About KIND Kids in Need of Defense (KIND) is a global leader in the protection of unaccompanied and separated children who are forcibly displaced from their countries of origin. Launched in 2008, KIND champions a world in which every childs rights and well-being are protected throughout their journey to safety. Building on its extensive programming and successful model in the United States, KIND is expanding in the Americas and Europe to bring its experience to bear in working with unaccompanied and separated children. Our work focuses on addressing the legal and mental health needs of this population; building strong partnerships and engaging in training and capacity strengthening with governments, NGOs, and the private sector; and advocating for systemic and pragmatic reforms to advance the rights of unaccompanied and separated children.
Position Summary KIND seeks a Senior Attorney to join its Training and Technical Assistance team within the organizations Global Partnerships, Capacity Strengthening and Training department. The Senior Attorney will contribute to the development of strategy and programs for KINDs trainings, create legal practice guides, and provide case-by-case legal technical assistance to individuals providing legal services to unaccompanied children. The Senior Attorney reports to Director, Legal Training.
This is a temporary position with an expected end date of September 29, 2024. Despite the temporary nature of the role, we are pleased to offer a competitive benefits package, including benefits . Essential Functions
- Provide Legal Technical Assistance
- Provide expert legal technical assistance to KIND staff and partners providing services to unaccompanied children by: responding directly to questions, connecting the individual to resources and others with expertise, and facilitating contact with outside experts as needed.
- Conducting weekly office hours to address requests for technical assistance support; and identifying common trends or issues raised by staff to inform the development of technical assistance resources and trainings; lead and/or participate in periodic group calls with legal staff on thematic legal issues; monitor legal developments and policy changes impacting the representation of unaccompanied children and contribute to regular written updates regarding such developments.
- Draft legal practice guides and toolkits.
- Provide legal technical support to law firm, corporate and other partners providing legal services to unaccompanied children in the US on an as needed basis.
- Advise and assist in the evaluation and preparation of appellate, amicus briefs and litigation opportunities in support of KINDs mission; and assist with optimizing the organization, accessibility, and integration of KINDs legal technical assistance resources within organization-wide platforms.
- Train KIND Staff Members and KIND partners
- Provide legal trainings to individuals providing services to unaccompanied children, including in-person presentations, mock trial/moot courts, and online/webinar presentations.
- Create recorded training videos for working with and representing unaccompanied children.
- Assist in the development and creation of legal manuals and other guidance materials (model filing samples, checklists, etc.); and in coordination with other Legal Training and Technical Assistance team members, research training needs, monitor developments in effective adult and professional education theory, and develop effective training modes to reach the target audience of practitioners.
- Strategic and Advocacy Input
- In coordination with other Legal Training and Technical Assistance team members, identify issues in need of systemic public policy advocacy, and communicate about such issues with KINDs Policy & Advocacy and Communications teams.
- Draft and review technical elements of advocacy communications, including e.g. regulatory comments.
- Represent KIND at conferences, panels, and other meetings and public speaking events, in coordination with the Policy, Advocacy, and Communications team and in collaboration with partners.
Qualifications and Requirements
- J.D. and admitted to local state bar.
- Minimum of 5 years of experience practicing immigration law.
- Minimum of 3 years of experience working with children, preferably immigrant and refugee children, and/or working with survivors of abuse, human trafficking, or other trauma.
- Expertise in humanitarian immigration legal claims, including Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS), asylum, T and U visa claims, on behalf of children.
- Knowledge of and experience working with ORR and its stakeholders.
- Experience formulating and presenting trainings and legal guidance and providing technical assistance on immigration law, policy, and procedure to lawyers, paralegals and others.
- Experience working with a range of legal practitioners; experience with law firm or in-house corporate practitioners preferred;
- Exceptional written and oral communication skills, including both formal (litigation, regulatory) and more directly interpersonal (training, mentoring) formats.
- Ability to manage multiple projects in a deadline-oriented environment with a keen orientation for details, and work both independently as well as a contributing member of a team.
- Ability to work effectively with people of diverse backgrounds, lived experiences, and communication styles.
- Committed to prioritizing diversity, equity, and inclusion as well as embracing transparency and authenticity in daily work life. Be disciplined and nimble to ensure delivery on of KINDs core mission of access to justice and protection of childrens wellbeing and rights.
- Willing and able to travel occasionally to KIND field offices or other locations within the United States.
- Working knowledge of Microsoft Office Suites (such as Teams, Excel, etc.).
- Experience with SharePoint preferred.
- Fluent in English; Spanish language skills highly preferred.
- Committed to practicing and supporting wellbeing and a work-home life balance.
- Experience working and communicating in a remote environment.
Our Benefits - Medical, dental, and vision insurance with KIND paying 100% of the employee only portion of the premium for one of the three medical plan options, dental, and vision. - Pre-tax flexible spending account (FSA) for both medical and dependent care. - Pre-tax transit and parking spending account. - Employer-paid life insurance and accidental death and dismemberment insurance. - Employer-paid short and long-term disability insurance. For a complete list of benefits, please click here .
Our Focus on Wellness KIND recognizes that our ability to help our clients starts with helping our team members. KIND has prioritized wellness for employees through Mindfulness and Wellness Trainings, Wellness Platforms, Employee Assistance and Resilience Programs, Time Away and Office Wellness Activities. For more information regarding our Wellness initiatives please visit this link .
Application Instructions To be considered for this role, please submit an employment application at supportkind.org/join-the-team , along with your resume and cover letter.
Disclaimer: KIND is committed to an ethical recruitment and hiring process and maintains a firm no fees recruitment policy. We will never charge a fee or ask for money as part of the application process. KIND also conducts all interviews via telephone or video conference, and at no time will KIND engage in a text or mobile app-based application or interview process. For more information, please visit the following website: .
$87,632 - $109,541 a year
Compensation details: 41 Yearly Salary
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