Senior Paralegal, Unaccompanied Minors Project

The New Jersey Consortium for Immigrant Children (https://njcic.org) is seeking a Senior Paralegal to help us establish a new program to provide legal representation to unaccompanied minors and other immigrant youth. The Senior Paralegal will join a growing organization at a key time in its development.

The Senior Paralegal will have the following core responsibilities: 

(1)  Under the supervision of the Legal Director, develop a centralized statewide intake program for referrals for unaccompanied minors and other youth cases in New Jersey (i.e. a hotline number and email system); and initiate a computerized intake system for these cases;

(2)  Conduct brief, trauma-sensitive screenings of potential clients, typically by phone or video;

(3)  Refer cases to legal services providers who participate in the state representation program, according to their capacity and specialization;

(4)  Collect data on intakes, screenings, referrals, and other metrics and work with the Legal Director to report this data to our fiscal agent;

(5)  Work with the Legal Director to conduct outreach and relationship-building with program stakeholders and other important players, including the immigration courts and the nationwide shelter system;

(6)  Develop and maintain referral lists for social services and other resources that can assist the Consortium’s legal services providers, social workers, and case managers in representing and assisting immigrant children, youth, and families;

(7)  Other responsibilities as determined by the Legal Director and the Executive Director.

The successful candidate will join a small team and will have opportunities to grow in their role and take on increasing responsibility. This role is an excellent fit for a legal professional who is passionate about helping immigrant communities and wants to participate in building a new program.

  

Required qualifications: 

·     A personal commitment to immigrant justice and the human rights of immigrant children;

·     A minimum of two years of experience as a paralegal, with four years preferred;

·     Exemplary written and oral communication skills;

·     Some experience with immigration law and/or working with immigrant children or other vulnerable populations, and an interest in learning more about how to implement trauma-informed best practices for interviewing and working with child clients;

·     Basic understanding of the forms of legal relief available to immigrants;

·     Strong interpersonal skills and emotional intelligence;

·     Bilingual in English and Spanish

·     Cultural sensitivity and comfort working with diverse populations

Strongly desired qualifications:

·     Experience independently conducting screenings or interviews with clients

The compensation range for this position is $55,000 to $65,000 depending on experience, with excellent benefits including health insurance and 401(k) match. The position is full-time and currently remote. We are still developing our COVID in-person presence policies in light of developing news about variants. While the situation is fluid, the successful candidate should ultimately expect to work 1-2 days a week in person at an office in either the Jersey City or Newark area.

The New Jersey Consortium for Immigrant Children is a coalition of attorneys from nearly twenty of New Jersey’s legal services providers, as well as healthcare professionals, community-based organizations, and educators who are committed to working with immigrant children and youth. Community Foundation of New Jersey, our fiscal sponsor, is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate against any employee or job applicant because of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, physical or mental disability, or age.