Borderlands and Migration Director

The Borderlands and Migration Director provides opportunities for constituents and partner churches to learn about and become engaged with issues relating to the Mexico/US border and migration through relationship-building, educational workshops, presentations, borderlands learning tours, and direct resourcing. The Director will oversee the identified local partnerships and is responsible for leading the work of Borderlands and Migration throughout the West Coast region. This includes planning and implementing program partnerships, organizing and equipping congregations and other partners to support migrating peoples, becoming advocates for immigrant justice in their own communities, facilitating educational workshops for deepening constituent awareness and understanding of the complex issues related to migration and immigration. This position will also work collaboratively with constituency churches, other faith-based organizations, and agencies doing similar work. The Borderlands and Migration Director will network with the MCC's migration partners, participate in MCC's immigration/borderlands network, and work with local partners and groups to build accountable relationships and a just peace.

Qualifications

Organizational values and culture: All MCC workers are expected to exhibit a commitment to a personal Christian faith and discipleship; active church membership; and nonviolent peacemaking. MCC is an equal opportunity employer, committed to employment equity. MCC values diversity and invites all qualified candidates to apply.
               
Essential: 

• Associates degree with 3-5 years experience with Immigration, migration, and borderlands work, ministries among migrating peoples, social services, education, non-profit leadership, and/or community development ministry. If higher education, 1-3 years of experience in a relevant field
• Capacity for biblical and theological reflection from an Anabaptist perspective
• Bilingual Spanish/English skills
• Strong communication skills
• Skills in budgeting, record-keeping and report writing.
• Skills in program management, project planning, partner relationship management.
• Proficiency in MS Office, internet and managing databases.
• Ability to develop and guide working relationships with new and current partners.
• Ability to build capacity, connect and network creatively, across all of MCC U.S. but with primary attention to MCC West Coast.
• Working knowledge of the impact of systemic racism, immigration system, and colonization. Understanding of racism and white privilege; commitment to being anti-racist.
• Strategic planning skills.
• Collaboration skills.
• Ability to develop and implement educational experiences for the constituency.
• Ability to drive a vehicle.
• Valid US Passport.
   

Employment eligibility: Legally eligible to work in the U.S. MCC offers of employment are subject to a successful criminal background check(s).
 
Preferred:

• Training and experience in community engagement preferred
• 3-5 years experience with multi-cultural relationship building; multi-cultural relationship building with Latinx immigrants preferred.
• 1-3 years experience working directly with immigration system or those directly impacted by the U.S. immigration system.
• Bachelor’s degree in migration or related field
• International living or cross-cultural experience

Anti-oppression commitment: MCC expects all staff to actively participate in an organization culture that focuses on dismantling any barriers based on race, economic inequality or gender-based oppression. This includes an expectation to assess and address any barriers within themselves, within their team(s), and within MCC.
Safeguarding commitment: All MCC Staff are expected to work collaboratively to create and maintain an organizational culture that prevents and responds to situations of abuse of power (sexual harassment, child abuse, racism, exploitation, and fraud among other situations).
Support partners to strengthen their organizational capacity for prevention and response to abuses of power. Assess, manage and monitor risks related to abuses of power in program design, implementation, and monitoring.

Key Responsibilities

50% Program and Partner Relationships
15% Capacity Building
15% Networking
10% Regional Support
10% Supervision

Specific Tasks and Duties:
Program and Partner Relationships
• Facilitate relationships with partners and oversee project partnerships comprising MCC’s work in migration that include but are not limited to the provision of direct legal immigration services, emergency assistance and support, advocacy, and other projects as they arise.
• Nurture and engage ongoing relationships with partners (constituent and non-constituent congregations, organizations) around the region to support the needs of asylum-seekers, and other migrating peoples through the provision of material resources, financial grants, and volunteer support that emerges from partner relationships and expressed need.
• Discern the needs and most relevant concerns impacting undocumented immigrants across the region, in relationships with area partners and wider immigrant justice organizations
• Collaborate on strategies for meaningful advocacy, organizing, and response in collaboration with MCC's Immigration Network and constituencies-churches and organizations

Capacity Building
• Coordinate and facilitate educational workshops, training, and speaking engagements (virtual and/or in-person) related to migration, immigrant justice, advocacy issues or broader workshops on immigration theology or other issues of justice related to immigration for constituent churches, agencies, and organizations (e.g., MDS).

Regional Borderlands Learning Tour:
• In collaboration with staff facilitate a minimum of two immigration learning tours
annually.
• Learning tours are planned collaboratively with other MCCWC staff members, local
partners, and relevant MCC entities (e.g., MCC U.S. Immigration Network, MCC MX,
and/or other regions).
• Focus on primary concerns will be but are not limited to migration, borderlands issues, immigrant justice, and peacebuilding.

Networking Churches:
• Relate to and build relationships with constituency churches and organizations, with specific concern for building meaningful relationships across the region
• Collaborate with the Young Adult Program Coordinator to identify, recruit, and engage young adults to participate in Summer Service, SALT, and other service opportunities/programs.
• Participate in ongoing and mutually beneficial relationships with partners and others around the region working on immigration and migration issues from a peacebuilding, justice, and decolonial lens.
• Participate in conferences, opportunities for shared learning, and relationship building towards the end of adaptive action-learning, and discerning programming
• Collaborate with MCC Immigration Network through regular attendance of monthly meetings, join U.S. and regional immigration coordinators in collaborative work, education, and advocacy efforts.
• Contribute to ongoing collaboration with all MCC entities working on migration (e.g., LACA, MX, Canada) to support shared ways of working together
Regional Support:
• Participate in regular MCC West Coast all-staff meetings (2x month), planning retreats (1 week per year), and department-specific meetings (1-2x month). Collaborate with colleagues by maintaining a work calendar, communicating about absences or schedule changes, and timely response to emails/messages, etc.
• Represent region on networks or working groups as requested (no more than 2 extra-programmatic groups per year). Represent MCC at 1 regional conference annually; and in addition, 1 national conference every other year. Develop and follow through on annual intercultural development and anti-oppression skillset building plan.
• Other duties as assigned on a temporary basis.

Supervision: Supervision of the Borderlands and Migration Assistant.

Travel expectations: 30-40 nights away per year within the U.S. or Mexico.