Project Director
Human Rights Project

The Human Rights Project (HRP) at the Urban Justice Center is seeking a dynamic leader with a demonstrated commitment to human rights and social justice to serve as its Project Director. HRP is a domestic human rights organization dedicated to improving the lives of people living in poverty by monitoring and advocating for government compliance with universal human rights standards, especially the human rights to employment, housing, health, food, education and other economic and social rights. It is one of few groups dedicated to the local implementation of human rights standards and it shares its lessons and models with groups around the country through educational workshops and outreach.

HRP is one of ten projects at the Urban Justice Center, an anti-poverty organization that serves New York City's most vulnerable residents through a combination of direct legal service, systemic advocacy, community education and political organizing. For more information on specific programs of HRP, please see our website at www.hrpujc.org or www.urbanjustice.org.

History and Focus of HRP’s Work

HRP began its work in 1999 to fight New York City’s aggressive implementation of the Clinton Administration’s welfare rollback policies. The City actively discouraged many eligible New Yorkers from seeking public assistance, and thousands went hungry. HRP has fought for the rights of poor New Yorkers and people living in the United States, particularly people of color, immigrants and women, by:

• Exposing policies and practices that create barriers to economic equality and reform
• Enlisting and equipping allies to use human rights standards to combat poverty
• Motivating those in power to bring economic policies in line with human rights standards
• Serving as a thought leader in the domestic human rights field.

Roles and Responsibilities

The Project Director will be responsible for overseeing the implementation of HRP’s programmatic work, and managing the day-to-day operations of the project. The Project Director will also work with the UJC management team to guide and inform personnel policies for the organization. Primary responsibilities will include:

• setting and ensuring implementation of a programmatic agenda for the project;
• fundraising for the project;
• supervising project staff; and representing the project externally.

The Project Director should be poised to play a leading role in the domestic human rights movement and to partner with other organizations in the field.

Qualifications

Successful candidates will have at least seven years professional experience in social justice and human rights in the domestic context, as well as a record of leadership. Successful candidates will also have a demonstrated track record in fundraising from private foundations and/or individual donors. Candidates will also be expected to have strong communication skills and interpersonal skills, superior judgment and integrity.

Preference will be given to candidates with experience in management, demonstrated experience working effectively with a team, and a record working in coalition.

Preferred candidates will have an advanced degree preferably in public policy, law, public administration, or social work. Applicants from diverse backgrounds are strongly encouraged to apply.

Target Start Date: March 19, 2012

Salary: Based on experience. UJC offers a generous benefits package.

How to Apply: Interested applicants should send their resume, cover letter, and short writing sample by email to Ejim Dike at edike@urbanjustice.org by February 12th. Please do not call.

Application Deadline: February 12th (Interviews will begin the week of February 12th)

Legal Advocate
Homelessness Outreach & Prevention Project

The mission of UJC's Homelessness Outreach & Prevention Project (HOPP) is to advocate for economic justice for no and low income New Yorkers. We conduct direct legal services, litigation, research and policy advocacy to preserve and expand access to public benefits programs and ensure government accountability. Direct services are based mainly in legal clinics at soup kitchens and food pantries in the Bronx, Manhattan and Brooklyn where we provide legal advice, referrals, advocacy, and representation for New Yorkers living in poverty.

We are seeking one to three Legal Advocates to represent individuals experiencing legal problems in accessing public benefits such as cash assistance, food stamps, Medicaid, and eviction prevention grants. Responsibilities include interviewing individual clients to assess their public benefits problem; helping clients understand the government public benefits system; writing extensive referrals; staffing our legal clinics, which are housed mainly at food pantries and soup kitchens; representing clients at administrative hearings and exercising independent judgment; engaging in advocacy with Cash Assistance and Non-Cash Assistance Centers; and conducting all work necessary to ensure on-going receipt of public benefits for the advocate’s clients. Additionally, once the advocate is trained, s/he will help train advocates in the community and internally.

Successful candidates must have strong organizational and administrative skills, the ability to quickly learn about New York City's complex welfare system, an aptitude for tenacious negotiation and advocacy, a desire to work with New Yorkers living in poverty, and the ability to respond sensitively to the urgent needs of clients. A college degree is required and strong written and verbal communication skills are essential. Recent college graduates, as well as those with experience will be considered. Fluency in Spanish is required.

Please submit a cover letter detailing public interest experience/interest and a resume to hopppd@urbanjustice.org. Please write "Legal Advocate" in the subject heading. Please do not contact us by telephone or fax. We will contact those applicants who we wish to interview and candidates will be required to bring references and a writing sample. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis and the positions will be filled accordingly, so applicants are encouraged to apply as soon as possible. People of color, LGBT individuals, individuals who have personal experience with poverty, and individuals with disabilities are encouraged to apply. Salary is $34,000 – $36,000, depending on experience. Generous vacation and full medical and dental benefits are provided. This is a bargaining unit position represented for collective bargaining purposes by the National Organization of Legal Services Workers, UAW, Local 2230.

Summer 2012 Undergraduate Internships
Web/Communication Intern – Community Development Project

The Community Development Project of the Urban Justice Center (CDP) seeks a creative and energetic web/communication intern to help increase our online presence and promote our work advocating for low-income communities of color and assisting grassroots organizing groups in New York City.

CDP strengthens the impact of grassroots organizations in New York's low-income and other excluded communities. We achieve this through legal, technical, research and policy assistance in support of their work towards social justice. Applicants are encouraged to learn more about CDP's work by looking at our website at www.cdp-ny.org.

Duties: The intern will be responsible for maintaining, updating and expanding the CDP website; posting content to social media outlets; and editing and compiling newsletters, brochures, etc. S/he will work with staff to build online audiences and relay CDP news/events to funders, supporters and community partners. The intern will also provide general administrative support as needed.

Depending on the intern's abilities and interests, s/he will also have the opportunity to attend client meetings, court proceedings and press conferences, or assist with research on issues such as housing and tenant organizing, workers' rights, immigrants' rights, health access, foreclosure defense and consumer rights. Prospective interns should be willing to work 15-40 hours per week and for at least 10 weeks. Start/end dates are flexible. The position is unpaid.

Qualifications:

• excellent research, writing and editing skills
• strong computer skills and basic familiarity with web design; experience working with WordPress a plus
• attention to detail
• ability to meet deadlines and juggle multiple tasks
• creativity and ability to take initiative on projects
• ability to work well both independently and collaboratively
• commitment to social justice and interest in issues affecting excluded communities
• a second language - especially Spanish, Chinese or South Asian languages - is a plus

Application: To apply, please send a resume, cover letter and clippings or a writing sample (no more than 5 pages) to HaQuyen Pham (hpham@urbanjustice.org). Please indicate in the heading whether the application is for the spring or summer position. The deadline for applications is March 31, 2012.

CDP is an equal-opportunity, affirmative-action employer; applicants from diverse backgrounds are strongly encouraged to apply.

Project Director
Peter Cicchino Youth Project

The Peter Cicchino Youth Project (PCYP) in the Urban Justice Center is a legal services, systemic advocacy, and community education project that focuses on the legal needs of homeless and street-involved lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer, and questioning (LGBTQQ) young people (up through age 24) in New York City. We seek experienced attorneys as applicants for our Project Director position.

PCYP works to interrupt the cycles of poverty and criminalization that prevent LGBTQQ youth from living fulfilling, enriching lives. We advocate for LGBTQQ young people living in poverty on a wide range of issues, including safe and affirming access to shelter, obtaining lawful immigration status, public benefits, accurate identification documents, and discrimination. We operate legal clinics at drop-in centers, where the young people we serve already access other services. By bringing our services to our clients, we begin to reduce the barriers to legal representation. We also engage in long-term initiatives to improve the systems and institutions in which our clients are struggling to survive. We have worked to improve conditions for LGBTQQ youth in the foster care, juvenile justice, and homeless shelter systems and we are committed to ensuring that the voices and perspectives of LGBTQQ youth are included in conversations about the systems that affect them. Finally, PCYP provides educational outreach to raise young people's awareness of their legal rights; we believe in supporting the empowerment of our clients to be strong self-advocates. For more information about PCYP, go to www.urbanjustice.org.

The Project Director is responsible for fundraising and managing a $400,000 annual budget, and will represent PCYP to the broader Urban Justice Center, the media, and the public. The Project Director works with program staff to coordinate PCYP's legal services, to ensure that our clients receive high quality legal representation. The Project Director, along with program staff, will continue to identify systemic priorities and to develop PCYP's capacity to take direction from the communities we serve.

Candidates must be attorneys who have practiced for at least three years in a relevant poverty law area, and are committed to an integrated approach to legal services and systemic advocacy, informed by clients' experiences. Relevant areas of practice are: shelter access, landlord-tenant, immigration, child welfare, and public benefits practice. A demonstrated commitment to fighting for the rights for LGBTQQ people living in poverty is mandatory. The ideal candidate would be familiar with the non-legal advocacy strategies and the social justice communities in New York, be comfortable using a consensus based model for decision-making, speak another language in addition to English, and understand the unique needs of LGBTQQ homeless youth. Applicants must be admitted to the New York Bar or eligible for immediate admission. Two-year commitment preferred.

Applications will be accepted and until the position is filled. Please submit a cover letter detailing public interest legal experience, a resume, a brief writing sample, and a list of references via email to Nadia Qurashi at nqurashi@urbanjustice.org. Applicants whom we wish to interview will be contacted. Salary commensurate with experience and competitive with other similar legal services organizations; generous vacation and full medical and dental benefits provided.

Persons of color, gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people, persons with disabilities, persons who have lived in poverty, and people fluent in more than one language are strongly encouraged to apply.

Applying for Interships

The UJC always welcomes internships. If you are interested, please review our website to determine which project you would like to apply for, and write to:

Urban Justice Center
Attn: Director, Project Name
123 William Street 16th Floor
New York, NY, 10038

We cannot respond to telephone calls, emails, or other inquiries concerning applications.

NON-DISCRIMINATION POLICY

The Urban Justice Center is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will be afforded equal employment opportunities without discrimination because of race, religion/creed, color, national origin, sex, age, disability, sexual orientation, military status, predisposing genetic characteristics, victim of domestic violence status or marital status.