories. Employees are expected to reside in California and at a distance from which they can commute to the physical BayLegal base location or service delivery location within the San Francisco Bay Area.  This position will require traveling to the office on a limited, but routine basis.

While BayLegal remains primarily remote, all employees are issued BayLegal computers and provided appropriate supplies. BayLegal has implemented and continues to explore additional technologies to make working remotely as efficient and connected as possible.  All employees receive a flat-rate monthly amount to reimburse for work-related use of personal IT equipment, including internet, and home. Due to the COVID-19 crisis and its impact on personal lives, BayLegal is open to providing flexibility regarding work schedules and part-time or full-time employment to the extent feasible for the position.

Applications

BayLegal thrives on our diversity and we are proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to building a culturally diverse workplace and strongly encourage women, persons of color, LGBTQ individuals, veterans, persons with disabilities, and persons from other underrepresented groups to apply.  Review of applications will begin immediately and continue until the position is filled. Please email the following to our Human Resources Department jobs@baylegal.org  (1) cover letter including response to question below (no page limit), (2) resume, (3) references, and (4) writing sample. Please reference BayLegal HR Assistant position in the subject of your email.

As part of your cover letter, please address the following:

BayLegal’s clients are low- and very low-income members of our communities. They include people of color, LGBTQ+ people, immigrants, seniors, people with lived experiences of homelessness, veterans, people with disabilities, and people from other underrepresented groups. BayLegal is committed to enhancing the provision of our services to all clients, increasing positive client outcomes, and creating an inclusive and respectful workplace in which differences are acknowledged and valued. BayLegal promotes and supports policies that enable us to work effectively in cross-cultural situations with our clients, coworkers, and the community.

How do you think your personal background or experiences, professional or otherwise, have prepared you to: (1) serve our diverse client base effectively, (2) work effectively with colleagues from different backgrounds than your own, (3) acknowledge the systemic barriers that our clients face, and (4) contribute to our efforts to fight for racial justice? Feel free to think broadly about your response to this question, provide examples, and apply various aspects of your life and personal experiences.