Project Director
Homelessness Outreach and Prevention Project
The Urban Justice Center (UJC) is a nonprofit legal organization dedicated to advocacy on behalf of New York City's most vulnerable residents. 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. HOPP's staff includes seven legal advocates, three attorneys, one housing coordinator, one researcher and a project coordinator, all of whom work together to implement our multi-prong approach to significantly improve access to public benefits for New Yorkers living in poverty.
HOPP is seeking a director to lead and manage the project's work, including setting goals and determining methods. Responsibilities include the hiring, supervision and training of staff; securing full project budget from government and foundation sources and serving as lead counsel on affirmative impact litigation. Recent examples of our litigation efforts include two federal court cases that are ongoing: Robles v. Doar, filed in June 2009 and Cales v. New Castle Hill Realty, et al., filed in April 2010.
The ideal candidate will be an energetic, dynamic and creative individual who has a passionate commitment to the project's work, five to ten years of experience in poverty law practice (including state and federal court litigation) or other related areas of law, and experience in fundraising, management and successfully integrating a variety of tools to achieve significant systemic change. A law degree is required.
Please send a cover letter detailing qualifications, a resume, a brief writing sample and references via email to hopp@urbanjustice.org. Please write "HOPP Director Search" in the subject heading. We will contact those applicants who we wish to interview. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, so applicants are encouraged to apply as soon as possible. Please do not contact us by phone. People of color, LGBT individuals, individuals who have personal experience with poverty, and individuals with disabilities strongly encouraged to apply. Salary is commensurate with experience. Generous vacation and full medical and dental benefits are provided.
Development Associate
The Urban Justice Center serves New York City's most vulnerable residents through a combination of direct legal service, systemic advocacy, community education and political organizing. The Urban Justice Center’s unique model supports 8 distinct Projects that serve different populations with legal or social services, and broader advocacy efforts. All projects share organizational infrastructure but must raise their own programmatic and operational funds. The four smallest projects of the Urban Justice Center: the Human Rights Project, the Sex Workers Project, the Peter Cicchino Youth Project (serving LGBTQQ youth), and the Street Vendor Project, plan to hire and share one full-time Development Associate to support their fundraising work.
The Development Associate will work one day per week for each Project, with the 5th day reserved for administrative tasks and meetings with Project Directors. The Development Associate's major tasks will include the following:
- Creating and maintaining grant calendars for each project with fundraising deadlines;
- Drafting interim and final reports, vouchers and renewals;
- Researching new funding opportunities, drafting letters of intent and proposals for new grants;
- Assisting with the maintenance of individual donor bases, possibly including drafting newsletters, direct mail campaigns, and planning events.
Salary commensurate with experience, and generous benefits offered.
Successful candidates will have at least 2 years experience in development for non-profit or human rights organizations. Strong organizational skills, attention to detail, ability to work with firm deadlines, and ability to multi-task are critical to this position. Other required skills include: grant writing, budgeting, database management, desktop publishing, as well as excellent communication, writing, and general computer skills. Ideal candidate will be familiar with Kintera, Excel, Outlook and Mail Merging. Strong candidates will also be familiar with human rights issues and be committed to the mission of the Urban Justice Center.
To apply, please submit a cover letter detailing relevant experience, a resume, a brief writing sample, and 3 references via email to SBasinski@urbanjustice.org. People of color, gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people, people with disabilities, or people with life experience with sex work, street vending or any of our other priority issues are encouraged to apply.
Fall 2010 Community Development Project
Law Student Internship Positions
Deadline: Applications must be received by August 30, 2010, but will be accepted and processed on a rolling basis.
The Community Development Project (CDP) of the Urban Justice Center provides legal, technical, research, and policy support to community-based organizations working to improve conditions in low-income communities in New York City. CDP seeks law student interns interested in working with us to protect the rights of low-income people and to provide legal and technical assistance to advance diverse community development projects. Internships will focus on the following areas:
Workers’ Rights
Litigation and advocacy on behalf of workers and worker organizing efforts.
Representation of workers on a range of issues in the areas of wage and
hour law, discrimination and harassment, workers’ compensation, and health
and safety. Work in this area includes interviewing clients, conducting
investigations, drafting court documents, drafting “know your rights”
materials, and performing legal research.
Community Development
Providing technical and transactional assistance to community-based
organizations throughout New York City that are engaged in a wide range of
community development efforts. Students will work with project staff
representing community groups on projects in areas such as worker
cooperative development, incorporation of community groups, environmental
justice, and filing of tax-exempt applications for not-for-profit
organizations.
Tenants’ Rights
Work in this area includes: assisting tenant associations to develop
strategies for improving housing conditions; coordinating community legal
education workshops related to tenants’ rights; preparing, filing and
monitoring compliance with HP Actions (lawsuits against landlords for
repairs); assisting with non-payment petitions; legislative advocacy;
negotiation of rent strike settlements; and handling rent reductions for
service problems with the Division of Housing and Community Renewal.
Consumer Rights & Health Access
Work in this area includes both affirmative and defensive litigation to
protect consumers’ and patients’ rights: defending consumers accused of
credit card and medical debt; pursuing civil litigation on issues of
predatory lending, fraud, identity theft, debt collection harassment; and
implementation and enforcement of 2007 Hospital Financial Assistance Law
("Manny’s Law"). This work involves litigation, negotiations, legislative
advocacy, policy, and some transactional legal services.
Fall 2010 internships will begin in August/September. Interns will be expected to work 15-20 hours per week, with flexible hours, for ten weeks. Applications will be accepted by email only, should include a cover letter and resume, and should be directed to Edward De Barbieri at edebarbieri@urbanjustice.org. Please include the words "Fall Internship Application" in the email subject line. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis but must be received by August 30, 2010. Applicants should indicate any foreign language skills they may have, the subject matter area or areas in which they would like to work (or could express an interest in all areas), and any interest in possible Skadden, Equal Justice Works, or other post-graduate fellowship sponsorship.
Sex Workers Project at the Urban Justice Center
Spring 2011 Internship/Externship
Using human rights and harm reduction approaches, the Sex Workers Project protects and promotes the rights of individuals who engage in sex work, regardless of whether they do so by choice, circumstance, or coercion. In addition to providing direct legal and social services to over a hundred individual clients a year in immigration, criminal legal, civil, and police misconduct matters, we offer "know your rights" trainings for sex workers and people who have been trafficked, and conduct training and outreach to service providers and community organizations who may come into contact with trafficked persons or sex workers.
The Sex Workers Project is looking for highly motivated problem-solvers committed to advancing the rights of sex workers and survivors of trafficking. Legal interns will work closely with staff attorneys on a wide range of cases and policy issues, which may include applications for special visas for trafficking survivors and asylees, research on novel issues affecting sex workers, and advancing a pro-sex workers rights legislative agenda. Policy and administrative interns who are not in law school are also needed. Applicants should have excellent writing, research, and interpersonal skills and an awareness of the systemic barriers facing our diverse client and constituent populations.
Interns are expected to work 12 hours a week, with a minimum of 8 hours in the office. Full-time externs are also needed. Both positions are unpaid. Application process is competitive and applications are accepted on a rolling basis, until positions are filled. Please apply early.
To apply: email a cover letter, resume, and writing sample to Sienna Baskin (sbaskin@urbanjustice.org).
For more information: www.sexworkersproject.org.
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 does not discriminate against any applicant on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, physical or mental disability, political belief, marital status, veteran status, age, gender identity, or sexual orientation.