Program Associate, Practice, Innovation & Professionalism

Overview

This role supports member-facing programs and practice innovation efforts for a nonprofit bar association focused on immigration law. The Practice Innovation and Professionalism Center develops practical resources and educational programming, provides guidance on ethics and practice management, supports volunteer leaders and committees, and advances innovation and member success.

Responsibilities

• Manage member support and volunteer engagement programs (35%)

  • Lead the development, evaluation, administration, and continuous improvement of member-support and volunteer programs (including the Mentor Directory, Military Assistance Program, and Pro Bono Committee) and serve as staff liaison to the Pro Bono Committee.
  • Recruit, onboard, support, and retain volunteers.
  • Manage member intake, referrals or matching, communications, follow-up, and quality assurance; set recordkeeping standards.
  • Monitor member needs and program outcomes, identify service gaps, and recommend improvements to member and volunteer experience.
  • Use recurring questions and service patterns to develop supporting resources and propose educational programming topics to the Senior Counsel.

• Practice management resources and member guidance (25%)

  • Serve as a first-line resource for inquiries related to practice management, technology, workflows, professionalism, and available Center resources; refer legal, ethics, policy, or other substantive matters as appropriate.
  • Develop, maintain, and update practice management checklists, templates, articles, toolkits, guides, and other practical resources for members and AAPs, with substantive review by the Senior Counsel.
  • Identify recurring member challenges by monitoring communities and recommend responsive resources, programs, services, or process improvements.
  • Contribute practical immigration-firm, workflow, and implementation perspectives to Center initiatives and projects.

• Content development and knowledge management (20%)

  • Draft, edit, and maintain website content, templates, samples, articles, toolkits, educational materials, practice guides, and resource collections.
  • Manage assigned content workflows from concept through publication, including research, contributor coordination, editing, routing for approval, posting, review, updating, and archiving in collaboration with the Center’s Administrative Assistant.
  • Collaborate with staff and volunteer experts to translate practice knowledge into clear, useful, and accessible member resources.
  • Organize, bundle, maintain, and repurpose content for lawyers, paralegals, and legal teams.

• Workflow, systems, and process improvement (10%)

  • Serve as the department lead for workflow documentation, process mapping, standard operating procedures, and systems improvement.
  • Maintain program databases, tracking systems, templates, and resource inventories; set data-entry standards.
  • Identify and help implement opportunities to improve efficiency, member experience, program consistency, and knowledge sharing through technology and process redesign.
  • Support adoption of tools and processes that advance departmental goals.

• Support growth and new opportunities (10%)

  • Research and identify opportunities to expand or enhance programs, services, partnerships, and resources aligned with member needs and organizational priorities.
  • Monitor member needs, participation trends, recurring requests, and industry developments to identify opportunities for new or enhanced offerings.
  • Support evaluation and development of new initiatives, including research, outreach, coordination, implementation, tracking, and reporting.
  • Research potential partnerships, sponsorships, grants, and other opportunities that could strengthen or expand member programs and services, coordinating with the Director and appropriate departments before outreach.
  • Collaborate with staff and organizational partners to assess member value, feasibility, sustainability, and potential impact of new initiatives.

• Other duties and responsibilities

  • Provide additional member-service, research, content, program, and project support to the Center as assigned. Duties and priorities may evolve with the Center’s portfolio and member needs.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent combination of education and relevant work experience.
• 3–5 years of experience in an immigration law firm, immigration legal services organization, legal operations, association program, or related setting.
• Immigration paralegal experience strongly preferred; paralegal certificate or equivalent practical experience preferred.
• Working knowledge of immigration law practice, law firm workflows, and the roles of attorneys, paralegals, and legal staff.
• Demonstrated ability to respond to member or client inquiries, identify underlying needs, and recognize matters requiring escalation.
• Strong writing, editing, research, organization, project management, and relationship-building skills.
• Experience with Microsoft 365 and comfort learning project-management, content management, database, analytics, and artificial intelligence tools.

Preferred Qualifications

• Immigration paralegal experience.
• Paralegal certificate or equivalent practical experience.

Location

Fully remote. Remote role does not include regularly scheduled in-office days or a requirement to be based in the Washington, DC area.

• Preference will be given to candidates located in the Washington, DC area or near a major airport to support occasional travel and in-person organizational activities.

Compensation & Benefits

• Salary: Salary range is based on a reasonable estimate of annual salary using market-competitive data for similar-sized nonprofit organizations. The actual salary offered will depend on factors including education, qualifications, years of experience, certifications or professional licenses, job-related skills, internal equity, and business needs. Typically, individuals are hired at or near the starting point of the salary range for their role. Compensation decisions are made on a case-by-case basis.

• Benefits: Full-time and part-time employees working at least 20 hours per week on a regular basis are eligible for a comprehensive benefits program, including:

  • Medical, dental, and vision insurance
  • Employee assistance program
  • 401(k) retirement savings plan with matching contributions after 3 months of employment
  • Generous paid time off
  • Paid parental leave
  • Professional development opportunities
  • Employer-paid life insurance and disability benefits

Eligibility to Work

In compliance with the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, only individuals authorized to work in the United States will be hired. Selected candidates must provide documentation verifying eligibility to work in the U.S. without the need for employer sponsorship. The organization participates in E-Verify to confirm work authorization.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Equal opportunity employer committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace and prohibiting discrimination and harassment of any kind based on applicable protected characteristics under federal, state, or local law.