Program Associate, Legal Orientation Program for Custodians (LOPC)
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:
The Program Associate for LOPC is primarily responsible for providing coverage for stakeholder and subcontractor engagements as part of the Legal Orientation Program for Custodians (LOPC). The Program Associate is responsible for participating in communications between the LOPC service provider networks, including monitoring compliance with subcontracts, providing technical assistance where appropriate, and conducting program evaluation. The Program Associate reports to the Associate Program Director for LOP/LOPC, and works in coordination with the Program Director, other site leads, Program Analysts, and the Technical Compliance, Learning and Development (L&D), and Research Evaluation and Data Analytics (REDA) teams to ensure that the LOPC is functioning smoothly.
Primary Duties/Responsibilities:
Subcontractor management
- Oversee program management for assigned subcontractor sites and conduct site visits of LOPC provider sites across the country (expected to conduct seven (7) site visit trips a year), draft site visit evaluations and manage resulting action items, and update internal tracking mechanisms on a rolling basis.
- Develop and maintain relationships with existing legal service providers through ongoing 1:1 communication, and by facilitating monthly conference calls.
Technical assistance provision
- Identify technical assistance needs of the network and collaborate with the Learning & Development (L&D) team to create training resources that address these needs.
- Assist the Learning and Development (L&D) in the provision of technical assistance to LOPC provider sites on an ad hoc basis.
- Continuously identify promising practices among program sites and devise ways to disseminate information about such practices to encourage implementation elsewhere.
Synthesis and analysis of qualitative program data
- Assist the Technical Compliance team in the preparation and review of LOPC quarterly reports to government partners.
- Review provider data and programmatic updates on an ongoing basis, which may require collaboration with the REDA team to ensure providers’ understanding and compliance with data reporting requirements.
- Ad hoc projects as assigned by supervisor, including coordination with the Unaccompanied Children Program (UCP).
Required Skills, Knowledge, Abilities:
- Spanish proficiency;
- A demonstrated interest in program administration and public policy;
- A desire to effectuate change in partnership with government;
- Ability to successfully balance travel responsibilities with office-based responsibilities;
- Strong interpersonal and communications skills;
- Ability to manage work on multiple projects simultaneously, efficiently, and effectively;
- Ability to work collaboratively on a team and manage projects independently;
- Strong writing and research skills; and
- Ability to work with people of diverse experiences and backgrounds.
Preferred Skills, Knowledge, Abilities:
- Experience with “know your rights” and other community education initiatives are a strong plus.
Education and Experience:
- Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience; and
- 3+ years of relevant immigration, government, or policy work experience.
- Comparable work experience will also be considered, particularly where the candidate has direct experience with the immigration legal system and/or has been personally impacted by it.
List of Required Software applications:
- Zoom, Slack, Microsoft Office, Outlook, Samsung/iPhone cellular phone, Adobe, SharePoint, ITAC, VPN, Smartsheet access, and other software applications as the need arises.
Compensation and Benefits:
Acacia has established an internal compensation philosophy that centers equity and pay transparency. The salary for this position is set at $80,000. 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
- 20 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 [email protected] 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.