Chief Programs Officer Jobs in California (NOW HIRING)

Supervising Attorney, Workers’ Rights

UFW Foundation

Department: Workers’ Rights Program

Reports to: Chief Programs Officer

Location: Remote. Candidate must reside in California and hold active California Bar admission.

Salary Range: $85,000–$105,000 annually, depending on experience

Priority Application Deadline: Priority consideration will be given to applications received by Friday, August 14, 2026.

The Opportunity

Farm workers are 35 times more likely to die from heat-related illness than the rest of the U.S. workforce. This is where that starts to change. Agriculture doesn't run without farm workers. The legal protections around them should not lag this far behind. This program does not exist yet. You would be one of the first people building it. You're not just taking cases. You're building the team and the playbook that will still be running this program five years from now. That is the job: not managing what exists, but creating what should.

About UFW Foundation

For 20 years, the UFW Foundation has worked to ensure that every farm worker and immigrant has the opportunity to live and work with dignity, safety, and respect. That work now spans two fronts. On one front, we run one of the largest federally accredited immigration legal services programs in California, standing between families and a system that’s separating them faster than courts can hear their cases. On the other front, we’re building a Workers’ Rights program to confront wage theft, unsafe heat, and retaliation head-on. Farm workers are 35 times more likely to die from heat-related illness than the rest of the U.S. workforce. That is exactly the kind of gap we exist to close. Both programs are growing right now to meet a moment that demands it, from active litigation challenging a federal wage cut in court to public testimony documenting the human cost of immigration enforcement. Across California, Arizona, Georgia, Illinois, Michigan, New York, and Washington, that’s what a farm worker or immigrant family can expect from us: dignity, safety, and respect, backed by lawyers who show up.

How We Work

• Hybrid: 2–3 days onsite at your regional office, remote the rest. Free parking at every location. Evening and weekend availability is needed at times for community events.
• Travel: Regular travel to hearings, worksites, partner organizations, and trainings.
• Team: You report to the Chief Programs Officer. You're building your team as the program grows, not stepping into an existing one.

What You'll Do

What follows are the core responsibilities of this role, the work that will fill most of your week. It isn't meant to be a complete list. Casework shifts with client need, court schedules, and whatever the organization needs most in a given season, and no list this short could capture all of that. This gives you a general picture of the role, not a complete list of everything it could include.

Casework & Litigation

• Oversee a docket of cases, including individual actions, class actions, and amicus briefs to enforce labor standards.
• Handle individual representation for wage theft, workplace retaliation, misclassification, and sexual harassment, in administrative proceedings (wage claims, unemployment, OSHA, retaliation) and in state or federal court.

• Conduct intake interviews, assess client needs, and give clients a clear analysis of their case, relief options, and next steps.
• Investigate employer policies and practices that violate wage, safety, or health protections.
• Identifies systemic violations suitable for class actions, amicus work, or policy engagement, and analyzes proposed legislation and enforcement policy affecting worker protections.

Program Build & Partnerships

• Design and operationalize protocols for a legal services program that doesn't exist yet.
• Own funder reporting, program metrics, and case management data quality for grant compliance.
• Build and strengthen relationships with worker centers, grassroots organizations, and other nonprofit partners.

Supervisory Responsibilities

• Supervise and mentor a regional team of attorneys, legal assistants, and fellows, reviewing work product before filing.
• Distribute and monitor caseload across the team, holding a consistent quality and compliance bar.
• Recruit, train, and mentor pro bono and low-bono attorneys to take on cases.
• Provide training and technical assistance to your team and coordinate with your supervisor.
• Identify patterns across cases, such as shifts in DHS state agencies’ practice, and translate them into advocacy or program adjustments.

What You Bring

• Active California bar membership, in good standing.
• Minimum 3 years of workers’ rights experience (5 years preferred).
• Functional bilingual proficiency in Spanish and English, sufficient to conduct a client intake or explain legal options directly without an interpreter.
• Valid driver's license and reliable vehicle access for regional travel.

Nice to Have

• Experience building, launching, or substantially redesigning a legal services program or initiative from the ground up.

• Experience identifying systemic violations suitable for class actions, amicus work, or policy engagement.
• Experience owning funder reporting, program metrics, or grant compliance data.
• Track record building relationships with worker centers, grassroots organizations, or pro bono networks.

UFW Foundation weighs lived experience, being an immigrant, farmworker, or low-wage worker, or growing up in a mixed-status household, alongside professional legal experience. If that is part of how you found your way to this work, we want to hear about it.

Compensation & Benefits

• Salary: $85,000–$105,000 annually, depending on experience, with ye