Communications & Digital Media Coordinator – Community Law School

Overview

Neighborhood Defender Service (NDS) seeks a Communications and Digital Media Coordinator (Contract) to lead the development and launch of a Community Law School a public-facing legal education initiative designed to expand access to legal information, empower community members to understand and exercise their rights, and strengthen community-based legal education.

This is a project-based, time-limited role with a primary focus on building a comprehensive, accessible online library of Know Your Rights and legal education materials, paired with outreach and dissemination strategies that connect community members to those resources. The initial Community Law School launch, including associated community education events, will be based in Detroit, where NDS will pilot programming and public-facing engagement in close partnership with local leadership and community members.

As part of a connected national organization, the materials, tools, and infrastructure developed through this work will have broader application across NDS’s other communities over time.

The Coordinator will be responsible for developing written and video educational materials, supporting outreach and engagement strategies, and ensuring that these resources are clear, accessible, and responsive to community needs. This role requires strong relationship-building skills and the ability to engage meaningfully and empathetically with community members - particularly those who are justice-impacted - while working closely with attorneys, advocates, and organizational leadership.

While this role contributes to NDS’s overall visibility, its primary purpose is education, access to justice, and community empowerment, rather than general brand management. At a deeper level, this role represents an opportunity to help reimagine how NDS uses digital spaces to meet community members where they are and to strengthen how a community-based, client-centered organization communicates, educates, and connects.

This role is well suited to a Detroit-based communications professional who is comfortable managing a defined project from concept to launch, has hands-on experience producing video and digital content, and can translate complex legal information into clear, community-facing resources while working with diverse teams.

The contracted Communications and Digital Media Coordinator exists to build and launch NDS’s Community Law School by creating accessible digital Know Your Rights and legal education resources and supporting outreach strategies that connect community members to those materials. By increasing the organization’s visibility through this work, the role expands access to justice, strengthens community legal knowledge, and advances community-facing legal education as an integral part of NDS’s client-centered, community-based model across offices.

Community Law School & Legal Education

• Lead development of a comprehensive online Community Law School and Know Your Rights library, including written resources and short-form video content.
• Work closely with the Managing Director for Detroit, attorneys, advocates, and program staff to translate legal information into clear, accurate, and accessible community-facing materials.
• Develop educational content that supports understanding of legal rights, liberties, and interactions with legal systems and law enforcement.
• Ensure materials are responsive to community needs and reflect lived experience, with attention to accessibility, tone, and cultural relevance.
• Organize and structure materials to ensure usability, accessibility, and ease of navigation for a broad public audience.
• Support dissemination of materials through digital platforms and community education efforts, including Know Your Rights events and outreach activities.
• Collaborate with leadership to identify priority topics, audiences, and rollout strategies for Community Law School content.

Digital Outreach, Engagement, & Visibility

• Support development of an outreach and dissemination strategy to increase awareness and use of Community Law School and Know Your Rights materials.
• Manage and update relevant website…