Director of Immigration Legal Services

African Communities Together • New York, NY

103d • $120,000

About The Position

African Communities Together (ACT) is an organization of African immigrants fighting for civil rights, opportunity, and a better life for our families here in the U.S. and worldwide. ACT empowers African immigrants to integrate socially, get ahead economically, and engage civically. We develop our members as grassroots leaders who take action to make social change. Since its founding, ACT has supported thousands of African immigrants with direct services, trained hundreds of new leaders, and led successful policy campaigns at the federal, state, and local levels that have impacted hundreds of thousands of immigrants. ACT’s African immigrant membership comes from a diverse range of nationalities, cultures, and languages, is religiously diverse, and is predominantly working-class and low-income. We have offices in New York City, Philadelphia, and the Washington, D.C. metro area. ACT’s legal department plays a critical role fighting for justice and dignity for low-income African immigrants, a role that is only growing with changes in federal immigration policy. ACT seeks an experienced Director of Immigration Legal Services who will lead ACT’s immigration legal service provision and our team of immigration legal service professionals.

Requirements

• Demonstrated passion and commitment to ACT’s mission and constituency.
• Licensed attorney in good standing and eligible to practice immigration law; court experience preferred but not required.
• At least 6 years of experience with immigration legal practice, preferably with immigrants from African countries.
• Proven people management skills to lead an experienced, diverse, and geographically dispersed team.
• An inclusive management style that places deep value on diverse perspectives and emphasizes the development and growth of team members.
• A natural orientation towards collaboration and a commitment to personal and professional continuous improvement.
• A leader who is disciplined, focused, and detail-oriented, with experience in creating and managing legal casework systems.
• Fluency in a widely spoken African language such as Mandingo, Yoruba, Amharic, or Swahili, or in French or Arabic, strongly preferred.
• Ability to succeed in a startup/growth environment, including accountability to goals and willingness to work across organizational silos.
• Familiarity with electronic case management systems and experience with reporting outcomes.

Responsibilities

• Lead and manage the immigration legal services program.
• Supervise and manage immigration attorneys, paralegals, and legal support staff.
• Manage assignment and distribution of workload, maintaining familiarity with individual and team dockets, contract timelines, etc.
• Communicate about and advocate for the department’s priorities and needs with the Executive Director and other ACT senior leadership.
• Hold regular (weekly or biweekly) one-on-one meetings with legal staff and immigration legal team meetings.
• Provide legal supervision and review of legal work performed by legal staff, ensuring accuracy, timeliness, and compliance with the law and professional ethics.
• Ensure accurate, timely, and thorough electronic notekeeping and digital data collection.
• Provide mentorship and professional development to legal staff that enables them to grow as legal professionals.
• Address issues of communication, support, training, etc. as they impact team performance.
• Review and develop legal team work systems, such as intake management, and coordinate information sharing across local offices.
• Monitor and utilize electronic data systems used to track intakes, casework, and outcomes and maintain digital case records.
• Collaborate with other ACT departments and staff to improve efficiency and integration of the legal program.
• Supervise, review, and perform reporting and proposal development for immigration legal services.
• Manage and maintain Department of Justice recognition for ACT and accreditation for individual representatives.
• Provide direct legal services and representation to clients as required.

Benefits

• Fully paid employee Medical, Dental, Vision, along with partial dependent coverage.
• Flexible Spending Account (FSA).
• Simplified Employee Pension Plan (SEP-IRA).
• Paid time off.
• 10 paid holidays.
• Parental leave.
• Professional development opportunities.
• Sabbatical leave.
• Wellness benefits.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: No Education Listed