Job Description
Who We Are:
The Capital Area Immigrants’ Rights (CAIR) Coalition is the only non-profit organization in the Washington, D.C. area focused exclusively on providing free legal assistance to child and adult immigrants detained by the government in the Capital Region.
The Detained Adult Program (DAP) works with hundreds of adults who are detained by ICE each year, providing information, support, and legal representation. We provide trauma-sensitive, person-centered services, and deeply value the autonomy of the people we work with in detention as they navigate the fundamentally inhumane immigration system.
Role Description:
This Hotline & Program Associate role in the Detained Adult Program (DAP) works collaboratively with staff and leadership to contribute to the program’s provision of legal services by:
- Answering and fielding calls from detained immigrants to our legal staff;
- Assisting with programmatic and operational tasks with the DAP program, specifically by (1) coordinating mental health evaluations for the Social Services Department and (2) providing administrative and substantive support on hiring and recruitment; and
- Supporting managers and other staff on other legal and non-legal administrative tasks, as needed.
General Duties and Responsibilities [1]:
Detention Hotline Operation: 55%
- CAIR Coalition operates a free hotline that directly connects individuals in immigration detention with our staff, between Mondays through Fridays, from 9 am to 5 pm EST. Along with one other staff member, the Hotline & Program Associate will ensure the hotline is covered during those hours, by answering calls in English or Spanish, connecting callers with staff members or private attorneys, relaying pre-written messages from staff, and recommending other local immigration resources for non-detained callers.
- Answer calls from immigrants who may be experiencing difficult emotional situations because of their detention or emergent legal situations and troubleshoot these types of requests clearly and empathetically with support and assistance from our staff.
- Regularly communicate with staff and volunteers who are covering other extensions of the hotline and assist in hotline troubleshooting when issues arise.
- Responsible for hotline call data entry, including accurately recording client information and interactions into our database.
Coordination of Mental Health Evaluations: 15-20%
- Coordinate mental health evaluations for all DAP referrals, by reviewing the referral and matching with an expert from an existing bank of mental health professionals.
- Work closely with external mental health professionals to ensure all administrative and logistical aspects of the evaluation are coordinated.
- Conduct research and outreach to identify prospective mental health evaluators to meet team needs.
- Implement data-tracking systems across the DAP team to ensure accurate and comprehensive tracking of all client mental health evaluations across the program.
DAP Hiring Support: 15-20%
- Assist DAP leadership in coordinating all aspects of the hiring process, including conducting initial reviews, pre-screens, and Spanish screens for candidates; creating, organizing and populating interview rubrics; scheduling and note-taking at interviews; and conducting reference checks.
- Support DAP Leadership in ensuring best practices in equity and inclusion are applied during the recruitment process.
- Support DAP Managers and supervisors in administrative aspects of the onboarding process, as needed.
Organizational Services: 5-15%
- Identify opportunities for improvement in the administration of the Detained Adults Program, such as workflow solutions and systems implementations.
- Assist other program staff in completion of their workload during high work/low bandwidth periods.
- Discrete projects as required by program leadership.
[1] This list is illustrative and not intended to be a complete classification of all job functions or tasks.
Competencies Required:
Substantive Proficiency
The Hotline & Program Associate can communicate clearly and empathetically with individuals in detention in both English and Spanish through the Detention Hotline. They are comfortable communicating with diverse audiences and will strengthen their client-facing communication skills. They can understand the importance of mental health evaluations in clients’ legal cases, as well as the importance of building up of network of mental health evaluators. The Hotline & Program Associate will maintain systems of mental health evaluation data tracking and will work with legal and social services to implement new systems when areas for improvement are identified. The Hotline & Program Associate will also demonstrate a growing understanding of DAP’s hiring goals and will support DAP leadership in reaching those goals. The Hotline & Program Associate demonstrates a growing understanding of customer service, partnership building, program coordination, and hiring management concepts at a level that allows them to function with moderate supervision. The Hotline & Program Associate will be required to interact with internal staff, external partners, and clients & pro se individuals in detention. The Hotline & Program Associate will put into practice newly learned concepts and techniques.
Programmatic Proficiency
The Program Associate properly prioritizes tasks and projects with minimal oversight and carries out tasks and projects effectively and efficiently. These tasks include answering the Detention Hotline and logging calls in the database, coordinating mental health evaluations, and assisting DAP leadership in hiring processes. The Hotline & Program Associate demonstrates self-sufficiency in program management responsibilities.
Administrative
The Program Associate ensures that all administrative aspects of their position are carried out with limited supervisory support, including call logging, database maintenance, data tracking, timesheets, etc.
Qualifications Required
- Written and oral Spanish professional proficiency required
- Customer service skills, including communicating with diverse audiences
- Quick learner & adaptable, with proven ability to learn new systems and technology
- Detail-oriented with excellent problem-solving, organizational, and time-management skills
- Time management skills with the strong ability to prioritize tasks and maintain deadlines.
- Competency in Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint).
- Ability to work independently.
- Excellent written and spoken communication skills.
- Strong desire to contribute to a team environment.
- Favorable results on background check including driving record, and state and federal criminal records.
- High school diploma or GED required, but bachelor’s degree or relevant equivalent experience preferred.
- Ability to pass a government background check- required.
Preferred, but not required skills:
- Fluency in Spanish
- Fluency or proficiency in additional languages besides Spanish and English
- No experience necessary but prefer 1-3 years of relevant experience in program management support or at an immigration legal services organization.
- Prefer some experience working in an office setting, but not required.
Our Work Environment:
CAIR Coalition’s Detained Adult Program (DAP) is a highly collaborative work environment. We work in smaller focused teams around various direct representation and legal orientation projects, but all DAP colleagues are interconnected through case workshopping, appeals management, advocacy initiatives, and staff-run committees.
DAP staff have been a source of expertise in the highly complex and ever-changing immigration system. We have persisted through administration changes, policy shifts, and attacks on the rights and freedoms of immigrants through collaborations that arise to address challenges or to brainstorm and implement affirmative strategies.
We center impacted people in our advocacy and media. We embrace the movements to bring universal representation, an end to detention, and meaningful due process to the U.S. immigration system in our work, which also staying focused on the practical work we are trained to do and where we are most useful in this space. We grow our reach and skill set when resources permit and there is interest!
Additional Role-Specific Details:
Position Type
Full-time, non-exempt
Timeline
Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis. We will be hiring 2 candidates for this role.
Salary [2]
$47,500-$63,800 commensurate with experience
[2] In 2018 CAIR Coalition implemented a compensation framework to be more straightforward, transparent, and provide assurance of internal equity. The compensation model we use is based on an individual's position and years of relevant work experience to avoid salary discrepancies and to reduce the risk of racial, gender, or other forms of bias affecting a candidate's salary.
Location
This position will be based from the Washington, D.C. or Baltimore, M.D. Office. This job can be performed fully remotely for the right candidate.
Telework
All CAIR Coalition staff, interns, and volunteers are working a hybrid-work model (in-person and virtual/remote) as long as they are in compliance with CAIR Coalition's COVID-19 policies. Due to the duties and responsibilities of certain positions, certain staff members will be required to live within 30 miles of their assigned primary office.
COVID-19 Vaccination
All employees are required to be fully vaccinated and boosted against COVID-19. To be fully vaccinated means having completed the full dosages required for the type of vaccine obtained as designated by the CDC. If boosters are subsequently recommended by the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) then employees will be required to receive the booster within thirty (30) days of their eligibility to access the boosters.
How to Apply:
Submit your resume and a cover letter that explains your interest in this role with your Paylocity application.
At CAIR Coalition, we embrace the fact that talented individuals come from diverse backgrounds and life experiences. We believe that diversity in all dimensions of the organization supports and bolsters the innovative thinking essential to our success. CAIR Coalition values your unique perspectives, skills, and potential, and we are committed to providing equal opportunities for growth and development. If you are passionate about CAIR Coalition's mission and are excited to contribute your talents to our team, we encourage you to submit your application.
Candidates from traditionally underrepresented groups are strongly encouraged to apply. If you are a candidate with a disability and require accommodations to apply for this position, please contact us at HR@caircoalition.org.
EEO Statement
Capital Area Immigrants’ Rights (CAIR) Coalition is an equal opportunity employer. In accordance with anti-discrimination law, it is the purpose of this policy to effectuate these principles and mandates. CAIR Coalition prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type and affords equal employment opportunities to employees and applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, pregnancy, age, national origin, disability status, genetic information, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. CAIR Coalition conforms to the spirit as well as to the letter of all applicable laws and regulations.
Anti-Racism Statement:
https://www.caircoalition.org/cair-coalitions-statement-becoming-anti-racist-organization