Bilingual Paralegal, Consumer Debt Solutions

The Bilingual Paralegal, Consumer Debt Solutions, position provides real-time and offline support to consumers of our new Debt Help Illinois platform and service in both English and Spanish. The paralegal will help design and staff a virtual help desk for Illinois consumers using Debt Help Illinois, guiding them through the platform when needed, identifying when someone may need deeper legal assistance, responding to feedback, and working with the Consumer Debt Solutions Product Manager to update the legal information on Debt Help Illinois. The position also serves as a critical voice for consumers in product evaluation and further improvements and enhancements.

Illinois Legal Aid Online (ILAO) is committed to attracting and retaining a diverse staff. Working with great people from diverse lived experiences brings us closer to our vision of a society where all people can get justice. We strongly and enthusiastically encourage people of color, individuals who identify within and beyond the LGBTQIA+ spectrum, women, and people with disabilities to apply.

ILAO is fully remote, with periodic, in-person meetings. Position must be based in the United States.

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES

Customer Service and Support

50%

• Understand and improve the Debt Help Illinois platform and service.
• Respond to consumer feedback on the Debt Help Illinois platform.
• Working with our community engagement team, maintain training materials for helpers to use the platform.
• Develop and manage a virtual help desk for Debt Help Illinois consumers.
• Provide navigation assistance and legal information to consumers using Debt Help Illinois.
• Provide help-desk consumers with appropriate referrals to partner organizations and resources.
• Follow up with users who drop out of a process to offer additional assistance.

Content Maintenance

25%

• Review Spanish translations as provided by our vendor.
• Assist with content management tasks, including updating, converting, and repurposing existing legal information.
• Coordination with partners providing financial literacy and education resources.

Product innovation

15%

• Work collaboratively with the product team to export, analyze, and report on usage data and consumer feedback.
• Evaluate and recommend changes to the Debt Help Illinois platform based on patterns and trends of consumer experiences.
• Collaborate with the rest of the product team to identify opportunities for platform growth and improvement.

Other activities

10%

• Help identify and pursue potential funding sources and participate in grant proposals and reporting.
• Participate in fundraising activities, events, and campaigns.
• Participate in staff and other administrative meetings.
• Other responsibilities as assigned.

Education/Experience:

• Paralegal certification required.
• Demonstrates strong client-facing and customer support skills, effectively communicating with diverse individuals by phone, email, and written correspondence.
• Ability to speak, interpret, and write English and Spanish fluently.
• 5-10 years of paralegal experience, with a preference for experience in legal aid or consumer debt issues.
• Attention to detail and strong organizational skills.
• Strong communication skills.
• Proficient in using computers and mobile devices, with the ability to quickly learn new software and platforms.
• Ability to conduct legal research and provide appropriate legal information and resources on consumer debt problems.

Preference is given to candidates with:

• Located in Illinois or experience in the Illinois court system.
• Comfort working collaboratively with both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Experience with user-centered design, accessibility, or usability in digital platforms.

Deadline to Apply: Wednesday, February 18, 2026

Salary: $60,000 to $70,000, depending on years of experience

Benefits: ILAO offers a comprehensive benefits package, including health and dental insurance, life insurance, long-term and short-term disability insurance, health and dependent care flex spending account; 15 paid days off and 15 holidays in the first calendar year of employment; and, 403(b) retirement plan, to which ILAO contributes a required 1% of salary monthly. ILAO has a flexible workplace policy that supports remote work, wellness, and work-life balance.

About ILAO

At ILAO, we believe in justice. We believe the law is for everyone. We know, however, that not everyone is equal in the eyes of the legal system. Race and culture, language, education, location, time, disability, and income are enormous barriers to using the law to get justice.

For 25 years, Illinois Legal Aid Online (ILAO) has simplified the law so that people can seek justice and resolve their problems, especially those from historically oppressed communities and groups. Through innovation, we make the law understandable and accessible.

We believe that, with the right knowledge and guidance, people can be their own best advocates. We mobilize people with plain-language, 24/7 tools - in three languages - so families can understand and assert their legal rights. ILAO helps people who are unable to find or afford attorneys overcome the barriers that keep them from getting justice.

Illinois Legal Aid Online (ILAO) is open to all. Working with and helping people with a wide variety of lived experience brings us closer to meeting our ideal of a society where all people can get justice. Because our services and products—like the law—are for everyone, we believe in including everyone. We know that justice is scarcest for those who need it most. People with intersectionalities of historically oppressed identities face the greatest barriers to justice. ILAO seeks to break these barriers. ILAO believes that, equipped with the right tools, opportunities, and connections, people can shift the power differentials and use the law to get justice.

Inclusion, equity, and diversity are key in our work to champion opportunities, equality, and justice for those who need it most. As a community and individuals, we honor and respect differences; practice equity; and support the professional development and wellness of our colleagues.

ILAO's free programs provide essential legal services and support 24/7/365 to the people of Illinois, focused on individuals and families from historically oppressed populations and communities, who face the greatest barriers to justice.