Community Reception and Safety Liaison

The Bronx Defenders, an innovative, progressive, holistic defense office in the South Bronx, seeks a welcoming reception professional with a commitment to working with marginalized, low income communities to fill a position as Community Reception and Safety Liaison.

Founded in 1997, The Bronx Defenders is a public defender nonprofit that has developed a nationally recognized model of representation called holistic defense, which provides people with teams of lawyers, social workers, and advocates to defend them zealously in court as well as to address the underlying drivers and enmeshed penalties of legal system involvement. 

Since opening our doors, we have grown into an organization of more than 400 staff members defending nearly 20,000 New Yorkers each year in criminal, family, civil, and immigration proceedings who face incarceration, family separation, eviction, and deportation, among other devastating consequences. 

Today we are reimagining the role of public defense even further, using community organizing and engagement, legislative advocacy, and impact litigation to partner with the communities we represent to bring about long-lasting systemic change.

We also share our model and lessons learned with current and future public defenders. We run two legal clinics at NYC law schools and train public defenders from one end of the country to the next on how to move to a holistic model of representation. 

Community Reception Team

Our Community Reception Team is the first point of contact for many clients and community members with The Bronx Defenders. Our reception space is intentionally designed to be an open, welcoming and safe space for community members to seek assistance with legal and social services, await meetings with their attorneys or advocates, and receive support for a myriad of issues. As one of the only public defender offices that engages in proactive representation, we also offer legal support to eligible community members who are involved or anticipate being involved in the criminal, family, immigration, or civil court system. Other frequent visitors of community reception include candidates for employment, colleagues in the legal profession, and constituents of the organization.

Responsibilities

Reporting to the Reception Supervisor, the Community Reception and Safety Liaison will work collaboratively with administrators, lawyers, social workers, and other advocates to help clients and community members navigate our office space. The role is focused on ensuring the safety and wellbeing of clients, community visitors, and staff by helping to de-escalate conflict. The balance of administrative work and client and community-facing duties in this role will vary over time depending on the needs of the community and organization.

General Duties

• Develop authentic, meaningful interactions with the people we represent, community members and visitors through empathy, listening, and collaboration with team members
• Create an environment that operates from a belief in the human potential to overcome and cope with stressful situations
• Attend team, supervision, and office-wide meetings and trainings
• Maintain confidentiality and discretion regarding client issues
• Additional duties as assigned

Reception Duties

• Greet and assist the people we represent, community members, and other visitors in a proactive, empathetic, and engaged manner
• Support clients and community members with navigating check-in and intake processes
• Field questions and inquiries about our organization and services
• Direct the people we represent and community members to resources and connect them with appropriate advocates, including handling triage of walk-in community members

Administrative Duties

• Answer phone calls and route them as necessary
• Record and relay client messages to staff members
• Build rapport and maintain communication with staff
• Provide administrative and clerical support for staff, clients, and community members including copying, scanning, faxing and printing documents, checking voicemail and emails, and accepting mail and packages
• Assist with event setup in the reception space
• Help maintain organization and cleanliness of reception area

Safety and De-Escalation Duties

• Promote safety and security of staff, clients, and community members by:
• Maintain awareness of activities and interactions in the reception space and the larger BxD campus
• Address client, community member, and staff concerns throughout BxD campus with the assistance of the Reception Supervisor and designated individuals within the organization who are “first responders”
• Proactively communicate with supervisors and first responders and use judgment to act with a sense of urgency when needed, i.e., securing building access or communicate regarding client concerns
• Inform the people we represent and community members of BxD’s policies, including reception space policies
• Diffuse potential conflicts at the BxD campus using trauma-informed de-escalation techniques
• Collaborate with BxD “first responders” group, safety committee, and other similar initiatives
• Work with BxD Leadership to develop visitor policies and protocols
• Seek assistance from other BxD staff, supervisors, the Management Team and outside resources, including emergency response, when necessary to de-escalate conflicts
• Participate in critical incident memorialization and debriefs, as appropriate

Qualifications

To be eligible, candidates must have:

• Spanish fluency, validated objectively
• At least three (3) years’ experience working in non-profit, social services, legal, agency or office setting
• Experience working with people struggling with addiction, mental illness, and/or court involvement
• Training in conflict resolution and de-escalation using patience, empathy, and a trauma-informed approach

Candidates must demonstrate:

• Experience working in and with racially, ethnically and socioeconomically marginalized communities
• Ability to effectively and respectfully communicate, collaborate and connect with people with various backgrounds, identities and experiences
• Ability to work well independently as well as collaboratively as part of a team
• Ability to multitask, maintain order and meet deadlines in a fast-paced, high-stakes environment 
• Strong organization skills
• Meticulous attention to detail
• Skilled with Microsoft Office and ready to learn other applications for communication and recordkeeping
• Ability to think critically and creatively in fast-paced settings, finding innovative solutions to unique obstacles
• Ability to receive constructive feedback, demonstrate introspection, and shift behavior accordingly
• Ability to exercise excellent judgment, discretion, and confidentiality with sensitive matters
• Knowledge of the Bronx community and familiarity with NYC’s court and legal systems preferred but not required

This is a fully in-person position.

Salary is commensurate with experience. The salary range for this position is $68,500.00 $70,750.00 annually. Full-time employees are eligible for a comprehensive benefits package including but not limited to medical, dental and vision coverage; a 403(b) plan with employer contribution; and a generous vacation, sick leave, and parental leave policy.

This position is non-exempt. By law, non-exempt employees are compensated hourly based on their annual rate and therefore are entitled to overtime, whereas exempt employees are not.

Approximately 70% of The Bronx Defenders' staff, including attorneys and non-attorneys, are represented by UAW Local 2325 - Association of Legal Aid Attorneys (AFL-CIO). This position is not within the bargaining unit. 

To apply, please upload both a cover letter and resume as a single document when prompted. Applications missing any components or not submitted in the requested manner will not be considered.   

The Bronx Defenders is an equal opportunity employer and is cultivating a workplace that embraces staff with a diversity of backgrounds, identities, and experiences. We acknowledge the ways in which systemic oppression and injustice can undermine access to professional opportunities and are committed to conducting hiring and promotion processes that are equitable and accessible to those commonly excluded from the workforce. We do not discriminate against and encourage applicants from marginalized communities to apply, including those who identify as Black, Indigenous, people of color, queer, transgender, gender non-conforming, disabled, neurodivergent, and those directly impacted by criminal, civil, family, and immigration legal systems. We value lived as well as professional experience and particularly welcome applications from the Bronx community that we work with.

Full-time employees are eligible for a comprehensive benefits package including but not limited to medical, dental and vision coverage; a 403(b) plan with employer contribution; and a generous vacation, sick leave, and parental leave policy.

Spanish fluency, validated objectively