Description

ASSOCIATE GENERAL COUNSEL

Legal Department

Illinois Education Association-NEA

Illinois (Hybrid).  Exact position location in IL to be determined.

SALARY AND BENEFITS:

Salary range - $81,277 per year to $114,941 per year; a benefits summary can be found at https://ieanea.org/about/employment/ under Salary & Benefit Summaries, Professional Staff.

DEADLINE FOR EXTERNAL APPLICATIONS: February 27, 2026.  Position open until filled.

HOW TO APPLY: In order to apply, please visit https://ieanea.org/about/employment/ and click on “Associate General Counsel.”  

The Illinois Education Association-NEA (IEA-NEA) is currently seeking qualified, experienced applicants (two to three years of legal or equivalent labor relations) experience, with excellent interpersonal skills and a passion for supporting education employees through an organizing union, for the position of Associate General Counsel. 

UNION OVERVIEW

The IEA-NEA is a union of more than 135,000 members composed of Illinois elementary and secondary teachers, higher education faculty and staff, educational support professionals, retired educators and college students preparing to become teachers. Founded in 1853 to serve the interest of public education in Illinois, the IEA became an affiliate of the National Education Association in 1857, an organization currently totaling 3.2 million teachers and school employees working to make our good public schools even better for all students. The IEA-NEA mission is to effect excellence and equity in public education and to be THE advocacy organization for all public education employees. 

JOB DESCRIPTION

With direct responsibility to the Deputy General Counsel, the General Counsel and Executive Director, the Associate General Counsel performs a variety of tasks, from providing advice & counsel to UniServ Directors, to monitoring, analyzing and arguing cases before administrative agencies and courts to achieve IEA -NEA goals and objectives.  The successful candidate will possess a record of substantive skills in labor, education and/or employment experience, high interpersonal skills, a passion for working with union or not for profit sectors, and an openness to coaching for continuous learning and self-development. The position does not require Illinois residency and can be partially performed remotely. However, employees are required to own a vehicle and travel to attend frequent local/regional/state staff, department and member related meetings in the assigned representation areas.

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES

1.    Provides UniServ Directors (UD’s) and other IEA-NEA professional staff with resources, consultation and (where necessary) assists and/or participates in arbitration cases, including oral presentation of the case before an arbitrator, preparation of the Association briefs and/or evidentiary record. 

2.    Assists UD’s and other IEA-NEA professional staff in examining fact situations to determine whether applicable labor and/or employment laws, rules and regulations and/or members’/fair share fee payers’/Associations’ rights have been violated, including supervising the receipt, gathering and/or organization of evidence and/or witnesses by non-attorney IEA-NEA staff in litigation matters. 

3.    Advises, monitors, argues and/or defends cases regarding various matters, including discrimination, dismissal, contract nonrenewal, reductions in force & evaluation, members’/fair share fee payers’/Associations’ employment-related rights before school boards, courts, and administrative agencies. 

4.    Engages in all IELRB Case Handling Activities, including Unfair Labor Practices, Impasses and Strikes, and Representation Elections. 

5.    Initiates, plans and/or conducts training programs for members, leaders and/or staff, and provides input to the General Counsel for such training. 

6.    Makes recommendations to the General Counsel for the development of the department budget. 

7.    Supervises associate staff, i.e., initial employment recommendation, evaluation and remediation. 

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

License to practice law in the State of Illinois, or ability to obtain license as soon as possible. 

• 2-3 years legal or equivalent labor relations experience. 
• High degree of interpersonal skills (for interactions with staff, members, and the general public). 
• Working knowledge of personal computers. 
• Valid driver’s license.  

ADDITIONAL DESIRABLE QUALIFICATIONS 

Previous experience in preparing and presenting cases before courts, labor boards, other administrative agencies, and grievance arbitrators. 

• Knowledge of NLRA, the Illinois School Code and the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act and decisions interpreting them preferred, although working knowledge of other public employment relations acts and other school codes. 
• Working knowledge of school systems. 
• Previous experience in training non-lawyers on legal issues. 

         Previous experience in client counseling. 

IEA IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY/AFFIRMATIVE ACTION EMPLOYER AND ENCOURAGES WOMEN, MINORITIES, AND PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES TO APPLY.