Senior Program Associate - Legal Access Programs

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 Senior Program Associate (SPA) will play a crucial role in programmatic functions for a new, federally funded legal orientation program that provides legal orientation services to class members in Ms. L v. ICE, a lawsuit filed on behalf of families separated at the southwest border between January 2017 and January 2021. The SPA is typically the primary point of contact between legal service providers (LSPs) and Acacia. The SPA is primarily responsible for providing oversight and program management expertise to subcontractors carrying out the Legal Access program for Ms. L class members. The program is expected to run for a six-year period.

Responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

• Oversee program management for assigned LSP subcontractor sites through regular contact with LSPs, site visits of program sites across the country (monthly travel of approximately 15-20% of time will be required), drafting site visit evaluations and engaging in follow-up from the site visits, and working to stay rooted in the issues facing network providers.
• Support communication with program stakeholders via the LSP listservs and other. communication platforms, facilitate monthly check-in with LSPs, and provide program management troubleshooting for providers.
• Lead conference calls with LSP network and governmental stakeholders.
• Work collaboratively across units within Acacia (including with Acacia’s Technical Compliance, Learning & Development (L&D), and Research Evaluation and Data Analytics (REDA) units to perform, assess, and strengthen program operations, including continual review and revision of Program Guidance Documents.
• With Acacia’s REDA team, improve accuracy and timeliness of data reporting, respond to ad hoc data requests, and assist with program data collection, analysis, management, and reporting tasks. Review and maintain provider data entry.
• In coordination with the L&D team, continually identify promising practices among the network and devise ways to disseminate information about such practices to encourage implementation.
• Coordinate regularly with L&D to assess network technical assistance (TA) needs and develop responsive TA resources.
• Assist in the provision of TA to legal service providers. In collaboration with L&D team, support the delivery of webinars and interactive workshops about best practices, immigration law, and trends to provider networks.
• Coordinate with the BRM team to address spending variances by LSPs and ensure they are complying with their budget requirements.
• Support Acacia leadership in strategy and program innovation, and develop and maintain relationships with project partners, including other stakeholders in order to foster further collaboration.
• Support other units working on the Legal Access program for Ms. L class members and other LARS programs and support the development and launch of new programs as needed.
• Complete other projects as assigned by supervisor, such as participating in new Acacia staff interviews and on-boarding, and discrete contract assignments, and supervision of interns as needed.

Required Skills

• 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 successfully balance travel responsibilities (approximately 15 –20% of travel) with office-based responsibilities.
• 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.
• Ability to work with people of diverse experiences and backgrounds.
• Demonstrated commitment to Legal Access and due process for people in deportation proceedings.
• Deep commitment to race equity and inclusion.

Preferred Skills

• Experience working with Ms. L class members.
• Experience with "know your rights" and other community education initiatives.

Education and Experience:

• Law degree, or 7+ years relevant work experience strongly preferred.
• Experience at immigration legal services provider organization strongly preferred.
• At least four years of relevant immigration representation, government, or policy work experience.
• Comparable work and educational experience will also be considered, particularly where the candidate has direct experience with the immigration legal system and has been personally impacted by it.

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 system and 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.

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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