About Acacia Center for Justice:
The Acacia Center for Justice is a new non-profit created through a collaboration between the Vera Institute of Justice (“Vera”) and the Capital Area Immigrants’ Rights (“CAIR”) Coalition. The CAIR Coalition is a non-profit organization focused on providing legal assistance to adult and child immigrants detained by the government in the Capital Region. CAIR adheres to the fundamental belief that all people – no matter their story – deserve to be free, safe, supported, and have access to a just legal system.
The objective of the Acacia Center for Justice (“Acacia”) is to expand on Vera’s work over the past twenty years in providing 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 will focus the collective power of both Vera and CAIR on delivering accountable, independent, zealous and person-centered legal services and representation to protect the rights of all immigrants at risk of deportation.
Who you are
This temporary non-exempt position is primarily responsible for providing coverage for administrative tasks on the LOP and LOPC team during the pendency of the Associate Program Director’s extended leave. Main responsibilities will include taking notes, updating internal tracking mechanisms, maintaining email correspondence, and other ad hoc administrative support.
Responsibilities include, but are not limited to:
- Support the LOP and LOPC team members by drafting and finalizing LOP and LOPC conference call notes for the months of February, March, and April 2023 as needed.
- Support LOP and LOPC team members by drafting notes for other internal or external stakeholder meetings as needed.
- Send out onboarding emails to new legal service provider staff members; created new user accounts for database, SharePoint, and other cloud platform access.
- Ensure the contact lists are updated with the staffing updates on a regular basis.
- Support the offboarding of external legal service provider staff members as needed. This will include deleting user accounts on SharePoint, the database, and other cloud platforms as required.
- Review the running list of listserv blurbs, draft content and email out to the legal service provider networks listserv updates every six weeks starting in either January or February and maintaining this task through March or April.
- Send out ad hoc announcements to the legal service providers via the appropriate listserv.
Required Skills
- Language proficiency in addition to English;
- A demonstrated interest in program administration and public policy;
- A desire to effectuate change in partnership with government;
- 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.
Required Qualifications:
- Knowledge of Microsoft systems
Preferred Qualifications:
- One to two 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 has been personally impacted by it.
- Experience with “know your rights” and other community education initiatives are a plus.
Compensation and Benefits:
Acacia has established an internal compensation philosophy that centers equity and pay transparency. The hourly rate for this position is $30. The listed pay rate is just one component of Acacia’s total compensation package for employees. Supporting Acacia staff—both personally and professionally—is our priority. Please note, some benefits are not offered to temporary employees.
- 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
- 4 personal days
- 11 observed holidays, including the last week of December
- $2000 Professional Development Stipend
- Home office set-up stipend
- Internet Stipend
- Student loan repayment assistance.
- Gym Reimbursement
People of color and those who have been impacted by the criminal justice system are strongly urged to apply.
To Apply:
Please upload a resume and cover letter at the link provided or email admin@acaciajustice.org with Subject: ATTN: Human Resources / [Job Title], Acacia Center for Justice
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.
As a federal contractor, and in order to ensure a healthy and safe work environment, Acacia Center for Justice is requiring all employees to be fully vaccinated and provide proof of their COVID-19 vaccine before their start date. Employees who cannot receive the vaccine because of a disability/medical contraindication or sincerely-held religious belief may request an accommodation (e.g., an exemption) to this requirement.
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.