Senior Program Associate, Learning & Development

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 to join our Learning & Development team. The Senior Program Associate will play an integral role in ensuring that legal service providers in our Unaccompanied Children Program have the knowledge and resources they need to provide high-quality legal services to the youth they serve. The Senior Program Associate will be responsible for staying abreast of new policies from government partners, as well as changes in immigration law that may impact the practice of representing non-citizens in removal proceedings. The Senior Program Associate will synthesize and summarize such new information in a comprehensible way in order to provide timely and accurate guidance to our legal service providers. The Senior Program Associate will maintain relationships with our technical assistance providers, help identify relevant topics for network-wide trainings and assist in developing and executing such training programs. Applicants can be considered for multiple positions and are encouraged to apply for all positions at Acacia in which they have interest.

Primary Duties/Responsibilities:

• Develop and maintain relationships with existing and new technical assistance providers by conducting regular check-in calls, reviewing reports, and engaging in ad hoc communication to ensure they provide relevant and quality resources for the Unaccompanied Children network.
• Develop workshop curricula and manage logistics for in-person training programs.
• Travel domestically 2-4 times per year to conduct on-site training programs.
• Track and analyze immigration cases and USCIS/EOIR/ORR policies that impact the Unaccompanied Children network.
• Create internal organizational tools to keep track of any changes to such law and policies.
• Draft and revise internal policies to reflect recent changes in law and policy around unaccompanied children.
• Synthesize and summarize changes in immigration law and policies to provide external guidance to legal service providers in the network, in the form of webinars and written guidance.
• Identify other technical assistance needs of the network and collaborate with colleagues to create training resources that address these needs.
• Conduct legal research and write reports on additional topics as they arise.

Required Skills, Knowledge, Abilities:

• A demonstrated knowledge of immigration law, child welfare issues, and criminal and juvenile systems.
• Ability to work quickly and manage multiple projects effectively and efficiently.
• Strong writing, research, data analysis, and facilitation skills.
• Comfort with public speaking and giving presentations.
• Ability to work collaboratively on a team, as well as to take the initiative and manage projects independently.
• Willingness to travel 2-4 times per year and ability to successfully balance travel responsibilities with office-based responsibilities.
• Interest in effectuating change in partnership with the government.

Preferred Skills, Knowledge, Abilities:

• Spanish proficiency strongly preferred, and knowledge of other languages a plus.
• Knowledge of the ORR system for Unaccompanied Children.
• Experience representing detained immigrants and/or children.
• Experience providing legal orientations, Know Your Rights presentations, legal screenings, or other community education initiatives.
• Experience working before tribunals and decision-making bodies, including state and federal courts, immigration courts, and USCIS.

Education and Experience:

• J.D., DOJ Accredited Representative, or other removal defense experience, including lived experience.
• At least four years of legal immigration experience.

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.

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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