Intake Coordinator
Job title: Intake Coordinator, Immigration Legal Services
Reports to: Director, Immigration Legal Services
Job Type: Full-time, hybrid
Salary: Starting at $23/hour
Submit application, letter of interest, and resume: https://forms.office.com/r/Dr5afkpqza
The Advocates for Human Rights: The Advocates is a volunteer based, non-governmental, non-profit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to the promotion and protection of internationally recognized human rights. The Advocates’ programming focuses on women’s rights, including freedom from violence; migrant and refugee rights, including both advocacy and legal services; peacebuilding in post-conflict societies; due process and freedom from persecution; and economic and social rights. The Advocates work to bring about systems change, reinforce accountability mechanisms, raise awareness, foster tolerance, and help individuals more fully realize their inherent rights.
Position Summary
As the Intake Coordinator in our Immigration Legal Services program, you will serve as the primary point of contact for individuals seeking immigration legal assistance, with an emphasis on asylum seekers and those in detention. You will be responsible for conducting comprehensive intake interviews, assessing client needs, managing the initial client screening process, and ensuring seamless transitions into our legal services program. Reporting to the Immigration Legal Services Director while supervising a small number of volunteers and interns, this full-time (40 hours/week) position operates in a hybrid work environment with regular in-office presence needed for client meetings, intake interviews, and team collaboration, as well as regular off-site trips to legal clinics and detention centers.
Who are we seeking to join our team?
We are looking for a compassionate and dynamic individual who is driven by the hope of our clients and inspired by the generosity of our volunteers. You should be passionate about our mission, possess exceptional interpersonal communication skills, and have experience working with diverse populations, including trauma survivors. You have an incredible attention to detail and cultural sensitivity, with the ability to conduct thorough intake assessments while maintaining a client-centered approach.
As Intake Coordinator, you play an essential role in ensuring every client receives appropriate services and support from their first contact with our organization. You must be able to assess complex immigration cases quickly and accurately, requiring strong analytical skills and knowledge of immigration law. You will be responsible for a large number of cases, ensuring interns and volunteers conduct quick and comprehensive intakes. You are nimble enough to adapt to our fast-paced office atmosphere while being compassionate enough to serve vulnerable clients with dignity and care. You understand the critical importance of accurate documentation and thorough intake processes in building strong immigration cases.
Primary Duties and Responsibilities
The primary responsibility of this position is to manage all aspects of client intake and initial assessment for Immigration Legal Services, with an emphasis on asylum and detained cases.
Intake (60%)
- Manage high-volume intake process
- Identify and implement needed process updates and improvements
- Coordinate all incoming calls and contacts from potential clients and individuals seeking our assistance.
- Coordinate new client intakes, working with staff and volunteers to complete a high volume of intakes in an efficient, respectful, and culturally sensitive manner. Ensure intake quality assurance.
- Recruit, train, and supervise intake volunteers.
- Review new intakes and route them for staff attorney review. Schedule and conduct intake interviews with potential clients and work with program staff to draft post-intake summary. Collect and organize immigration client documents needed for case review.
- Lead the team’s weekly case deliberations meeting including creating an agenda, prioritizing cases, and delegating follow up tasks to interns and appropriate staff.
- Ensure accuracy and thoroughness with data management systems including LegalServer, SharePoint, etc.
Client Communication and Support (15%)
- Maintain regular communication with clients during the intake and placement process
- Provide clients with information about available services and next steps
- Liaise with other legal service providers, receiving and sending referrals.
- Connect clients with social services and community resources
- Provide interpretation coordination for intake interviews as needed
- Create and maintain connections with contacts to facilitate outreach and case referrals
Clinics and Detention Center Visits (15%)
- Attend legal clinics throughout Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota to conduct on-site intake interviews and screenings
- Participate in regular detention center visits to screen and conduct intakes for detained individuals
- Coordinate with facility staff and legal team to schedule and conduct detention visits, as needed
- Conduct preliminary screenings to identify individuals eligible for legal representation
- Prepare intake documentation and case summaries following clinic and detention visits and help prepare documents and resources in advance of visits.
- Collaborate with legal staff to prioritize urgent cases identified during visits
Other Administrative and Organizational Duties (10%)
- Act as primary point of contact for walk-in clients once/week
- Actively participate in team and organizational staff meetings and other communications channels
- Take responsibility for managing workload, hours, and stress by communicating with supervisor
- Participate in staff development opportunities and be aware of available supports
- Take part in the annual Human Rights Awards Dinner and other program and all-staff events as assigned
- Participate in creating a respectful and collaborative workplace
- Other duties as required
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 other Program Staff and Attorneys and is part of the organizational team.
Qualifications
Required:
- 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.
- A commitment to a client-centered approach to
the work
- Flexible, willing to adapt as programming shifts
- Innovative and creative, questioning and trying
to improve the intake process and client experience.
- 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
- Fluency in both English and Spanish
- Ability to lead a team and delegate tasks as
appropriate
- Commitment to engaging in human rights work, social
justice and international affairs
- Detail oriented with an ability to see the big
picture and an eye toward systems management
- Strong knowledge of Microsoft Office Suite (Outlook, Word and Excel)
- Self-starter who takes ownership over their work
- Willingness to travel throughout MN, ND, and SD.
- Flexibility and willingness to engage in an iterative
process where you will take an active role in questioning and rethinking our
processes and then testing and implementing new processes, ensuring quality
control
Desired:
- Demonstrated experience supervising employees,
volunteers, interns or interpreters
- Demonstrated experience working with immigrant
populations or survivors of trauma
- Demonstrated experience using Legal Server
- Fluency in a language other than English with a
strong preference for Spanish
- Experience in immigration law and procedure
Compensation
Compensation is commensurate with experience. Generous benefits package currently includes vacation (employees accrue 3 weeks of vacation during their first year, and up to 6 weeks after 5 years employment), 3 personal days, and 9 paid holidays, 2 weeks of accrued sick leave annually, 6 weeks paid parenting leave); employer-paid premiums for medical, dental, and long-term disability/AD+D/life insurance; and pre-tax retirement plan.
Location and Status
This position is currently hybrid, with at least 2 days/week in our downtown Minneapolis office. This position is not eligible for fully remote work.
This position is represented by the Office of Professional Employees International Union, Local 12.
This is a non-exempt, hourly position.
To Apply
Please use the following link to submit your application, letter of interest, and resume: https://forms.office.com/r/Dr5afkpqza
No phone-calls or
e-mail inquiries, please.
Application Deadline: August 15, 2025
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
