Job Description

Harlem Children’s Zone (HCZ) — a world-renowned education and poverty-fighting organization based in New York — seeks an enthusiastic, dedicated, and mission-aligned Paralegal to join our organization.

The Paralegal will bring a passion for the mission of Harlem Children’s Zone: break the cycle of intergenerational poverty with comprehensive, on-the-ground programming that builds opportunities for children and families to thrive in school, work, and life.

The Paralegal will join HCZ’s Legal Department, supporting a fast-paced, high-performing team responsible for a wide range of legal, compliance, and operational matters. The ideal candidate is highly organized, detail-oriented, and thrives in an environment managing multiple priorities simultaneously. This reports to the General Counsel and requires precision, strong judgment, and the desire to make a difference behind the scenes.

For more information, check out Want to Work at Harlem Children’s Zone? Here’s 7 Things You Need to Know

Requirements

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required
• 2–5 years of paralegal or relevant legal/administrative experience preferred (law firm, nonprofit, or in-house legal department)

Who You Are

• Exceptional attention to detail and commitment to accuracy
• Strong ability to manage a high volume of projects in a fast-paced environment
• Highly organized with excellent time management and prioritization skills
• Clear and effective written and verbal communication skills
• Strong judgment and discretion in handling sensitive information
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) and Outlook
• Experience with contract management systems or legal operations tools is a plus

What You'll Do

Legal & Contract Management (Primary Responsibility)

• Manage the full lifecycle of contracts, including intake, drafting support, review coordination, tracking, and execution
• Maintain and improve contract management systems and processes with a high degree of accuracy
• Track and manage a high volume of agreements, ensuring deadlines and deliverables are met
• Prepare, proofread, and format legal documents and correspondence
• Support due diligence, document collection, and organization for transactions and audits
• Assist with compliance initiatives, policies, and internal legal processes

Legal Operations & Department Coordination

• Organize and maintain legal files, records, and systems
• Coordinate across departments to gather information and facilitate legal workflows
• Track and manage multiple concurrent projects, ensuring timely follow-up and completion
• Identify opportunities to improve efficiency and streamline legal processes

Executive Support to the General Counsel (Secondary Responsibility)

• Manage calendar scheduling and coordination for the General Counsel, including prioritization of meetings and competing demands
• Assist in organizing and preparing materials for meetings and key initiatives
• Support day-to-day administrative needs that enable the Legal Department to function effectively

Schedule

• Full-time with three days per week in the office in Harlem required

Benefits

As a member of the Harlem Children's Zone team, you will join a supportive and inclusive community dedicated to helping children, families — and our staff — thrive. We offer highly competitive salaries, a comprehensive benefits package, and opportunities for growth.

Our exceptional full- time benefits include:

• Highly competitive base salaries
• Paid time off
• Employee referral bonus
• Career advancement
• No-cost health insurance
• Life Insurance
• Short-and long-term disability
• Additional voluntary benefits
• Wellness discounts
• Commuter benefits
• Financial wellness perks
• Additional Benefits (Discounts on flights, hotels, theme parks, concert tickets, and more.)

The salary range for this position is $75,000-$90,000 per year. To be considered, interested applicants should apply directly through the posting. No telephone inquiries or recruiters, please. Replies will only be sent to qualified applicants. Harlem Children's Zone and Promise Academy Charter Schools will not provide work visas for candidates who require employer sponsorship to ensure work authorization in the United States. Harlem Children’s Zone is an EOE.