Program Manager

Who We Are:

The Animal Legal Defense Fund’s mission is to protect the lives and advance the interests of animals through the legal system. The Animal Legal Defense Fund accomplishes this mission by filing high-impact lawsuits to protect animals from harm, providing free legal assistance and training to prosecutors to assure that animal abusers are held accountable for their crimes, supporting tough animal protection legislation and fighting legislation harmful to animals, gathering data about and advocating for effective regulation of animal exploitative industries and providing resources and opportunities to law students and professionals to advance the emerging field of animal law.

Role Description:

The Program Manager provides operational, administrative, research, and programmatic support to the Animal Law Education & Scholarship Program (ALESP) and the Transparency & Regulatory Affairs Program (TRAP). The role drives programs, events, grants, and educational initiatives; manages data, records, and program resources; conducts research and analysis; prepares reports and communications; and supports cross-functional projects that advance organizational goals. The position also supports transparency and regulatory oversight efforts by leading information-gathering initiatives, maintaining and analyzing complex datasets and records, and developing resources that inform the organization’s advocacy, legal, policy, communications, and educational work.

How You Will Make a Difference:

Animal Law Education and Scholarship Program

• Administer student, new graduate, scholarship, and grant programs and initiatives designed to advance animal law education (such as LSAT Study Grants and Research Grants), including application development, outreach, applicant tracking, review coordination, award administration, recipient communications, and reporting.
• Manage travel grant programs supporting attendance at the Student Animal Law Convention, Animal Law Conference, and National Animal Law Competition, including applicant management, award administration, registration, and travel logistics.
• In collaboration with the Events team, manage planning and onsite operations for the annual ALDF Student Animal Law Convention, including registration management, event logistics, and attendee support.
• Track, analyze, and report on participation, educational outcomes, placements, and career trajectories of scholarship, grant, fellowship, and mentorship programs.
• Develop, maintain, and update a comprehensive database of animal law course offerings, Student Animal Legal Defense Fund chapters (SALDF), participant engagement metrics, and other program-related data and support the preparation of annual reports.
• Guide the development, maintenance, and dissemination of animal law educational resources for students, faculty, and practitioners.
• Collaborate with ALDF program staff to support research initiatives, including literature reviews, data collection and management, analysis, preparation of research summaries
• Manage and update ALESP web content, including auditing existing materials, identifying outdated resources, coordinating content revisions, and making recommendations regarding the organization and placement of materials across ALDF's websites.
• Collaborate with internal teams to coordinate webinars, speaker programs, conferences, and other educational events.
• Support the Director in developing operational systems, processes, and infrastructure necessary to scale and expand ALESP programs and initiatives.
• Other duties and responsibilities as assigned by the ALESP Director.

Transparency & Regulatory Affairs Program

• Support public records and FOIA initiatives by preparing and submitting records requests, tracking request status, managing correspondence with agencies, and coordinating appeals and follow-up communications.
• Manage records request workflows related to USDA enforcement activities, inspection reports, complaint investigations, health certificates, and state public records requests, ensuring timely tracking, organization, and retrieval of responsive documents.
• Develop and maintain databases of USDA inspection reports, enforcement records, agency correspondence, and other regulatory materials, including the collection and management of documents proactively posted by government agencies.
• Review, organize, and analyze records obtained through FOIA and public records requests to identify trends, summarize findings, and support advocacy, policy, communications, and legal initiatives.
• Conduct data collection, verification, and analysis related to regulated animal-use industries, including research facilities, commercial breeders, exhibitors, dealers, and slaughter establishments.
• Prepare annual datasets, reports, and resource materials summarizing regulated entities, animal populations, inspection outcomes, enforcement actions, and other key regulatory metrics to support organizational priorities and strategic decision-making.
• Manage the development and maintenance of systems for tracking regulated entities, agency actions, and animal welfare trends across federal and state jurisdictions.
• Assist with special research projects by compiling, cleaning, and analyzing large datasets, preparing summaries of findings, and developing materials for reports, presentations, publications, and advocacy campaigns.
• Other duties and responsibilities as assigned by the TRAP Director.

Please note, this job description is not intended to be a comprehensive list of all duties and responsibilities of the position, which are subject to change in order to best advance ALDF’s strategic objectives and mission.

We Are Looking for Candidates With:

• A Bachelor’s degree in pre-law, psychology, sociology, communication, political science, animal studies, animal science, or other related fields. In lieu of a degree, a minimum of 5 years of related experience may be considered equivalent.
• 5+ years of experience working in a nonprofit, higher education, legal, advocacy, or research environment.
• Experience administering grants, scholarships, fellowships, educational programs, or other competitive application processes.
• Experience coordinating events, conferences, trainings, webinars, or student-facing programs.
• Experience conducting research, literature reviews, or public records research.
• Experience reviewing, organizing, and analyzing large datasets or document collections.
• Experience with Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests, public records laws, regulatory agencies, or government transparency initiatives.
• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously, prioritize competing deadlines, and work independently.
• Strong analytical, organizational, and problem-solving skills, with exceptional attention to detail.
• Experience in higher education settings and familiarity with curriculum development and management is preferred.
• Familiarity with animal protection issues is a plus.
• Demonstrated interpersonal skills and emotional intelligence, including the ability to build positive relationships with students, colleagues, faculty, attorneys, donors, and external partners.
• Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively across teams, navigate differing perspectives, and foster productive working relationships.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to communicate professionally with students, faculty, attorneys, donors, and external partners.
• Experience developing reports, dashboards, educational resources, or program evaluation materials.
• Advanced proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite, particularly Excel, and experience working with databases, spreadsheets, and project management platforms.
• An understanding of and demonstrated commitment to the mission of the Animal Legal Defense Fund.
• Ability to travel for occasional staff meetings and retreats, estimated 1-2 trips annually.

Additional Information:

This role is included in a collective bargaining unit that is represented by the Nonprofit Professional Employees Union (NPEU). Certain terms and conditions of your employment, including wages and benefits, have been negotiated with the Union and are included in a collective bargaining agreement between ALDF and the Union.

This is a U.S. based position. In compliance with federal law, all persons hired will be required to verify identity and eligibility to work in the United States and to complete the required employment eligibility verification form upon hire.

The Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF) is an equal opportunity employer and committed to providing an employment environment which is welcoming of persons from diverse backgrounds and free from unlawful discrimination and harassment, and in which all legal rights of our employees are recognized and protected. ALDF conducts all internal and external operations, programs, and employment-related decision making (including hiring decisions) without regard to actual or perceived race, ancestry, color, religion, national origin, citizenship, immigration status, sex or gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, or related medical conditions), gender identity or expression, political affiliation, disability or medical condition (including physical, intellectual, or psychiatric), sexual orientation, marital status, military or veteran status, genetic information, age, or other protected category, and in compliance with all applicable federal, state, and local anti-discrimination and anti-harassment laws.

Consistent with the organization’s mission, our offices and events are free of animal products and byproducts.

The application deadline for this position is July 24, 2026. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, so we encourage applicants to apply early as we may make a decision before the deadline closes.