In an era of raids, rampant deportations, and retaliatory enforcement of immigration laws, New York City must fight back against an immigration system that tears apart families and serves to harm, not protect, immigrant communities. Building upon the groundbreaking work already under way to end the disparate impact of money bail in the criminal justice system, the Brooklyn Community Bail Fund (“BCBF”) has partnered with a coalition of community-based organizations, legal service providers, and advocates to launch the New York Immigrant Freedom Fund (“NYIFF”). BCBF began operations in April 2015 and pays bail for New Yorkers who cannot afford even the modest amounts, and who would be jailed or forced to plead guilty just to go home. The Fund partners with every public defender agency in Brooklyn, Manhattan and Staten Island. We also work with reentry specialists and social service providers to connect clients in need with resources in the areas of employment, education, housing and counseling. We work with allies here in New York and across the country in the fight to end cash bail.

NYIFF is a new project to pay immigration bond for non-citizen New Yorkers who otherwise would be imprisoned in immigration detention because they cannot afford their freedom. NYIFF is committed to the principle that no human being should be imprisoned because of immigration status. In an effort to affirm people’s dignity and agency, shorten the duration of their time in detention, and to stop the cycle of abusive imprisonment, the NYIFF will pay immigration bond for community members who are unable to afford it themselves. Beyond paying individual bonds, NYIFF will serve as a model of the importance of liberty during the pendency of removal proceedings and will harness our results to strategically and opportunistically influence the larger national policy conversation on immigration bond reform.

Position Summary

Brooklyn Community Bail Fund seeks a Manager of NYIFF. This is an exciting opportunity to launch a large-scale immigration bond fund, and it is an entirely new position. Reporting to the Executive Director, the ideal candidate will be creative and able to help shape this new role to ensure the successful management, operation and growth of NYIFF. The Manager will work in collaboration with senior leadership at BCBF and will be the principal point of contact for our coalition of community partners and service providers. The Manager will be the primary lead in all aspects of NYIFF (programmatically; advocacy and communications; and fundraising).

Responsibilities and Duties

Referrals

•        Accept referrals from immigration legal services providers, community organizations, and the public;

•        Refer clients to additional services as identified during the pendency of the case;

•        Create and/or implement procedures with respect to client referrals;

Data Collection and Evaluation

•        Create and/or implement data collection and reporting procedures;

•        Coordinate with partner organizations around data collections and analysis;

Bond Payment and Administration

•        Create and/or implement procedures with respect to bond payments and data collection;

•        Liaise and coordinate referrals from lawyers and community-based organizations for bond payment; actual payment of immigration bond;

•        Post immigration bonds for NYIFF clients, or supervise such posting;

•        Client follow-up, administration and paperwork to manage the bond fund corpus, and some data collection;

Monitor Evaluation and Impact

•        Coordinate data collection with other partners to conducting quantitative and qualitative data analysis about the impact of the Bond Fund on people served, including legal case outcomes as well as impact on family reunification, employment, and other measures of stability and well-being;

Partnership and Collaboration

•        Represent BCBF with various external stakeholders, including press and funders;

•        Manage the programmatic budget;

•        Work with development and finance teams on grant proposals and reporting;

•        Lead strategic advocacy and communications to leverage NYIFF’s results to push for systems change;

Program Administration

•        Strategize with leadership to develop programmatic goals and priorities;

•        Create and manage the program, including strategic development, evaluation, and operational planning;

•        Act as main point of contact with coalition partners;

•        Potentially lead efforts to build out program through staff hiring and training;

•        And any other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

•        Deep knowledge of immigration detention system, as shown by at least 3 years experience working with non-citizen communities in one of these capacities: as a defense attorney, advocate or organizer;

•        understanding of the overlap between mass criminalization and immigration enforcement;

•        Experience working in and/or leading coalitions;

•        Experience in a leadership role and/or starting a new initiative;

•        Excellent and persuasive written and verbal communication across varied media – including comfort with facilitating meetings and speaking publicly;

•        Ability to work with many different stakeholders (from grassroots coalition partners to elected officials) and experience working with coalitions;

•        Strong analytical skills and deep critical thinker;

•        Proactive and operates with a sense of urgency;

•        Ability to develop and execute work plans;

•        Proven experience managing and collaborating;

•        Strong organizational skills and attention to detail;

•        Strong preference for proficiency or fluency in a language in addition to English.