HUMAN RIGHTS RESEARCHER

HUMAN RIGHTS RESEARCHER [CD/IRI-05]

American Civil Liberties Union Foundation

Center for Democracy, New York

For more than 92 years, the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation (ACLU) has been at the forefront of virtually every major battle for civil liberties and equal justice in this country. Principled and nonpartisan, the ACLU has offices in all 50 states, Washington, DC and Puerto Rico, and brings together the country's largest team of public interest lawyers, lobbyists, communication strategists, and members and activists in the advancement of equality, fairness, and freedom, especially for the most vulnerable in our society.

The Center for Democracy of the ACLU's National Office in New York City seeks a full-time Human Rights Researcher for a two-year period, with the possibility of renewal for an additional period.

OVERVIEW

The ACLU Center for Democracy works to strengthen democratic institutions and values, including the values of government transparency and accountability, and to reinforce the United States' commitment to human rights and the rule of law. The Center for Democracy houses the ACLU's Human Rights Program, which works to ensure that the U.S. government complies with universal human rights principles in addition to the U.S. Constitution. The Program uses human rights strategies to complement existing ACLU legal and legislative advocacy primarily in the areas of immigrants' rights, national security, women's rights, prisoners' rights, criminal law reform, and racial justice. It conducts human rights documentation and related advocacy to combat human rights violations in the U.S., and it engages in advocacy and litigation before U.S. courts and international bodies, including the United Nations and regional human rights bodies (such as the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights).

The Human Rights Researcher will be an integral member of the ACLU's Human Rights Program, which currently includes a director, two senior human rights lawyers, one human rights researcher, and two legal assistants. The Researcher will have primary responsibility for developing, researching, writing, and implementing human rights fact-finding reports. The Human Rights Researcher will work generally on human rights documentation and related advocacy, but will spend half of his or her time focusing on human rights abuses experienced by migrant and immigrant communities in the United States, including the impact of both restrictive and pro-integration immigration laws and policies on those communities. The Researcher will be expected to work with affected communities, service providers, legal services organizations and other advocates to identify issues that should be priorities for ACLU fact-finding and advocacy. The Researcher will also work closely with the ACLU's legal, legislative, advocacy, communications and state affiliate staff to develop domestic and international advocacy strategies to implement the recommendations set out in fact-finding reports.

The Human Rights Researcher is a non-litigating attorney position for a lawyer with exceptional strategic thinking, analytical, interviewing, writing, and advocacy skills. The position is for a two-year period, with the possibility of renewal for an additional period.

ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Identify topics that should be priorities for ACLU fact-finding and advocacy; design and develop human rights documentation projects that advance these strategic priorities.
• Conduct fact-finding interviews and research to document human rights abuses, with a focus on abuses experienced by immigrants in the United States.
• Document and analyze policies and practices of states and federal immigration agencies involved in immigration detention and enforcement.
• Write comprehensive, credible and well-documented reports on human rights abuses, with a focus on abuses experienced by immigrant and migrant communities in the United States.
• Collaborate with colleagues in the ACLU's legal, legislative, advocacy and communications departments, ACLU state affiliates, national coalitions, and other allies to develop and implement advocacy to curb abusive policies and practices.
• Respond to media inquiries and serve as a spokesperson and expert on human rights and immigrants' rights in U.S. governmental and international settings.
• Draft testimony, written statements, reports and submissions to international and regional human rights bodies, op-eds, and other materials.
• Develop expertise in immigrants' rights issues.

EXPERIENCE AND QUALIFICATIONS

• A JD degree. (This position does not include active litigation, but the ability to analyze laws and their impact is required.)
• Minimum two years' relevant experience working on research, writing, and advocacy in the field of civil or human rights.
• Substantive experience conducting human rights fact-finding work, including the development and execution of related advocacy, preferred.
• Exceptional research skills, including tenacity and attention to detail.
• Excellent interviewing, writing, analytic, and communication skills.
• Knowledge of immigration law and experience working on immigrants' rights issues in the U.S. preferred but not required.
• Substantial knowledge of international human rights law and its application to the U.S. preferred.
• Ability to work independently as well as within a team.
• Ability to communicate complex legal issues to the general public.
• Ability to simultaneously handle multiple tasks, work efficiently and quickly, and meet deadlines under pressure.
• Willingness to travel.
• Strong and demonstrated commitment to human rights, civil liberties, and social justice issues.
• A demonstrated interest in immigrants' rights and fluency in Spanish are preferred but not required.

COMPENSATION

The ACLU offers a generous and comprehensive compensation and benefits package, commensurate with experience and within the parameters of the ACLU compensation scale.

The ACLU comprises two separate corporate entities, the American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU Foundation. Both the American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU Foundation are national organizations with the same overall mission, and share office space and employees. The ACLU has two separate corporate entities in order to do a broad range of work to protect civil liberties. This job posting refers collectively to the two organizations under the name "ACLU."