Policy Manager

Position description

About Justice in Motion: Justice in Motion, a nonprofit dedicated to protecting the rights of migrants across borders, seeks applications for a Policy Manager.

In the face of overwhelming legal and practical barriers, many migrants who have suffered exploitation or abuse at the hands of employers or government officials give up their rights after leaving the United States. Other migrants who flee abuse, violence, and persecution are unable to remain in safety due to lack of evidence to support their claims.

These migrants need “portable justice” - the right and ability to access justice across borders. Justice in Motion is dedicated to ensuring portable justice through legal, educational, and policy initiatives in the U.S., Mexico, and Central America. Essential to this transnational model is our Defender Network, a unique partnership of on-the-ground human rights organizations in Mexico and Central America. Justice in Motion makes sure that wherever migrants go, their rights will follow.

About The Policy Manager Position: Justice in Motion (JiM) seeks a Policy Manager to join the organization at a time when migration issues are front and center in the United States and across North and Central America. Working with and reporting to the Director of Public Policy & Government Affairs, the person selected to fill this role will engage with U.S. and country of origin governments to affect meaningful legislative and regulatory reform on issues affecting migrants.

Building on JiM’s two decades of experience in the field of migrant rights and leveraging the organization’s Defender Network in Mexico and Central America, the Policy Manager will directly contribute to advocacy work that strengthens protections for the human rights of migrants in North and Central America. The Policy Manager will advocate for policy change and engage in special projects related to JiM’s current three focus areas: protecting the rights of temporary foreign workers, preventing migrant family separation, and ensuring migrant access to asylum and other lawful protections.

Details: This is a full-time, exempt position, reporting to the Director of Public Policy & Government Affairs, and begins as soon as possible. This is a union position and will be covered by Justice in Motion’s collective bargaining agreement.

Location and Travel: Justice in Motion is a U.S.-based, remote organization. This position is remote but will require quarterly travel to the DC metro area and occasional international travel. The position will operate on east coast hours.

Salary and Benefits: The salary range for this position is $75,000-84,500, depending on experience. Justice in Motion provides a comprehensive benefits package and a generous amount of leave.

Opportunities For Impact: JiM’s Policy Manager will have the opportunity to improve migrant rights by focusing on the following key areas of responsibility.

• Execute strategies to advance JiM’s federal policy objectives.
  • Develop and maintain strong relationships with key U.S. government actors on Capitol Hill and within federal agencies.
  • Craft written and oral comments on proposed legislation and regulation.
  • Draft essential materials for U.S. government audiences (i.e., white papers, legislative summaries, letters of support, and testimony for congressional briefings and hearings).
  • Facilitate opportunities for Defender Network members to prepare and submit comments in relevant federal legislative and regulatory proceedings, and to meet with U.S. policymakers.
  • Track congressional voting records and positions.
  • Monitor and maintain a congressional calendar of events, including policy meetings, hearings, briefings, and conferences.
• Grow country-of-origin engagement to further our strategic goals.
  • In partnership with the director, and the Defender Network, engage in outreach and establish active working relationships with key country of origin government actors, advocates, and related external stakeholders throughout Mexico and Northern Central America.
  • Develop, implement, and evaluate projects as needed or delegated to advance policy priorities in the countries of origin.
  • Regularly engage members of the Defender Network to:
    • facilitate co-learning,
    • identify opportunities to develop collaborative projects.
  • Co-manage efforts to provide technical assistance to country-of-origin governments.
  • Support efforts to monitor and report out on political and policy news in relevant countries of origin.
• Conduct policy research in support of JiM’s U.S. and country of origin policy goals.
  • Research and analyze select U.S. federal policies and country-of-origin laws to demonstrate their effects on migrants.
  • Liaise and collaborate with members of the Defender Network to conceptualize and create strategic policy documents for a variety of audiences.
• Develop and deliver training material (virtual and in-person) to policy-specific audiences in Spanish and English.
• Manage key relationships in support of the team’s strategic goals.
  • Participate in coalition spaces and collaborate with allies to drive policy change.
  • Supervise interns as appropriate, including via training and regular check-ins.

Qualifications

Strong candidates for JiM’s Policy Manager role will bring the following to the position:

• Demonstrated experience, through lived or professional experiences, with migrant rights or any of the key strategic issue areas for our policy work: protecting the rights of foreign workers on temporary visas, preventing migrant family separation, and ensuring migrant access to asylum and other lawful protections.
• Demonstrated ability to build and maintain productive working relationships with stakeholders on the Hill, including congressional staff.
• Professional Spanish fluency.
• Worked with partners (preferably in other countries) in cross-cultural settings to achieve policy goals.
• Strong verbal and written skills as an advocate and negotiator, including in working with people from across the political spectrum and other lines of difference.
• Research and analytical skills, including comfort working with data in a public policy context.

The following additional attributes are preferred but not required for the Policy Manager:

• Existing relationships with congressional staff (for example, as gained through prior experience as a Hill staffer).
• Experience working directly with migrants in a trauma-centered framework.
• Experience working with policy-focused technology systems (i.e., Congressional Quarterly (CQ), Fiscal Note, etc.).

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Benefits

We provide a very competitive benefits package, including: 100% employer-paid healthcare for individual employees plus partial family coverage; 2% 401k annual contribution, work-from-home and home office setup stipends; our office is closed 12/24-1/1 plus 5 other paid holidays and 2 floating holidays per year. Additional PTO includes 12 days paid vacation in the first year, 12 sick days, and 5 personal days. A fully paid sabbatical is offered after 7 years of service.

Application instructions

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