Chief Legal Counsel [Deputy Director]

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About Us…

Our mission at the Ohio Department of Youth Services (DYS) is to improve Ohio's future by habilitating youth and empowering families and communities. We believe that all youth will be given an opportunity to live up to their greatest potential and staff are our greatest resource.

DYS is the juvenile corrections system for the state of Ohio. DYS is statutorily mandated to confine felony offenders, ages 10-21, who have been adjudicated and committed by one of Ohio's 88 county juvenile courts. During their stay with DYS, youth are engaged in programming that is designed to address their criminological and behavioral needs. DYS reaches thousands of youth in facilities and those on parole.

Our Guiding Principles…

• Demonstrate staff are our greatest resource
• Treat everyone with respect
• Cultivate a trauma responsive environment for staff and youth to thrive
• Provide the best support and services for youth and families
• Advance our culture of inclusion through understanding and appreciating staff and youth differences
• Commit to and encourage collaboration and continuous improvement to produce better outcomes for those we serve
• Celebrate collective successes and support one another through opportunities to improve

To learn more about DYS, please visit our website by clicking here

The Opportunity: As the Chief Legal Counsel, you will serve as the primary legal advisor to the Director, providing high-level counsel to Deputy Directors, Superintendents, and agency administrators. You will lead the Division of Legal Services and the Bureau of Records & Sentence Computation, ensuring that all agency operations, policies, and youth-related decisions are grounded in legal integrity and constitutional standards.

The Ideal Leader: We are seeking a licensed attorney in the State of Ohio with a proven track record of executive leadership and an unwavering commitment to the ethics of public service.

Core Responsibilities:

Strategic Legal Advisor

• Executive Counsel: Provide advice and counsel to the Director, executive leadership, and agency staff on legal, ethics, and operational matters; guide enterprise legal strategy; and serve as executive risk manager.

• External Liaison: Serve as the agency’s primary representative in legal matters with the Attorney General’s office, outside counsel, juvenile court judges, prosecutors and local law enforcement.

• Litigation Management: Oversee litigation in federal, state, and local courts, including supervising settlement negotiations for pending litigation.

Policy, Compliance, and Advocacy

• Regulatory Oversight: Interpret federal and state statutes to design, develop, and execute legal policy that aligns with agency goals.

• Chief Ethics Officer: In addition to providing advice and counsel to agency leadership and staff, DYS Chief Legal Counsel is responsible for facilitating agency’s compliance with the Ohio Ethics Laws (R.C. Chapter 102; 2921.42/2921.43) and acting as a liaison with the Ohio Ethics Commission.     

• Juvenile Justice Research: Manage ongoing research into youth rights and juvenile justice legislation to ensure agency directives remain compliant with current laws.

• Constitutional Integrity: Monitor the delivery of legal services to youth committed to DYS to ensure all constitutional requirements are met.

Administrative & Youth Records Leadership

• Sentence Computation: Direct the development and implementation of policies used for youth sentence calculations and respond to legal inquiries regarding release dates.

• Public Records Management: Oversee complex public records requests, ensuring compliance with Ohio law and managing required documentation.

• Chief Records Officer: Oversee agency records management and retention, including youth records.

At the State of Ohio, we take care of the team that cares for Ohioans. We provide a variety of quality, competitive benefits to eligible full-time and part-time employees*. For a list of all the State of Ohio Benefits, visit our Total Rewards website! Our benefits package includes:

• Medical Coverage
• Free Dental, Vision and Basic Life Insurance premiums after completion of eligibility period
• Paid time off, including vacation, personal, sick leave and 11 paid holidays per year
• Childbirth, Adoption, and Foster Care leave
• Education and Development Opportunities (Employee Development Funds, Public Service Loan Forgiveness, and more)
• Public Retirement Systems (such as OPERS, STRS, SERS, and HPRS) & Optional Deferred Compensation (Ohio Deferred Compensation)

*Benefits eligibility is dependent on a number of factors. The Agency Contact listed above will be able to provide specific benefits information for this position.

Admission to Ohio Bar pursuant to Section 4705.01 of Revised Code.

Job Skills: Attorney/Legal

BACKGROUND CHECK NOTICE:
The final candidate selected for this position will be required to undergo a pre-employment drug screening and criminal background check that includes results from BCI and FBI, Ohio Department of Public Safety and Ohio Department of Taxation. Criminal convictions do not necessarily preclude an applicant from consideration for a position. An individual assessment of an applicant's prior criminal convictions will be made before excluding an applicant from consideration.

PRE-SERVICE TRAINING:

All new candidates hired to the Department of Youth Services are required to attend 3 weeks of mandatory, paid training at the Correctional Training Academy in Orient, Ohio. Training Academy hours are Monday through Thursday, 7:00 am to 5:00 pm.

DYS is a “qualifying employer” for purposes of the federal Public Service Loan Forgiveness [PSLF] program.

Ohio is a Disability Inclusion State and strives to be a model employer of individuals with disabilities. The State of Ohio is committed to providing access and inclusion and reasonable accommodation in its services, activities, programs and employment opportunities in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and other applicable laws.

The State of Ohio is a drug-free workplace which prohibits the use of marijuana (recreational marijuana/non-medical cannabis). Please note, this position may be subject to additional restrictions pursuant to the State of Ohio Drug-Free Workplace Policy (HR-39), and as outlined in the posting.