Program Associate

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.

LDF’s litigation, public policy advocacy, and public education programs in the substantive areas of criminal justice, economic justice, education, and political participation seek to ensure the fundamental and basic human rights of all people to quality education, economic opportunity, the right to vote and fully participate in democracy, and the right to a fair and just judicial system. LDF continues to make an impact in the area of public service and was recognized by Fast Company as one of its 2023 Brands That Matter under its public service category.

LDF seeks a dynamic, detail-oriented, and mission-aligned Program Associate to provide critical administrative, project management, and operational support to the Community Organizing Department. This role combines traditional administrative assistant responsibilities (e.g., scheduling and document preparation), with support for departmental special projects, vendor coordination, compliance tracking, and internal operations.

LDF operates in a hybrid work environment where employees are expected to be in the office a minimum of two days per week with occasional travel to other regions for conferences, community events, and staff retreats. The role may require travel up to 50% of the time.

The Program Associate will report to the Director of Community Organizing and the Senior Program Associate / Program Manager, working collaboratively across departments to help advance LDF’s grassroots advocacy and civil rights campaigns.

Responsibilities :

Project Coordination and Department Support (65%)

• Support departmental project tracking using Asana, including timelines, milestones, budgets, and deliverables.
• Assist in planning and coordination of department events, trainings, and retreats (venue logistics, materials, follow-up).
• Prepare and distribute reports, agendas, presentations, and meeting summaries.
• Conduct research and draft memos, briefs, or vendor summaries as needed.
• Coordinate with internal teams for project updates and ensure alignment with work plans and grant deliverables.
• Support digital file management and organization across project folders and compliance materials.

Administrative and Scheduling Responsibilities (25%)

Operations and Compliance Support (10%)

Qualifications :

Preferred :

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 :

$52,800-$63,030 (DC)

$48,000-$66,000 (ATL)

LDF offers all eligible employees a generous benefits package. To learn more click the following link 2025 Benefits Overview.

The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to providing equal employment opportunities to you without regard to race, creed, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, pregnancy, marital status, age, veteran status, medical condition or disability, genetic information, gender identity, or any other protected status under federal, state, or local law.

Equal Opportunity Employer

This employer is required to notify all applicants of their rights pursuant to federal employment laws.

For further information, please review the Know Your Rights notice from the Department of Labor.