Senior Program Associate - Unaccompanied Children Program

About Acacia Center for Justice:

The Acacia Center for Justice (“Acacia”) provides legal support and representation to immigrants facing deportation through the development, coordination, and management of national networks of legal services providers serving immigrants across the country. Acacia’s goals are twofold: to support immigrant legal services and defense networks to provide exceptional legal services to immigrants; and to advocate for the expansion of these programs and the infrastructure critical to guaranteeing immigrants access to justice, fairness, and freedom. Acacia ensures accountable, independent, zealous, and person-centered legal services and representation to protect the rights of all immigrants.

Job Summary:

We are seeking a Senior Program Associate (SPA) to join Acacia’s Unaccompanied Children’s Program (UCP) Learning and Development Team. The SPA will work on programs whose goals are to increase representational capacity of subcontractors who make up Acacia’s robust national network of legal service providers (LSPs) serving children in and released from Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) custody. The SPA will work specifically on two initiatives funded by the ORR. 

First, they will help to administer a Spanish language resource fund designed to build legal representation capacity among LSPs. LSPs will utilize the funding to participate in a variety of language access tools, materials, resources, and courses to assist new and existing legal staff in building Spanish language skills with the goal of expanding representation and taking on additional cases. Categories of language access resources currently include immersion language courses, local language courses, online language courses, support resources, tutoring, in-person and telephonic interpretation, and written translation. The SPA will communicate program requirements to LSPs interested in submitting a proposal for Spanish language resource funding, both reviewing and evaluating LSP proposals and budgets in collaboration with the Budgets and Resources Management (BRM) team and other UCP team members to communicate feedback and final approval to LSPs. The SPA will also coordinate with Acacia’s Operations and Quality Assurance (OPQA) team to track and monitor LSPs’ use of this funding after disbursement, identify and evaluate best practices and programming for LSPs utilizing this funding, and will help to prepare quarterly reporting to ORR in collaboration with Acacia’s Research Evaluation and Data Analytics (REDA) team. 

Second, they will help to administer the Attorney Recruitment Project (ARP), a workforce development and capacity building project that aims to bridge the representation gap that exists for unaccompanied children by bringing more qualified attorneys, including both established attorneys and new law school graduates, into the field. The project works to grow the immigration bar by 1) establishing a new law school graduate fellowship program focused on serving unaccompanied children; 2) recruiting attorneys into positions at legal service providers; and 3) developing and implementing strategic marketing and outreach activities. The SPA will build stakeholder relationships with career services offices, attend virtual and in person career fairs, conferences, and networking events, and connect with students to increase awareness of career opportunities providing legal representation to children. Additionally, the SPA will assist with developing program management guidance, resources for LSPs on recruitment and retention best practices, and help coordinate tracking of LSPs participating in the project. 

Primary Duties/Responsibilities:

• Review and evaluate budget and narrative proposals from LSPs for the Spanish language resource fund.
• Collaborate with OPQA and REDA to track and monitor LSPs’ use of the Spanish language resource program.
• Assist with drafting LSP-facing guidance materials related to the administration of the Spanish language resource fund including identifying and evaluating best practices for LSPs utilizing this funding.
• Analyze/contextualize data and prepare quarterly reporting to government partners in collaboration with Acacia’s REDA team. 
• Review and coordinate contracting related to the Spanish language resource fund for LSPs, both annually and as needed throughout the year, this includes necessary modifications or adjustment throughout the contract year. 
• Flexibly shift requirements, protocols, and priorities as and if necessary, throughout the year, effectively and diplomatically communicating changes to network LSPs as well as other UCP team members working closely with LSPs. 
• In close partnership with other Acacia teams, coordinate and facilitate related trainings for Acacia network LSPs.
• Build stakeholder relationships with key partners to increase awareness of career opportunities providing legal representation to children. 
• Attend virtual and in person career fairs, conferences, and networking events to inform students and established attorneys about Acacia, the UCP network, and career opportunities working in the immigration field. 
• Assist with drafting LSP-facing guidance materials related to ARP program management and recruitment and retention best practices.
• Track participation by LSPs in ARP and the different ways that LSPs engage with the project.
• Additional tasks, as may be assigned. 

Required Skills, Knowledge, Abilities:

• Experience working with or representing detained immigrants and/or children
• A demonstrated knowledge of immigration, child welfare, criminal or juvenile justice, or other justice areas. 
• Strong writing, research, data analysis, communication, and facilitation skills.
• Comfort with and interest in reviewing and managing budgets and proposals.
• Ability to work independently, quickly, and manage multiple projects effectively and efficiently.
• Flexibility and the ability to quickly pivot when facing challenges and changes attendant to developing a new program.
• Experience collaborating across teams to carry out a detail-oriented review of data and information and communicating the results of said review to leadership or other stakeholders, including legal service providers.
• Comfort with public speaking and giving presentations.
• Interest in effectuating change in partnership with the government.
• Willingness to travel and ability to successfully balance travel responsibilities with office-based responsibilities.

Preferred Skills, Knowledge, Abilities:

• Experience preparing or reviewing budgets and proposals. • Lived experience and/or demonstrated commitment to challenging inequities and racism in the immigration legal system.

Education and Experience:

• Law degree or other relevant advanced degree. Comparable work and educational experience will also be considered in lieu of an advanced degree. • At least four years of legal, government, or policy work experience.

Compensation and Benefits:

Acacia has established an internal compensation philosophy that centers equity and pay transparency. The salary for this position is set at $96,000. The salary listed is just one component of Acacia’s total compensation package for employees. Supporting Acacia staff—both personally and professionally—is our priority.

• Medical/Dental/Vision- Some plans at $0 cost to the employee
• Employee Assistance Program
• 25 days per year of vacation time
• 12 days per year of sick time
• 5 personal days
• 4 organization-wide Wellness Days
• 11 observed holidays, including the last week of December.
• $2000 Professional Development Stipend
• Home office set-up stipend
• Internet Stipend
• 401k with 5% employer contribution, no employee participation required.
• Student loan repayment assistance.
• Gym Reimbursement

People of color and those who have been impacted by the criminal system and immigration system are strongly urged to apply. Acacia is deeply committed to race equality, inclusion and belonging and strives to create a work culture that recognizes everyone's unique lived experience.

To Apply:

Submit your resume and cover letter through the Acacia Careers site. If you encounter technical issues or have accessibility needs, email your resume and cover letter to hiring@acaciajustice.org with Subject: ATTN: Human Resources / [Job Title], Acacia Center for Justice

PLEASE ONLY SUBMIT THROUGH ONE METHOD.

Equal Opportunity Employment:

Acacia is an equal opportunity employer and seeks to recruit persons of diverse backgrounds and support their retention and advancement within the organization. We are committed to fostering a workplace culture inclusive of people with respect to their race, ethnicity, national origin, gender/gender identity, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, veteran status, marital status, age, disabilities, political affiliation, religious beliefs, or any other characteristic. Our commitment to justice and diversity also means providing a work environment that is welcoming, respectful, and engaging.

This job description is not meant to be an all-inclusive list of duties, responsibilities and requirements but constitutes a general definition of the position's scope and function within our organization.

Acacia Center for Justice is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer. All qualified applicants will be considered for employment without unlawful discrimination based on race, color, creed, national origin, sex, age, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, military status, prior record of arrest or conviction, citizenship status, current employment status, or caregiver status.

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