Project Director

Indiana Legal Services•Indianapolis, IN

29d•Onsite

About The Position

Indiana Legal Services, Inc. (ILS) is a statewide, not-for-profit organization that provides free legal services to eligible clients in civil cases through eight branch offices. ILS is funded by the Legal Services Corporation, Indiana Civil Legal Aid Fund, United Ways, Area Agencies on Aging, and approximately 65 other funding sources. The Immigration and Language Rights Center (ILRC) is a statewide program of Indiana Legal Services that provides comprehensive immigration legal services, advocacy, education, and support to immigrants and individuals with limited English proficiency throughout Indiana. All of the ILRC’s legal work is immigration-related and includes both affirmative and defensive representation. The ILRC handles a range of humanitarian and family-based immigration matters, including asylum, U nonimmigrant visas, T nonimmigrant visas, Violence Against Women Act self-petitions, Special Immigrant Juvenile Status, family-based petitions, naturalization, removal defense, and other immigration matters affecting eligible clients. The ILRC also collaborates with ILS offices, community organizations, and other partners to identify emerging needs, provide education, share legal expertise, and develop appropriate responses to issues affecting immigrant communities. The ILRC also leads and supports language-access efforts within ILS. This work includes helping ensure that applicants and clients with limited English proficiency can meaningfully access ILS services and supporting organizational practices concerning interpretation, translation, intake, client communication, and other language-access needs. ILS is committed to promoting diversity, multiculturalism, and inclusion and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We recruit, employ, train, compensate, and promote without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, veteran status, or any category protected by law. This position will be located in the Indianapolis ILS office.

Requirements

Admission to the Indiana Bar, eligibility for admission on motion, or eligibility to sit for the next scheduled Indiana bar examination. Ability to maintain Indiana attorney licensure in good standing and comply with all professional and continuing legal education requirements.
Minimum of 4 years of legal experience, preferably in project focus area.
Ability to articulate and implement a clear vision for the ILRC’s statewide immigration and language-access work.
Demonstrated leadership and supervisory ability, including the ability to guide legal strategy, review casework, support staff development, and manage competing priorities.
Strong legal research, writing, negotiation, advocacy, and litigation skills.
Excellent written and oral communication skills.
Ability to work effectively with clients experiencing trauma, crisis, language barriers, or other challenges.
Ability to work respectfully and effectively with people from diverse cultural, linguistic, social, and economic backgrounds.
Ability to collaborate effectively with staff across multiple offices and departments and with external community partners.
Strong organizational, problem-solving, and time-management skills.
Ability to travel throughout Indiana as needed.
Commitment to the mission of Indiana Legal Services.

Nice To Haves

Spanish fluency or professional proficiency in another language commonly spoken by ILS applicants and clients.

Responsibilities

Supervise ILRC staff, volunteers, and interns; assign and review work; oversee affirmative and defensive immigration matters; conduct performance and case reviews; support staff development; and ensure high-quality legal representation in compliance with applicable laws, professional rules, grant requirements, and ILS policies.
In coordination with the Development Department, manage project grants, grant reports and grant applications.
Develop and maintain relationships with community organizations and other partners, provide community legal education.
Lead ILS’s language-access work, including collaborating with the Intake Director on interpretation, translation, intake procedures, and communication with applicants and clients, and working with administrative staff and leadership to support meaningful language access across the organization.
Share immigration and language-access expertise with other ILS offices and projects through consultation, training, collaboration, and co-counseling, as appropriate.
Identify significant or emerging issues affecting immigrant communities and develop appropriate legal, advocacy, or educational responses.
Perform other duties as assigned.