Careers

Position Description

VECINA seeks a Legal Director who will not only lead a training and mentorship-centered practice butalso help shape the next phase of VECINA’s growth. This leader builds the legal vision that empowers pro bono attorneys to serve with confidence and care, while strengthening the systems that make our work sustainable and scalable. The Legal Director oversees mentors and legal staff, sets practice standards, ensures high-quality legal review, and serves as supervising attorney for matters within scope. They partner closely with the Executive Director and Project Manager to strengthen curriculum, deepen pro bono engagement, evolve program models, and advance responsible advocacy and grant strategy. This role is for a seasoned immigration practitioner and teacher who develops people, aligns systems with mission, and helps move the organization forward through thoughtful, values-rooted leadership.

Key Responsibilities

• Training and tools. Develop and update training materials including sample forms, checklists, practice advisories, and short videos. Build and maintain online courses in Teachable. Engage mentors and partner organizations to contribute expertise and keep materials current with law and policy. 
• Mentorship and quality assurance. Provide day to day mentorship and technical assistance, including office hours and responsive Q & A. Review or manage review of volunteer and staff work product to ensure quality and timeliness. 
• Pro bono recruitment and engagement. With the Executive Director and Project Manager, recruit pro bono counsel by hosting trainings and CLEs and meeting with law firms and in-house legal teams about program offerings. 
• Systems and workflows. Build and refine user friendly systems for referral, intake, case support, and quality assurance. Use relevant client management systems for communication and document review and for updates to volunteer teams. Create process maps and case flow procedures for each case type. 
• Program leadership and supervision. Manage mentors and other members of the legal team, including staff attorneys, fellows, and accredited representatives. Set supervision structures and ratios, support managing and mentoring attorneys, and model a feedback culture that supports growth and strong performance. 
• Grants and fundraising. Assist the Executive Director with drafting and reviewing grant applications and support fundraising activities as appropriate. Contribute to reporting and metrics. 
• Advocacy and media. Engage in advocacy and media, where appropriate, with the support of the Executive Director. 
• Mentorship and Technical Assistance. Support group mentorship structures, office hours, communities of practice, technical assistance, and peer learning roundtables that foster shared problem solving and resilience among participants – practitioners and volunteers alike.
• Data ownership and reporting. Lead program data tracking across all programs under the Legal Director’s purview. Define required fields and dashboards, monitor data hygiene, with the support of staff, and generate regular summaries for leadership, grants, and audits.

What you will build and lead

• A dynamic training and mentorship engine that adapts quickly to shifting policy, court procedures, and community needs, including our limited scope removal defense model, Sponsor support, and technical assistance for the field. 
• Clear protocols for screening, referral, and placement that complement on the ground partners and leverage volunteers effectively.

Qualifications

Required

• JD and active bar admission in good standing in any U.S. state or territory. 
• Ten or more years of experience in immigration, or relevant, practice with substantial work in removal defense and asylum. Court experience and confident written advocacy. 
• Demonstrated experience supervising attorneys or accredited representatives and managing complex work through others with strong delegation and prioritization. 
• Training or teaching experience or a track record of learning complex areas quickly and translating them clearly for others. 
• Experience building coalitions and maintaining a strong professional network across nonprofits, law firms, and community partners. 
• Comfort leading without micromanagement and a consistent feedback practice that grows people.
• Commitment to trauma informed, culturally responsive practice and to VECINA’s mission.
• Preference for multilingual candidates who can work across language and culture.

Core Competencies

• Open minded and adaptive leadership.
• Strong people management.
• Effective teacher and mentor.
• Skilled collaborator with partners and pro bono counsel.
• Data and quality oriented.
• Comfortable giving and receiving feedback.
• Committed to broad based humanitarian relief with an equity lens.

Work Hours

Full time 37.5 hours, exempt. Some evening availability for office hours or partner events may be needed. Collaborates across U.S. time zones.

Location

Remote within the United States with reliable internet and availability during business hours. Occasional travel for trainings or partner meetings as needed.

Compensation and Benefits 

Salary range $105,000 to $115,000 annually, depending on experience. This position is grant funded and continued employment depends on funding. Benefits include health insurance, matching 401K, paid time off, and professional development support per VECINA policy.

To Apply

Please email a resume and a short cover letter in PDF to jobs@vecina.org with the subject line “Legal Director Application.” Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.

Role Summary

VECINA seeks a detail oriented and systems savvy contractor to keep our data, development operations, and program workflows running smoothly. You will build simple dashboards, track deliverables and in kind hours, support case placement and follow up, reconcile donations and acknowledgements, and create light social media and website content tied to campaigns and program milestones. This role blends the administrative backbone of our prior coordinator position with the data and communications responsibilities the team relies on today.

Key responsibilities

Data systems and reporting

• Build and maintain Airtable bases, views, and quick glance dashboards for programs and development
• Track pro bono activity, hours per case, interpreter lists, in kind hours, and case status for projects including Defensive Asylum and ReUnite
• Prepare Time and Effort reports each quarter and support monitoring and audits with clean source data
• Draft and maintain simple SOPs for data collection, surveys, feedback forms, and monthly reconciliation
  

Development and finance operations

• Reconcile recurring and one time donations between Stripe and Bloomerang and keep a clear record trail
• Generate donor acknowledgements and annual tax letters and maintain templates
• Track End of Year campaign progress and produce weekly snapshots for internal use
• Support invoice preparation and reimbursements as needed

Program operations and case placement

• Coordinate pro bono attorney placement and follow up for Defensive Asylum and related initiatives
• Maintain volunteer and attorney contact records and tracking, and send welcome and check in communications
• Help refine intake forms, volunteer guides, and simple case flow documents
• Monitor shared inboxes and route requests to staff and partners

Communications and social media support

• Draft and schedule light social content for Instagram, LinkedIn, and Facebook that aligns with campaigns and media moments
• Post basic website updates for campaign pages, landing pages, and press mentions
• Create simple visuals and flyers in Canva and help keep message copy aligned with VECINA’s voice

General administration

• Coordinate meetings and maintain shared calendars and project checklists
• Keep shared drives and folders organized and current
• Pitch in on other needs that advance VECINA’s mission

Tools you will use

Google Workspace, Airtable, Bloomerang, Stripe, Clio, Dialpad or Google Voice, Teachable, Toggl, Wave, Canva, and similar platforms. You do not need prior experience with every tool, but you must be comfortable learning new systems.

Qualifications

• Two or more years in nonprofit operations, program coordination, or data focused administrative work
• Proactive self-starter who can anticipate needs, adapt to shifting priorities, and stay engaged in a small, evolving team environment
• Strong comfort with spreadsheets and databases, including building clear views or dashboards for non technical users
• Demonstrated ability to identify problems early, troubleshoot effectively, and propose solutions that keep projects moving forward.
• Excellent organization and follow through with the ability to document processes and close loops
• Clear written communication for email, short social copy, and donor and volunteer touchpoints
• Commitment to immigrant justice and to working with empathy, inclusion, and respect
• Fluency in Spanish or another language in addition to English is a plus

Contract details

• Contractor engagement at 30 dollars per hour for up to 20 hours per week
• Fully remote. You provide your own equipment, workspace, and internet
• This engagement is not eligible for employee benefits
• Standard availability set with the Executive Director, with flexibility around campaign or reporting deadlines

How to apply

Send a short note with two or three examples of your data or systems work and any social or light design samples, plus a resume, to jobs@vecina.org. Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis.