Paralegal & Intake Coordinator
Job title: Paralegal & Intake Coordinator
Reports to: Refugee & Immigrant Program Director
Job Type: Full-time
Please use the following link to submit your application, letter of interest, and resume: https://forms.office.com/r/cmNpMgHHPv
The mission of The Advocates for Human Rights is to implement international human rights standards to promote civil society and reinforce the rule of law. By involving volunteers in research, education, and advocacy, we build broad constituencies in the United States and select global communities.
Position Summary
The Paralegal and Intake Coordinator works as a member of the Refugee and Immigrant Program to provide free legal representation to adults, families, and children who are fleeing persecution, torture, and trafficking, or who are detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). This position supports staff attorneys in preparing client files to transmit to volunteer attorneys and on immigration applications being handled in-house. They also coordinate new client intakes, engaging support from intake interns and volunteer interpreters.
Primary Duties and Responsibilities
· Intake Coordination: Review new intakes completed by interns and route them for staff attorney review. Schedule and conduct intake interviews with potential clients and work with interns and program assistant to draft post-intake summary. Collect and organize immigration client documents needed for case review. Take a lead role in prioritizing cases for review during the team's weekly case deliberations and delegate follow up tasks to interns and program assistant.
· Legal Case Support: Prepare immigration forms for staff attorneys for applications including work permits, asylum, T-Visa, Freedom of Information Act Request, as well as motions to immigration court and client affidavits. Monitor immigration filings for in-house cases from filing, receipt, biometrics appointments and approval notices.
· Volunteer Interpreter Engagement: Onboard new candidates for interpreter/translator volunteer panel. Coordinate volunteers to assist with client interviews and document translation.
· Pro Se Resource Review: Conduct periodic review of pro se packets. Engage staff attorneys to ensure that packets are up-to-date. Engage interns and volunteer interpreters to assess readability and complete updated translation of revised versions.
· Other Administrative and Organizational Duties: Participate in weekly staff meetings and attend program and organizational special events and fundraisers. Other duties as assigned.
There is limited travel with occasional opportunities to travel through Minnesota and the Dakotas. This position directly reports to the Program Director and works alongside another Program Associate and Program Staff Attorneys. It also supports the Program Director in supervision of Program Assistant.
Qualifications
Required:
· Associate's degree or equivalent experience
· Two years of administrative or case management experience
· Excellent organization and time management skills, including the ability to meet deadlines and manage competing priorities
· Demonstrated success communicating with a diverse population.
· Knowledge of, or ability to learn immigration regulations and laws
· Ability to develop and maintain professional, collaborative relationships
· Ability to communicate effectively in writing and verbally
· Commitment to engaging in human rights work, social justice and international affairs
· Ability to stay organized and detail-oriented
· Strong knowledge of Microsoft Office suite (Outlook, Word and Excel)
Desired:
· Demonstrated experience supervising employees, volunteers, interns or interpreters
· Demonstrated experience working with refugee populations or survivors of trauma
· Demonstrated experience using Microsoft 365 and/or Legal Server
· Fluency in a language other than English
Compensation
Compensation is commensurate with experience and is consistent with similarly sized nonprofits in the Twin Cities Area. Our generous benefit package includes vacation, medical, dental, long term disability/AD+D/life insurance, and pre-tax retirement plan.
To Apply
Please use the following link to submit your application, letter of interest, and resume: https://forms.office.com/r/cmNpMgHHPv
No phone-calls or e-mail inquiries, please.
Application Deadline: September 17, 2021
The Advocates for Human Rights is an equal opportunity employer. The Advocates is committed to cultural diversity and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, sex, age, religion, sexual orientation, disability or any other legally protected status
