Salary: $125,000.00 - $140,000.00 Annually
Location : Remote Work Eligible
Job Type: Full Time Regular
Remote Employment: Remote Optional
Job Number: 201300356
Group: Programs
Team: Access to Justice
Opening Date: 06/29/2026
Closing Date: 7/12/2026 8:00 PM Eastern
Job Summary
Who We Are
The National Center for State Courts (NCSC) is a community of dedicated researchers, consultants, and former practitioners who drive innovation and progress in courts and justice systems. NCSC's reputation for trusted leadership allows us to work alongside top judicial officers to examine some of the most complex and significant issues facing society. Our team of experts and court leaders are deeply committed to advancing just, free, and safe communities.
NCSC delivers its services in many ways, but there are four main pillars of that delivery that set us apart as an organization: data quality, governance and analysis; reengineering of court processes; strategic foresighting; and leadership and governance. To learn more about NCSC, visit NCSC.org
NCSC is looking for an experienced Principal Court Management Consultant to join our Access to Justice team. The Principal Court Management Consultantprovides advanced, high-level management consulting and technical assistance services to state and local courts for NCSC. The Principal Consultant on the Access Team will lead projects and provide guidance to courts on several topics designed to increase access to courts and legal services and to reduce barriers that may prevent meaningful participation in the justice system. Projects will touch on many different areas of work including the regulation of the legal profession (bar admissions and education, authorized justice practitioner programs, other regulatory reform efforts); improving the legal information delivery ecosystem (self-help centers, court navigator programs, self-help websites, court forms, self-help technology); and court improvement efforts (process simplification, civil diversion, legal desert solutions) among others.
Responsibilities include analyzing data, court rules, statutory, and policy directives, and identifying problems and potential solutions. The role will lead projects, including managing a project team, and anticipate new areas for court innovation and technical assistance. The Principal Consultant must maintain professional relationships with courts, justice system partners, and funders and must be able to identify and develop new client relationships and prepare grant applications and proposals for additional work. Principal Consultants are frequently the face of National initiatives, engaging with members of CCJ and COSCA, and collaborating with national and state partners, and are actively engaged in business development.
Trusted Leadership. Proven Solutions. Fair and Impartial Courts.
Duties and Responsibilities
- Demonstrates conduct that upholds the basic Core Values of NCSC
- Provides virtual and on-site, intensive technical assistance to local and state teams and other stakeholders
- Staffs CCJ-COSCA Committees and other collaborative efforts in the access to justice space
- Leads a team and provides work direction, mentorship, and project management for court management consultants, senior court management consultants, and project associates
- Along with the Director and other Principal Consultants, provides direct supervision of staff members and help set strategic priorities for the Access to Justice Team
- Plans and coordinates the work for the project and project teams, including overseeing project budgets, staffing levels, client relationships, and quality control of all deliverables
- Plans, develops, and coordinates training and/or technical assistance services
- Guides and assists clients with a wide range of management, organizational, and business improvements
- Manages multi-faceted data-driven projects, including implementation of pilot programs
- Manages and participates in large-scale, complex, and politically sensitive projects
- Writes and coordinates the development of project reports and other deliverables
- Builds justice system collaborations at the local, state, regional, and national levels
- Represents NCSC perspective at local, state, regional, and national meetings and conferences
- Assists with program and policy issue development
- Oversees qualitative and quantitative analysis of existing programs, policies, and practices, and provides policy recommendations to clients
- Monitors project implementation to ensure appropriate progress
- Conducts program evaluations
- Identifies and develops proposals, including grant writing and grant proposals, for funding, and manages grant-funded projects
- Focuses on business development activities to identify new business opportunities
- Builds relationships with court leaders, external experts, and other justice system partners and funders through seminars, conferences, and professional networking
- Plans and coordinates meetings and training events with partners, public, media, and government officials in coordination with appropriate staff
Qualifications
- Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree from an ABA-accredited law school
- 8+ years of experience in court administration in the state courts, project management, consulting, or law administration
- Demonstrated knowledge of access to justice issues, such as accommodations and accessibility, plain language, language access, civil diversion, the development and growth of allied legal professionals, self-help, technology, and the administration of justice.
- A track record of successful proposal writing for federal solicitations and/or state grants preferred
Additional Skills & Abilities:
- Ability to travel to client locations, meetings, and/or conferences throughout the United States
- Represent NCSC in a professional manner; including an ability to establish credibility and to interact productively with staff across the organization and with external stakeholders
- Familiarity with the policy issues impacting local and state judicial systems as well as local and state governments, relevant to specialized areas of this position
- Communicates timely and professionally, with internal and external clients, both orally and in writing
- Considerable experience authoring proposals, reports, publications, or other written documents
- Experience working with complex policy and political issues, including an ability to synthesize and summarize large amounts of information and to focus quickly on the essence of an issue
- Demonstrate use of sound judgment in practical matters and critical decisions, choosing wisely after contemplating various options
- Strong interpersonal skills, including an ability to establish credibility and to interact productively with staff across the organization and with others
- Experience convening groups of policy makers, practitioners, stakeholders, researchers, and other constituencies with a range of interests and perspectives and supporting their efforts to develop consensus and move toward a desired outcome
Additional Information
Benefits
NCSC is proud to provide a comprehensive benefits package for our
regular full-time and regular part-time employees consisting of:
Insurance
- Medical Insurance: PPO, HDHP options (HMO option for VA residents)
- Dental Insurance
- Vision Insurance
- Employer Paid Life Insurance for Employee + Family
- Employer Paid Accidental Death Insurance
- Employer Paid Short-Term & Long-Term Disability
- 125 Plan
- Employee Assistance Program
Retirement
- Retirement: Money Purchase Plan Pension account (9% of salary)
- Retirement Option: 403B
Paid Time Off
- All Purpose Leave (APL)
- Paid Holidays (10)
Other Benefits
- Education Assistance
- Paid Training and Development
- Qualifying Employer for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness under 501(c)(3)
The annual starting salary for this role is between $125,000 - $140,000, factors which affect starting pay within the range include education, experience, and other qualifications as it relates to the position.
Join our Team!
This position closes on July 12, 2026. Please submit your resume and cover letter in addition to your completed NCSC application. For reference, include professional references only with at least one previous or current supervisor.
NCSC is an equal opportunity/disability/veteran employer.
NCSC is proud to provides a comprehensive benefits package for our
regular full-time and regular part-time employees consisting of:
Insurance
- Medical Insurance: PPO, HDHP options (HMO option for VA residents)
- Dental Insurance
- Vision Insurance
- Employer Paid Life Insurance for Employee + Family
- Employer Paid Accidental Death Insurance
- Employer Paid Short-Term & Long-Term Disability
- 125 Plan
- Employee Assistance Program
Retirement
- Retirement: Money Purchase Plan Pension account (9% of salary)
- Retirement Option: 403B
Paid Time Off
- All Purpose Leave (APL)
- Paid Holidays (10)
Other Benefits
- Education Assistance
- Paid Training and Development
- Qualifying Employer for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness under 501(c)(3)
01
Do you have a J.D. degree from an ABA-accredited law school?
02
Are you able to meet the travel requirements for the position?
03
Do you have supervisory experience?
Required Question
