About the Institute

The Institute for Law & Organizing uses collaborative, power-building campaigns to combat anti-Black racism related to dispossession and displacement from housing and other property.

In 2017, the Institutes Founder Professor Bernadette Atuahene, a property law scholar at the University of Southern California Gould School of Law, who focuses on land stolen from people in the African Diaspora, conducted empirical research that uncovered the systemic and illegal over assessment of property taxes in Detroit, a city with an 80% Black population. Consequently, one in three Detroit homes have completed the property tax foreclosure process since 2009. This is not just a Detroit problem, however. Across the country, Black and Latino homeowners pay a 10 to 13 percent higher property tax rate than similarly situated white homeowners, making this injustice an overlooked driver of the ever-widening racial wealth gap in the United States. To address this crisis and build an organization that can tackle other forms of anti-Black racism related to dispossession and displacement from land and housing, Professor Atuahene created the Institute later that year.

The Institute uses law, community organizing, and research to fuel its campaigns, which are responsive to community priorities and direction. The Institutes first campaign is the Coalition for Property Tax Justice (illegalforeclosures.org), which has three goals: 1) Stop illegally inflated property taxes in Detroit and throughout the nation; 2) Stop the ongoing property tax foreclosures in Detroit until the City calculates them in accordance with the law; and 3) Fight for compensation for affected Detroit homeowners. Once this campaign is over, community leaders have made clear that the next campaign must deal with home repair.

Position Description

Are you interested in helping others to understand, use, and shape the law to combat anti-Black racism related to housing and property dispossession? The Institute is seeking a Deputy Executive Director to partner with our Founder in supporting impacted community members. This role requires a high degree of intellectual agility to pivot strategies in real-time to achieve justice-oriented results. As a key strategic partner, you will create strategies, manage operational systems, drive research, and turn foundational success into a sustainable legacy, all while maintaining the flexibility to navigate the twists and turns inherent in grassroots organizing.

Reporting directly to the Founder and Executive Director, the successful candidate will be someone who embraces rapidly shifting priorities as an opportunity for growth and impact, rather than a disruption to the mission. This position is primarily remote but ideally based in the Detroit, Michigan metro area.

Job Responsibilities

• In collaboration with the Executive Director, create and implement the strategy for the Institutes research, legal, and organizing projects.
• Strengthen organizational systems, policies, and workflows to support effective work.
• Manage a diverse team, providing direct oversight to student fellows, contractors, and full time staff and handling specific community or partner-facing portfolios.
• Design and implement management systems that allow the team to meet rigorous project milestones within a flexible staffing model, ensuring that, although there is a rotating group of student fellows, long-term goals are achieved.
• Lead the continuous recruitment, hiring, and onboarding of new team members, ensuring that the transition process is seamless and that new team members are quickly integrated into the Institutes culture and workflows.
• Demonstrate a willingness to engage in all levels of the workfrom high-stakes partner meetings to the granular execution of daily tasksensuring project momentum regardless of the current team’s composition.
• Develop and oversee budgets, ensuring fiscal responsibility and the strategic allocation of resources across multiple workstreams.
• Support fundraising efforts by arranging donor meetings and completing donor reports.
• Act as a primary ambassador for the Institute, articulately presenting the mission and impact to the public, community leaders, and external stakeholders.

Qualifications for the Ideal Candidate

• At least five years of law practice, and ability to get barred in Michigan within 12 months of hire.
• Significant leadership experience, ideally in movement, nonprofit, or public-interest settings.
• At least two years of community organizing experience.
• Experience responsibly managing budgets and organizational resources.
• Adept at managing multiple activities and shifting requirements.
• Strong strategic planning skills, with the ability to translate the mission into actionable workplans.
• Ability to cultivate and maintain productive relationships with a multifaceted network of partners and community members, fostering an environment of inclusivity and mutual respect.
• Thrive in an evolving work environment that often needs to pivot activities to achieve results.
• Existing professional relationships within the Detroit community are highly desirable.