Deputy Project Director for Immigration Detention

ACLU - National Office; San Francisco (CA); Hybrid; USD 206,000 - 252,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Generous paid time off

Comprehensive health benefits

401(k) with employer match

Professional development funds

Job summary

The ACLU seeks a full-time Deputy Project Director for Immigration Detention in the National Prison Project. The role supports the NPP Project Director in management, strategic planning, fundraising, and supervising staff across federal and state matters.

Based in Washington, DC, San Francisco, CA, or New York, NY, this hybrid position requires in-office presence two days per week or eight days per month and involves leading complex civil rights litigation and integrated advocacy campaigns to

Qualifications

• JD required and active State Bar membership.
• Extensive experience in complex civil litigation in federal court (10+ years preferred).
• Experience with immigrant detention settings and related policy.
• Ability to lead high-stakes litigation and coordinated advocacy campaigns.

Responsibilities

• Support NPP Project Director in management, fundraising, and supervision.
• Lead complex civil rights litigation in federal/state courts and coordinate with Immigrants’ Rights Project.
• Develop and implement integrated advocacy campaigns and policy efforts.
• Oversee staffing decisions and ensure diverse, inclusive teams.

Skills

Legal leadership

Fundraising

Strategic planning

Staff supervision

Education

J.D. degree and active State Bar membership

Job description

ABOUT THE JOB

The ACLU seeks applicants for the full-time position of Deputy Project Director for Immigration Detention in the National Prison Project (NPP) of the ACLU’s National office in Washington, D.C., San Francisco, CA, or New York, NY. This is a hybrid role that has in-office requirements of two (2) days per week or eight(8) days per month.

The National Prison Project works to ensure that conditions in prisons, jails, juvenile detention centers, and immigration detention facilities comply with the Constitution, domestic law, and international human rights principles. NPP has successfully litigated on behalf of incarcerated and detained people in more than 25 states, and is the only organization litigating conditions of confinement cases nationwide. Our priorities include reducing overcrowding, improving health care, eliminating violence and maltreatment, and increasing oversight and accountability in prisons, jails, and other places of detention. We also work to reverse the policies that have given the United States the highest incarceration rate in the world and led to extreme over‑representation of people of color in our country’s prisons, jails, and immigration detention facilities.

WHAT YOU’LL DO

Reporting to the NPP Project Director , the Deputy Project Director for Immigration Detention will assist the Project Director in all aspects of management of the Project, including strategic planning, fundraising, and supervision of Project staff. This position will have a particular emphasis on challenging immigration detention conditions, the expansion of the immigration detention footprint, and the use and abuse of immigration detention in the federal government’s mass deportation system, and coordinating closely with counterparts in the ACLU Immigrants’ Rights Project and ACLU affiliates across the country. The Deputy Project Director will lead complex civil rights litigation in state and federal court, and develop and lead integrated advocacy campaigns.

YOUR DAY TO DAY

STAFFING AND SUPERVISION

• Directly supervise specified staff attorneys, legal fellows, and/or administrative staff, including regular check-ins, approval of expense reports, and time off requests.
• Assist NPP Project Director, Co-Deputy Project Director, and management team in making staffing decisions
  • Ensure balance of work across Project staff, including opportunities for writing, arguments, discovery, witness examinations, case development, and other professional growth
  • Ensure that Project staff maintain and foster relationships with media, coalition partners, and other targets and allies
• With an eye on developing and maintaining an excellent and diverse staff, collaborate with other members of management team to:
  • Improve process for hiring, onboarding, and managing new staff, fellows, and interns, which includes recruiting excellent candidates and furthering our board‑mandated goal to increase the percentage of staff with disabilities and significant disabilities and to work in furtherance of our other announced diversity hiring initiatives
  • Oversee sustained efforts to create and nurture pools of diverse candidates from which to recruit

ADMINISTRATION

• Align with management, including collaborating with and sharing ownership of decisions made by the NPP Project Director, Trone Center for Justice & Equality Director, and Senior Staff
• Assume responsibility for specified administrative functions such as gathering particular data for legal or development departments; and ensuring accuracy of case database, among other work, as directed
• Assist the NPP Project Director and Co-Deputy Project Director with expense tracking and budgeting, as directed

LEGAL AND ADVOCACY

• Engage in litigation in federal and state court, including drafting pleadings, briefs, and affidavits
  • Serve as lead counsel or co‑lead counsel on a substantial caseload of major class actions in federal court, working closely with other staff attorneys, local counsel, immigrant rights organizations, and clients
  • Conduct discovery and motion practice, handle hearings and trials, argue appeals in both federal and state courts
  • Manage case development and conduct client and witness interviews
  • Conduct legal research and write legal memoranda
• Provide technical assistance and expert legal advice to ACLU affiliates, cooperating attorneys, and others who seek assistance from the Project
• Lead and manage advocacy campaigns including developing and executing strategic goals and managing campaign advocacy, research, and public education efforts
• Conduct policy advocacy on prisoners’ and detainees’ rights, criminal justice, and immigration detention issues
• Develop new cases and non‑litigation advocacy projects
• Travel as required for litigation, conferences, and case and strategy development

STRATEGY, CROSS-PROJECT/CROSS-DEPARTMENTAL COLLABORATION, AND INTEGRATED ADVOCACY

• Assist NPP Project Director and Co-Deputy Project Director with annual strategic planning and memoranda to Senior Staff
• Manage special projects
• Assist NPP Project Director and Co-Deputy Project Director in managing relationships and coordinating with other departments and external partners, for example:
  • Work as part of a cross‑project team with staff in the National Prison Project and Immigrants’ Rights Project on litigation and other advocacy to challenge draconian and unlawful immigration enforcement policies and practices
  • Represent NPP in meetings with the National Political Advocacy Department, Communications, Digital, Development, and other departments
  • Develop and maintain relationships with ACLU affiliates and other partners
  • Assume responsibility for specific collaborative initiatives, issues, and/or relationships as directed
  • Represent NPP / ACLU in public‑facing meetings, speaking events, and media opportunities as relevant

FUTURE ACLU’ERS WILL

• Be committed to advancing the mission of the ACLU
• Center and embed the principles of equity, inclusion and belonging in their work by demonstrating commitment to diversity with an approach that respects and values multiple perspectives
• Be committed to work collaboratively and respectfully toward resolving obstacles and conflicts

WHAT YOU’LL BRING

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

• J.D. degree and active State Bar membership
• Extensive experience in complex civil litigation matters in federal court, minimum of 10 years preferred
• Demonstrated experience working in immigrant detention and immigrant community settings
• Excellent legal research, writing, and verbal communication skills
• Ability to engage in complex legal analysis and fact finding
• Demonstrated ability to write and speak clearly and persuasively
• Experience working with reporters and the media on criminal justice and immigration issues
• Ability to work with a wide range of people and foster a team environment
• Commitment to the mission of the ACLU
• Demonstrated commitment to diversity within the office using a personal approach that values all individuals and respects differences in regard to race, ethnicity, age, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, religion, disability and socio‑economic circumstance
• Commitment to work collaboratively and respectfully toward resolving obstacles and/or conflicts

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Fluency in Spanish or other languages commonly spoken by immigrant detainees preferred
• Self‑motivated, diligent and able to meet strict deadlines while under pressure
• Extensive experience in class action litigation
• Proven expertise in campaign management and execution
• Comprehensive experience in criminal justice, immigration issues, and institutional reform efforts

COMPENSATION

The ACLU is committed to equity, transparency, and clarity in pay. Consistent with our compensation philosophy, there is a set salary for each role based on geographic work location. The annual salary for this position is $229,096 ( Level DPD ), reflecting the salary of a position based in New York, NY. Salaries are subject to a regional pay adjustment if authorization is granted to work outside of the location listed in this posting.

For details on our pay structure, please visit: https://www.aclu.org/careers/ACLU_Geographic_Pay_Structure-July_2024.pdf

WHY THE ACLU

For over 100 years, the ACLU has worked to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed by the Constitution and laws of the United States. Whether it’s ending mass incarceration, achieving full equality for the LGBTQ+ community, establishing new privacy protections for our digital age, or preserving the right to vote or the right to have an abortion, the ACLU takes up the toughest civil liberties cases and issues to defend all people.

We know that great people make a great organization. We value our people and know that what we offer is essential not just their work, but to their overall well‑being.

At the ACLU, we offer a broad range of benefits, which include:

• Time away to focus on the things that matter with a generous paid time‑off policy
• Focus on your well‑being with comprehensive healthcare benefits (including medical, dental and vision coverage, parental leave, gender affirming care & fertility treatment)
• Plan for your retirement with 401k plan and employer match
• We support employee growth and development through annual professional development funds, internal professional development programs and workshops

OUR COMMITMENT TO ACCESSIBILITY, EQUITY, DIVERSITY & INCLUSION

Accessibility, equity, diversity and inclusion are core values of the ACLU and central to our work to advance liberty, equality, and justice for all. For us diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion are not just check‑the‑box activities, but a chance for us to make long‑term meaningful change. We are a community committed to learning and growth, humility and grace, transparency and accountability. We believe in a collective responsibility to create a culture of belonging for all people within our organization – one that respects and embraces difference; treats everyone equitably; and empowers our colleagues to do the best work possible. We are as committed to anti‑oppression, anti‑ableism, and anti‑racism internally as we are externally. Because whether we’re in the courts or in the office, we believe ‘We the People’ means all of us.

With this commitment in mind, we strongly encourage applications from all qualified individuals without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, national origin, marital status, citizenship, disability, veteran status and record of arrest or conviction, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.

The ACLU is committed to providing reasonable accommodation to individuals with disabilities. If you are a qualified individual with a disability and need assistance applying online, please complete the Accommodation Request Form

If you are selected for an interview, you will receive additional information regarding how to request an accommodation for the interview process.