Program Manager, Technical Compliance

About Acacia Center for Justice:

The Acacia Center for Justice (“Acacia”) provides legal support and representation to immigrants facing deportation through the development, coordination, and management of national networks of legal services providers serving immigrants across the country. Acacia’s goals are twofold: to support immigrant legal services and defense networks to provide exceptional legal services to immigrants; and to advocate for the expansion of these programs and the infrastructure critical to guaranteeing immigrants access to justice, fairness, and freedom. Acacia ensures accountable, independent, zealous, and person-centered legal services and representation to protect the rights of all immigrants.

Job Summary:

We are seeking a Program Manager to join the Acacia Center for Justice’s (Acacia) Technical Compliance Team, to support the technical compliance oversight of the Post Release Legal Services (PRLS) Program. This position is contingent upon contract award.

Technical Compliance Team

The Technical Compliance team plays a pivotal role in advancing Acacia’s mission to support and defend the rights of immigrants at risk of detention or deportation. Technical Compliance is dedicated to creating and maintaining systems that ensure all processes remain focused on the needs of immigrants in removal proceedings by serving as the liaison between contractual obligations and service implementation. Through effective communication, reporting, and auditing of adherence to contractual requirements, both within Acacia and across our extensive network of legal service provider (LSP) subcontractors, we ensure contract stability. Drawing on programmatic expertise, and experience in program management and direct services, the Technical Compliance team bridges the gap between stringent contractual and logistical demands and the human-centered implementation of these requirements. Our deep understanding of the challenging work our subcontractors face enables us to develop systems that are not only efficient and effective but also sensitive to the practical realities of service delivery under a large federal contract.

Post Release Legal Services Program

Each year, thousands of unaccompanied children, many fleeing unspeakable violence in their own countries, enter the United States. Upon apprehension and after enduring a harrowing journey, they are detained in federal custody in facilities contracted by the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) and placed in removal (deportation) proceedings. Unaccompanied children do not have a right to a government-appointed attorney and too often must face the immigration courts without the benefit of

counsel. Through its network of more than 90 LSP subcontractors across the U.S., Acacia currently provides free legal services to tens of thousands migrant children.

To meet the growing demand for legal services for unaccompanied children, Acacia, in partnership with 27 LSPs, will expand its work to include on-the-ground presence in select Executive Office of Immigration Review (EOIR) courthouses to provide additional legal services and representation to children released from ORR in conjunction with EOIR’s Juvenile Dockets. Under the new PRLS program, LSP subcontractors will conduct Know Your Rights presentations aimed at increasing children’s understanding of immigration proceedings, host workshops to assist children with navigating different forms of immigration relief and provide direct representation. Acacia and its partners will also engage in community outreach to create awareness and provide information and resources to partners who have direct contact with unaccompanied children. Finally, building on Acacia efforts to expand representation, LSP subcontractors will develop innovative recruitment, and retention plans to build capacity in the field and provide continuity of service to unaccompanied children.

Technical Compliance Program Manager Position

The Program Manager for the PRLS TC team will join a new and growing multi-disciplinary team at Acacia. The TC Program Manager will support the TC Associate Program Director and work closely with other Acacia teams—including, but not limited to, Budgets & Resources Management (BRM), Operations & Quality Assurance (OPQA), Research, Evaluation & Data Analytics (REDA), Information and Technology Services (ITS)--to ensure that all LSP subcontractors remain in compliance with contractual obligations not directly related to the provision of legal services to unaccompanied children. The Technical Compliance Program Manager will also lead the recruitment and onboarding of new subcontractor LSPs, and manage, coordinate, and deliver assistance to all program delivery partners.

Primary Duties/Responsibilities:

Contract Compliance

• Oversee and manage various contract requirements:
• Assist TC Associate Program Director and other PRLS teams as needed to produce quality written contract deliverables for submission to the government
• Ensure LSP subcontractors’ adherence to contractual ITS security requirements by facilitating collaboration between the Acacia ITS team and subcontractors, bridging communication, addressing challenges, and guiding subcontractors in fulfilling their ITS responsibilities
• Monitor LSP subcontractors' use of language access resources to ensure they follow guidelines and maintain accurate records for billing purposes; collaborate with counterparts on other Acacia contracts to address language access issues and identify best practices
• Conduct annual and ad hoc review of LSP subcontractors’ staffing plans to ensure they meet current demand; regularly monitor LSP subcontractors’ staffing in relation to capacity, changing system factors, and the budget, in collaboration with PRLS REDA and BRM teams
• Other assignments as needed

Referrals Oversight and Coordination

• Support TC Assistant Program Director in the oversight of referrals and coordination of legal services
• Work in close partnership with the REDA team to ensure an efficient and effective roll-out of systems to support referrals for legal services
• Oversee relationships with subcontractors providing referral services under the contract
• Strategically brainstorm solutions to issues that arise to ensure that there is no duplication of effort

Subcontractor Recruitment

• As needed, and in coordination with the OPQA and BRM teams, lead the recruitment and hiring of new LSPs to perform work under the PRLS contract:
• Manage the dissemination of solicitation materials and the collection and review of proposal materials
• Conduct an informed strategic analysis to form winning-proposal recommendations to be shared with program leadership
• Communicate with applicants as needed to discuss Acacia and the PRLS Program and to provide proposal feedback
• Develop and document objective criteria to be used for selecting winning proposals to ensure consistency and transparency in the selection process

Contracting and Onboarding

• Coordinate the contracting process for new LSP subcontractors, working closely with the Acacia TC Associate Program Director and other Acacia teams (including but not limited to OPQA, BRM, Legal) to ensure timely completion and submission of all required contracting documents (e.g., subcontractor budget; subcontractor Program Operation Plan; subcontractor staffing plan)
• Supervise the onboarding of new LSP subcontractors, ensuring timely access to all relevant trainings, portals, databases, and technical assistance resources related to work under the PRLS contract

Staff Supervision

• Onboard new Acacia PRLS team members
• Regularly meet with staff for check-ins
• Ensure adherence to Acacia policies
• Provide support as needed to foster professional growth

Additional Responsibilities

• Develop written protocols for the above-described tasks as needed
• Support Associate Program Director as needed
• Additional TC tasks as needed to support shifting priorities based on work distribution and team structure shifts

Required Skills, Knowledge, Abilities:

• Proven experience in managing a diverse team, including supervision, mentoring, and onboarding staff, and the ability to distribute and manage workloads effectively
• Demonstrated knowledge of or experience in project management and contractual compliance best practices.
• Demonstrated knowledge of or experience in immigration law, child welfare, criminal and juvenile justice, or other justice areas
• Ability to utilize available data and online resources (for example: social media, listservs, internet.) to inform subcontractor recruitment and selection and to support other tasks as needed
• Comfort with and interest in reviewing budgets and proposals and assessing them for alignment with organizational goals and priorities
• Strong writing, facilitation, and organizational skills
• Ability to distill complex information from multiple sources and communicate it verbally and in writing to a wide variety of audiences
• Comfort with public speaking and giving presentations
• Ability to work both independently and collaboratively as part of a team, and to manage multiple projects effectively and efficiently
• Flexibility and the ability to quickly pivot when facing challenges and changes attendant to developing programming and project management
• Interest in effectuating change in partnership with the government
• An uncompromising commitment to immigrants’ rights and race equity
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office suite

Preferred Skills, Knowledge, Abilities:

• Knowledge of the ORR system for unaccompanied children
• Experience providing legal services to immigrants and/or children
• Knowledge of or experience with large federal contracts
• Experience with preparing or reviewing budgets and proposals
• Experience building partnerships with LSPs to meet the needs of people in jails, prisons, and/or immigration detention or removal proceedings.
• Lived experience and/or demonstrated commitment to challenging inequities and racism in the immigration legal system

Education and Experience:

• J.D. degree
• At least six years of relevant experience

People of color and those who have been impacted by the criminal system and immigration system are strongly urged to apply. Acacia is deeply committed to race equality, inclusion, and belonging and strives to create a work culture that recognizes everyone's unique lived experience.

Equal Opportunity Employment:

Acacia is an equal opportunity employer and seeks to recruit persons of diverse backgrounds and support their retention and advancement within the organization. We are committed to fostering a workplace culture inclusive of people with respect to their race, ethnicity, national origin, gender/gender identity, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, veteran status, marital status, age, disabilities, political affiliation, religious beliefs, or any other characteristic. Our commitment to justice and diversity also means providing a work environment that is welcoming, respectful, and engaging.

This job description is not meant to be an all-inclusive list of duties, responsibilities and requirements but constitutes a general definition of the position's scope and function within our organization.

Acacia Center for Justice is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer. All qualified applicants will be considered for employment without unlawful discrimination based on race, color, creed, national origin, sex, age, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, military status, prior record of arrest or conviction, citizenship status, current employment status, or caregiver status.

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