About Acacia Center for Justice:
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 seeks an Associate Program Director (APD) to oversee and lead its Children’s Holistic Immigration Representation Project (CHIRP), which seeks to expand legal and social services capacity in the immigration field by supporting holistic, interdisciplinary representation of unaccompanied children. Under this model, legal and social services staff collaborate to center youth clients while providing “wrap around” services to identify and respond to external challenges that often influence a youth’s legal case and which otherwise go unaddressed. Funded through the State of California and implemented by the California Department of Social Services (CDSS), Acacia provides program management and technical assistance to CHIRP. The APD will oversee technical assistance and program administration for a network of sixteen organizations providing direct legal and social services to unaccompanied children. The ADP will be responsible for ensuring network-wide legal and programmatic subgrant compliance, collaborating with the Finance & Budgets team to assist subgrantees with budgets and invoicing, working with the Research & Evaluation team to collect qualitative and quantitative data for reporting to the funder, and developing robust technical assistance offerings to support the subgrantees in their day-to-day work. In addition, the APD will be responsible for leading future grant proposals, developing future projects and opportunities to expand holistic representation of unaccompanied children in California, and strategizing ways to replicate holistic representation models in other states.
Primary Duties/Responsibilities:
Strategic project management
- CHIRP Project Management in partnership with key internal and external partners.
- Work with the Senior Program Associate to monitor subgrantee performance and support subgrantees in the implementation of project goals.
- Strategically and creatively brainstorm solutions to challenges experienced by subgrantees in executing subgrant deliverables and benchmarks.
- In partnership with the Research & Evaluation team, review quantitative and qualitative data to ensure the delivery of high-quality legal services to released unaccompanied children and coordinate quarterly reporting to the funder.
- Contextualize and assess the CHIRP structure and project parameters for future expansion.
Technical assistance
- With the Senior Program Associate, develop and implement a technical assistance plan to support subgrantees in their day-to-day work under the project, with a focus on providing holistic representation and integrating legal and social services at subgrantee organizations.
- Facilitate both internal and external technical assistance offerings for the network, including drafting consulting agreements with external consultants as needed.
Stakeholders Relations
- Manage relationships with subgrantees and other stakeholders including the California Department of Social Services (CDSS).
- Respond to periodic reporting requests from CDSS.
Team leadership, mentorship, and development
- Onboard, supervise, support and mentor CHIRP team members across roles and levels including operations, research and finance roles.
Contract compliance and budget and resource management
- Develop and implement measures and processes to monitor grant compliance, including through analysis of program data and spending
- Work in collaboration with the Finance and Budgets team to monitor contract spending and adjust priorities where appropriate.
- Contextualize and assess the funding needs for the program from an operational perspective.
Required Skills, Knowledge, Abilities:
- A demonstrated knowledge of immigration, child welfare, criminal or juvenile justice, or other justice areas.
- Ability to anticipate and identify various problems that arise and apply creative solutions.
- Comprehensive attention to detail and commitment to accuracy.
- Strong organizational skills.
- Strong writing, research, data analysis, communication, and facilitation skills.
- Ability to build and maintain constructive working and communications relationships with government partners, program partners, and a diverse team.
- Ability to work collaboratively on a team, as well as to take the initiative and manage projects independently.
- An uncompromising commitment to immigrants' rights and race equity.
- Will have to pass a background check as per insurance requirements.
List of Required Software Applications:
Required
- Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite
Preferred
- Familiarity with contract management software (e.g., Opensource, Outlaw) strongly preferred
Preferred Skills, Knowledge, Abilities:
- Experience in capacity building.
- Experience in the provision of social services.
- Experience with government grants and contracts.
- Experience with overseeing a network of legal services providers.
Education and Experience:
- JD degree.
- Demonstrated ability to manage a project, including assigned staff, from start to finish.
- At least six years of experience in any of the following areas: legal, government, or policy work experience
Compensation and Benefits:
Acacia has established an internal compensation philosophy that centers equity and pay transparency. The salary for this position is set at $126,000 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 or the immigration 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 fun.
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.