Organization overview:

ImmSchools’ mission is to create safe and welcoming schools for the 5 million K-12 students who are either undocumented or living in a mixed status household with at least one undocumented immigrant parent. We carry out our mission through multi-year partnerships with schools, districts, community leaders, and students and families. We provide the entire school community – including administrators, educators, students and families – with programs and resources to build and promote a safe and welcoming school culture for undocumented students and those from mixed-status families.

ImmSchools is one of the only organizations in the country working at the intersection of K-12 education and immigrant justice that is primarily led by BIPOC and proximate leaders. Join our team and become part of a movement to transform our schools into safe and welcoming spaces for undocumented students and mixed status families allowing them to reach academic success and thrive.

Position overview:

This is a position for in-house immigration counsel and legal expert program coordinator. This critical role will support our research partnership with Rutgers University in furthering its development of a new curriculum and Immigrant-Friendly School Culture and Climate Framework by including access to justice elements in our program’s impact. Access to justice is the right to use the legal system to advocate for oneself and one’s interests. The immigration attorney will create, review, and present access to justice programs that align with the University’s research goals and provide immigration legal support for students, parents, and teachers. The Attorney will serve as the legal liaison and assess/communicate how particular legal needs can be met. The attorney will address and identify potential legal barriers related to status and access to justice, and co-design content that includes legal advice for immigrant families while ensuring that the curriculum addresses the social determinants of health in the context of immigration, such as access to healthcare, legal services, and family support. The attorney will also guide and support the development of policies that are immigrant-friendly and legally sound to shape frameworks that address the needs of immigrant families.

Job Description

Legal Counsel and Program Development (75%)

• Provide pro bono immigration consultations to ImmSchools students and families
• Advise educators on supporting immigrant students' rights and access to education
• Develop accessible legal education programs focused on immigrant rights for Texas, New York, New Jersey, and Philadelphia
• Create multilingual know-your-rights materials and self-help legal resources to support families proactively in case of separation
• Collaborate with pro bono attorneys and law school clinics to expand service capacity for Families being served by ImmSchools
• Provide specialized facilitation for: foundational trainings, educator preparedness, student engagement, family engagement, and other programming
• Engage in partnership meetings with university partner(s) and support research partnership goals including data collection for research studies, exploring research questions and making use of participatory, qualitative,and quantitative methodologies
• Support research grant writing and reporting by collecting and analyzing data
• Lead community-based national and regional programming

Community Engagement (20%)

• Build partnerships with grassroots organizations, religious institutions, and legal experts to increase ImmSchools’ visibility
• Coordinate immigrant emergency assistance in the event of a family separation
• Facilitate immigration resource fairs and community outreach events
• Maintain relationships with immigration service providers for referral network
• Document systemic barriers facing immigrant communities
• Support policy advocacy initiatives through data collection and community stories Represent organization in immigrant rights coalitions
• Monitor changes in immigration law and policy affecting client communities

Administrative (5%)

• Maintain case management database and generate program reports
• Support grant writing and reporting related to legal services
• Participate in staff development and immigration law training
• Supervise legal volunteers and interns

Qualifications

Educational Background:

• Bachelor's degree in Education or Teaching Experience (e.g., Elementary Education, Secondary Education, Early Childhood Education, Special Education, or Curriculum and Instruction) (required)
• J.D. (required)
• Bar License in any state (Required)
• Relevant teaching certification/licensure (preferred)

Experience

• 1-3 years of immigration law practice
• 3+ years of professional/personal experience of working with immigrant and undocumented communities
• Must be multilingual in one of the following: Spanish, Mandarin, Haitian Creole, Bengali, French among others
• Passionate about equity, justice and community building
• Demonstrate cultural competency through familiarity in working with immigrants from a very diverse number of backgrounds such as undocumented Black, Asian and Latinx immigrants
• Excellent oral and written communication, presentation and interpersonal skills
• Able to multitask efficiently and effectively
• Proven leadership and motivational skills

Competencies

• Passion for ImmSchools’ mission, vision, and core values; driven by the opportunity to create safe and welcoming school for undocumented students and mixed-status families
• Strong commitment to diversity, equity and social justice including a focus on self-awareness and engagement of continuous learning around diversity equity and belonging and becoming anti-racist
• A trustworthy, transparent, high-integrity leader who will inspire teams and offer a collaborative management style that fosters teamwork and open communication
• An outcomes-focused, creative problem solver, and strategic thinker
• Flexible and adaptable in the face of change and ambiguity, a can-do, positive attitude
• An influential and persuasive communicator who builds strong relationships

Benefits:

• Medical, Vision, and Dental Insurance
• Unlimited Paid Time Off
• Unlimited Sick Days
• Three weeks of company-wide office closures
• Twelve weeks of paid parental leave
• Summer Fridays in July
• Flexible work schedule with some evening and weekend work required.
• A fun, fast-paced work environment where learning and growth are prioritized.

Questions? Contact HR@immschools.org

Diversity, Equity & Belonging

Diversity, Equity and Belonging is more than a commitment at ImmSchools—it is the foundation of what we do. We are fully focused on equality and believe deeply in diversity of race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, ethnicity, national origin, and all the other fascinating characteristics that make us different. We believe that these diverse communities must be centered in our work. Hence, we strongly encourage applications from people with these identities or who are members of marginalized communities.