ICS is hiring: Unaccompanied Children's Managing Attorney
JOB TITLE: Unaccompanied Children’s (UC) Program Managing Attorney
ABOUT IMMIGRATION COUNSELING SERVICE: Immigration Counseling Service (ICS) has been dedicated to defending the rights of immigrants for 40 years. We are a group of diverse individuals committed to providing high-quality immigration advocacy and representation to over 90 low-income immigrant communities throughout Oregon and Southern Washington. Our staff have extensive experience in immigrant and refugee communities (many being from immigrant families themselves) and trauma-informed care and are bilingual in English and Spanish. ICS encourages collaboration and is a supportive environment where our attorneys and staff constantly learn and grow.
We are looking to fill an Unaccompanied Children’s (UC) Program Managing Attorney position that is responsible for managing the contract funded ICS team that provides legal services and support to unaccompanied children in the custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement and released to sponsors throughout Oregon and for maintaining an appropriate caseload.
JOB DUTIES:
Supervises UC staff KYR presentations, discharge talks, and legal screening to ensure information is up to date and presented in an accessible manner, and to ensure compliance with funder’s monitoring and reporting policies.
Reviews intakes of unaccompanied children in temporary custody and provides case assessment to inform children of their legal options.
Reviews cases for incoming placement in long-term facility to determine whether children are eligible for local relief and then accepts or rejects placement.
Participates in regular calls with funder and disseminates project updates to the UC team.
Ensures implementation and development of new materials and/or documents and submits any proposed materials to funder.
Facilitates the bi-monthly UC staff meeting where new cases are assigned, updates are given, and UC-specific trainings are held.
Liaises with UC stakeholders including the funder, the Oregon Department of Human Services, and Youth Rights and Justice.
Reviews proposed contract renewals with funder and prepares new contracts.
Reviews cases with staff attorneys and helps to troubleshoot issues or problems that arise.
Provides direct representation for UCs without reunification options, UCs who have been released locally (continued representation), and UCs who wish to request voluntary departure at immigration court.
Prepares and finalizes a monthly narrative for the funder and submits monthly invoices.
Other duties as assigned.
MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:
Graduate of U.S. ABA-accredited law school.
Licensed by a state bar, preferably Oregon.
Must have at least three years’ experience practicing immigration law or juvenile law. • Fluency in written and spoken Spanish.
Strong client communication skills.
Excellent oral and written advocacy skills.
Proficient legal research skills.
Ability to work independently.
Highly organized.
DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS:
Extensive experience working with diverse cultures and underserved and underrepresented communities.
Experience working with children.
Experience working with survivors of trauma.
Ability to conduct public legal presentations.
Familiarity with VERA-funded programs.
WORKING CONDITIONS:
Hybrid Work: We have been utilizing and evaluating a Hybrid Work Model during COVID-19. Unless identified as an essential worker, we are currently requiring employees to come into the office at least 2 days a week on a scheduled basis to be pre-arranged with your supervisor. We will provide you with a laptop, printer, and cell phone. We are a collaborative office environment and pride ourselves in not only providing high-quality legal representation to the Oregon community but also learning from one another.
The position may require occasional driving of a motor vehicle and requires a valid insurable Driver’s License.
May require evening or weekend work; working with challenging clients; drivingto centers where clients are located, immigration offices, immigration court, andstate courts and clinics in various parts of Oregon and southern Washington.
EXEMPT – This is an exempt management position; it is not included in the NOLSW Local 2320 Bargaining Unit.
REPORTS TO: Executive Director.
NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES SUPERVISED BY THIS POSITION: 6.5 Office Portland Office employees, including staff attorneys, paralegals and a ½ time social worker.
SALARY AND BENEFITS: Salary commensurate with experience. ICS offers an excellent benefit package.
ICS is committed to creating a diverse workforce to strengthen our organization and is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. At ICS, we welcome and value applicants from all backgrounds, including marginalized and disenfranchised communities. We encourage applications from individuals who identify as Black, Indigenous, Latina/Latino/Latine, people of color, immigrants (including people who were formerly detained, undocumented, or who have navigated the immigration legal system), women, people with disabilities, members of the LGBTQA+ community, and individuals with rich cultural backgrounds and diverse language abilities.
The individual differences, life experiences, knowledge, innovation, self-expression, and talent that our employees invest in their work helps shape the culture here at ICS. We strive to have a workforce that represents the communities we serve.
All employment decisions at ICS are based on job requirements and individual qualifications, without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions), national origin or ancestry, citizenship, physical or mental disability, genetic information, age (18 and over), veteran status, uniform servicemember status, unemployment status, sexual orientation, gender identity (including gender-related identity and gender expression), marital status, family status, or an individual having been a victim of sexual abuse, including domestic abuse, sexual assault or stalking.
If you meet key qualifications for the job, and believe you would be the best fit, we encourage you to apply; please use your cover letter to explain how you will accomplish parts of the job for which you have less experience. If you are unsure whether you meet the qualifications of this position, please apply.
HOW TO APPLY: Please send to admin@ics-law.org a cover letter, a current resume, writing sample and contact information for three references addressed to:
Executive Director
Immigration Counseling Service (ICS)
519 SW Park Avenue, Suite 610
Portland, OR 97205
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