Detention Hotline Coordinator, Detained Adult Program

Amica Center for Immigrant Rights (Amica Center)•Washington, DC

37d•$69,000 - $81,000•Hybrid

About The Position

The Detention Hotline Coordinator for the Detained Adult Program (DAP) will lead efforts to ensure the effective delivery of legal services through Amica Center’s free detention hotline and through support to the in-person Know Your Rights Team who visit government detention facilities throughout Virginia. The Detention Hotline Coordinator will oversee hotline operations to ensure callers—whether detained represented individuals, pro se (un-represented) respondents, or non-detained people seeking information—receive accurate, trauma-informed legal education and assistance. They will maintain up-to-date training materials, troubleshoot emergent legal issues, and collaborate across teams to strengthen hotline management, workflows, and response systems. This is a highly collaborative position, playing a key role within the Know Your Rights (KYR) Team, and closely collaborating with the Volunteer Program, the Direct Representation Intaking Team, and DAP managers.

Requirements

At least 3 years of strong experience or legal training in immigration law.
At least 1 year of supervision experience.
Strong ability to collaborate across teams and departments.
Oral and written Spanish professional proficiency required, fluency preferred.
Valid driver's license and comfortable operating a vehicle upon hiring.
The Hotline Coordinator demonstrates a firm understanding of relief eligibility to allow for meaningful contribution to hotline intakes and client-facing legal activities and thought leadership in discussions during intakes, follow-up and casework with minimal supervision.
Ability to convey legal concepts to those with limited legal experience (i.e. volunteers, undergraduate interns, and legal interns).
Clearly and skillfully employs the law in written and oral presentations with limited supervision and input from supervisors.
Demonstrates a mastery of understanding legal information versus advice and educates others on this distinction and is familiar with preparing client filings and can support paralegals, interns, and volunteers on doing so with limited attorney input.
Skillfully and clearly presents legal and procedural concepts to detained individuals with limited supervision.
Demonstrates trauma-informed interviewing and rapport building skills.
Satisfactorily handle all required in-jail and in-office programmatic obligations (management of Detention Hotline, KYR, and rapid response) with minimal supervision.
Manages their workload to allow for proper prioritization and thoughtful use of time and resources.
Contributes to the supervision and professional development of volunteers, interns, and junior staff.
Ensures that all administrative aspects of their position, attendant to the provision of services to clients, are carried out without managerial intervention, including timekeeping, file upkeep, database upkeep, etc.

Nice To Haves

Previous experience supervising volunteers preferred.
Experience managing data systems and processes preferred.
Experience with Excel and data manipulation preferred.

Responsibilities

Manage operational aspects of the hotline, including staffing schedules, technology troubleshooting, and administrative tasks that keep the hotline running smoothly.
Manage the provision of legal services over the hotline. This includes supervision of volunteers, interns, and paralegals who provide legal education and resources to callers.
Provide substantive legal training to volunteers, undergraduate interns, legal interns, and paralegals who staff the hotline.
Answer legal questions and provide in-chat support to volunteers, interns, and staff who cover the detention hotline, as they answer calls from individuals who may have emergent legal situations. Provide brief legal education where appropriate. Troubleshoot these types of requests clearly and empathetically.
Ensure hotline training materials remain up to date with legal changes and any changes to the Know Your Right team’s processes and that in-person KYR and hotline supporting teams collaboratively share and update resources and trainings to maximize efficiency in the provision of legal services. Stays abreast of key legal updates to incorporate into hotline and KYR work.
Manage the administrative volunteers that provide remote services to pro se individuals calling the hotline. This includes managing systems that facilitate document delivery, email referrals, callback requests, and the tracking of first time callers.
Coordinate across teams to ensure all hotline-related KYR systems are effective and useable by staff, volunteers and interns.
Provide emergency coverage of the hotline as needed.
Participates in detention facility visits in Virginia (normally 1 overnight visit per quarter) for the provision of Know Your Rights presentations and group workshops.
Identify and track trends and emerging issues faced by the people we work with in detention affecting their immigration cases. Coordinate with others in the organization to help detained people respond to and access better information on issues and make appropriate referrals.
Conducts training and supervises other staff and volunteers on administrative tasks, including database maintenance.
Undertake own administrative functions, including for hotline caller and KYR work and ensuring the inputting and accuracy of data and case information into shared databases in a timely fashion.
Assists program leadership in planning and implementation of program goals.
Assists other program staff in high-work/low-bandwidth periods.
Actively engage in Amica Center’s training and advocacy efforts, as needed.
Participates in stakeholder relationship activities, including in-person and telephonic meetings with community groups, governmental bodies and representatives, and other legal service providers.
Coordinate with all internal Amica Center Programs (e.g., Impact Lab, DAP Direct Representation teams) to ensure all programs are kept abreast of detention developments, clients, and referrals.