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.
Job Summary:
Acacia Center for Justice (Acacia) is collaborating with the Immigrant Justice Center (IJC) on a federally funded project that is focused on recruiting attorneys to provide legal services for unaccompanied children who are under the charge of the Office of Refugees and Resettlement (ORR). The Senior Research Associate will work with both the Acacia and IJC’s research team to gather data on attorney recruitment and caseloads, to identify and analyze factors that explain attorney retention, and to use these research data to develop proposals for sustaining a universal representation program for unaccompanied minors.
The Senior Research Associate will also be a member of Acacia’s Research Evaluation and Data Analytics (REDA) team that is responsible for reporting on Acacia’s entire portfolio of immigrant legal service work and will be expected to attend REDA team meetings as well as other REDA-relevant Acacia activities.
Primary Duties/Responsibilities:
Play a leadership role, in collaboration with Acacia REDA and program staff and the IJC research team, in the development of a comprehensive research agenda for the project (including research goals and theoretical framework, research design, methodology and reporting schedule).
Collaborate with Acacia program staff to develop datapoints for tracking the recruitment, retention and caseloads of the 50 senior attorneys that will be directly recruited by Acacia over the span of the project.
Assume primary responsibility for gathering data and drafting quarterly reports to ORR for the activities described above. Data gathering may include a combination of qualitative interviewing (of recruited attorneys) and quantitative data tracking and survey research methods.
Assist IJC research team in refining data points, database entry fields for the recruitment, retention and caseloads of the up to 400 legal fellows that will be recruited by IJC over the span of the project.
Assist IJC with the preparation of quarterly reports for the activities described above.
Work with Acacia REDA leadership to develop goals, research design and innovative methodological approaches for ad hoc program evaluation and/or program outcomes research that can be used to provide recommendations for best practices for attorney recruitment and retention, in service of developing an expansive and sustainable universal representation model for unaccompanied minors.
Lead the and IJC research teams in research design, data gathering and drafting of ad hoc reports that may be requested by the ORR.
Supervise the Acacia Research Associate who will also be hired for this project and will assist with all of the above activities.
Prepare internal reports and project updates for Acacia and IJC program staff that will inform their service delivery model and recruitment and retention strategies.
Solicit insights from Acacia and IJC program staff on features of the research process that carry implications for their programmatic work.
Required Skills, Knowledge, Abilities:
Methodological proficiencies in qualitative and quantitative research (i.e., mixed methods) with an emphasis on qualitative interview methods, survey research methods, longitudinal or life course research (using qualitative or quantitative methods).
Excellent oral and written communication skills, including ability to present research findings to a range of audiences in a variety of formats, and work effectively on a large team to advance shared priorities.
Preferred Skills, Knowledge, Abilities:
Prior experience conducting research in the fields of migrant and refugee studies or working for organizations that serve migrants and refugees.
Proficiencies with R/Python, Stata and qualitative analysis software (Dedoose, Envivo etc.).
Prior experience conducting research on recruitment and retention (on any population, not necessarily specific to migrants or refugees).
Prior experience preparing research reports for government agencies (preferably federal, but also including municipal and state-level organizations).
Graduate level education and/or certification in social science research.
Education and Experience:
Bachelor’s Degree in a discipline that requires social science research training (Sociology, Anthropology, Geography, Political Science, etc).
At least 3 years of full-time research experience, including at least one 1 year of experience serving as the research lead or principal investigator.
Additional eligibility requirements:
In accordance with federal contracts, a National Crime Information Center (NCIC) check is required for this position. While this is not a current hiring requirement, this position may require Electronic Questionnaire for Investigations Processing (e-QIP) security clearance in the future (for additional information: https://www.dcsa.mil/is/eqip/).
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
- 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
- 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 justice system are strongly urged to apply.
To Apply:
Please upload a resume and cover letter at the link provided or email hiring@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.