The Moving Toward Justice (MTJ) project is a group of organizations — Community Change, Detention Watch Network, Indivisible, National Immigrant Justice Center, National Immigration Law Center, Southern Border Communities Coalition, Undocublack Network, and United We Dream — that came together for the purpose of creating a visionary immigration policy proposal for a people-centered, just, and humane immigration system. 

Moving Toward Justice — movingtowardjustice.org Our mission is to create a visionary immigration policy proposal for a people-centered, just, and humane immigration system.

Research Manager

Title: Research Manager

Location: Remote. When travel safely resumes, we prefer a willingness and ability to travel frequently.

Salary Range: $80,000-90,000

Length of contract/ timeframe: 1 year (with the possibility for extension) + Full benefits package

Reports to: Project Director

Priority Application Deadline:  ​Priority​ ​will be​ ​given​ ​to​ ​applications​ ​received​ ​by​ ​January 25, 2021. Open until filled. *MTJ strongly encourages and seeks applications from immigrants, Black people, Indigenous people, people of color, women, people with disabilities, members of the LGBTQIA community, and other underrepresented and historically marginalized groups. 

About Moving Toward Justice: See website to learn more.

The Moving Toward Justice (MTJ) project is a group of organizations — Community Change, Detention Watch Network, Indivisible, National Immigrant Justice Center, National Immigration Law Center, Southern Border Communities Coalition, UndocuBlack Network, and United We Dream — that came together for the purpose of creating a visionary immigration policy proposal for a people-centered, just, and humane immigration system. We believe that a detailed legislative proposal, grounded in the experiences of impacted communities and informed by a diverse range of stakeholders, can provide a focal point around which we can build the community and political power necessary to win a transformational overhaul of the U.S. immigration system. 

Our Goals:

We are committed to co-creating a detailed, progressive policy proposal to act as a counterweight to a legalization-enforcement tradeoff that has limited our collective vision for what is possible, at a time when much of our movement agrees it is time to discard the outdated comprehensive immigration reform framework. This project is focused on doing the work of creating an alternative in order to put transformative change within reach. While the COVID-19 pandemic has made the challenges we face more complex, it has also underscored how deeply interconnected our ability to thrive is and how we can no longer accept the grave societal inequities that divide us along lines of race, wealth and immigration status. In terms of substance, we will address the following:

• Creating an equitable, accessible, and inclusive path to citizenship for the 11 million people living without immigration status.

• Creating broad paths for future migration that account for the wide range of reasons that people move, including for family, work, education, and safety from conflict, violence, and climate change.  

• Creating a new governance system at the border and in the interior that is not punitive or reliant on detention but rather upholds human rights, respects the dignity of all people, and reflects the values of justice and fairness for both longtime residents and newcomers.

Job Description:

The Research Manager will use a range of research methods and approaches to inform policy initiatives. The Research Manager will use participatory methods and other inclusive strategies to ensure that MTJ’s analysis reflects the leadership of those who are most directly impacted by U.S. immigration systems. Partnering with MTJ work group members, this role will support and guide MTJ’s research and portfolio of documentation, act as a spokesperson for research externally, and ensure that the organization’s research and analysis is of the highest quality and reflects the core values of respect, collaboration, commitment and racial equity. The Research Manager will be thoroughly committed to creating communication and follow through on decision-making systems to ensure that working group members and leadership groups lend their voice, perspectives and collectively design the outcome of this process (e.g., timeline, agenda, etc.). The successful candidate will take initiative, and thrive in a fast-paced, entrepreneurial environment. They will possess a strong orientation toward collaboration with a range of diverse stakeholders, exhibit a core commitment to racial equity, value partnership, and have excellent writing, oral communication, and interpersonal skills.

Specific responsibilities include, but are not limited to: 

• Lead and coordinate working groups consisting of legal/policy advocates and frontline community groups to research, analyze and draft MTJ’s visionary policy platform. 

• Working in partnership with the Project Director and Engagement Manager, develop the final policy platform which aligns with the vision and values of MTJ membership groups.

• Develop evaluation plans for research initiatives and drafting policies for MTJ’s final platform.

• In some cases, leading the development of early stage research initiatives.

• Serve as an institutional resource and advisor on the legal and policy content for the community consultations.

• Develop research policies and strategies.

• Inform the development and implementation of research strategies that center the experiences of those who are most directly impacted by legal and immigration systems. 

• Develop research training initiatives for workgroup members.

• Draft white papers, research briefs, and reports as requested by the Project Director, Engagement Manager and working groups.

You’ll thrive in this role if this sounds like you:

*While no candidate will possess every quality, the successful candidate will possess many of the following qualifications and attributes. Even if you aren’t sure but are excited about the position, we encourage you to apply!

• Demonstrated commitment to MTJ’s values

• Extensive experience developing and leading research on the legal/criminal and immigration systems in the U.S.

• Lived experience and/or demonstrated commitment to using research and analysis to address issues of racism and inequity in the immigration justice and criminal legal system

• Experience researching and synthesizing complex information into accessible language 

• Graduate degree in a social science, public policy, law and society, or related interdisciplinary field

• 5+ years developing, conducting and managing research on the immigration justice and criminal legal system required 

• In-depth knowledge of U.S. immigration systems, policy and practice 

• Familiarity with data on the operation and impacts of the U.S. immigration, and criminal legal system 

• Experience advising, mentoring, and supporting work groups and coalitions 

• Excellent written and oral communications skills 

• Applied experience using participatory research methods, qualitative methods, and/or statistical modeling techniques 

• Demonstrated ability and interest in communicating research findings to wide-ranging audiences, including policy-makers, journalists, and members of the public 

• Ability to set priorities and accomplish a broad range of tasks

• Strong relationship building skills with the ability to have tough conversations with care 

• Previous campaign experience on immigration related issues

• Project coordination/management skills

• Excellent interpersonal communication and public speaking skills and the ability to motivate people to act

• Self-starter who works well with people

• Strong organizational skills and attention to detail

• Ability to work independently and collaboratively, work well under pressure and adhere to deadlines while balancing multiple projects

• Ability to travel at least 30 percent of the time (*No travel expected during pandemic)

• Familiarity with social justice issues, particularly related to migrant justice, racial justice and abolition

• Ability to initiate projects and work with minimum supervision

• Experience working with diverse stakeholders and has a working knowledge of the dynamics of power, privilege, and bias.

We’re hoping you bring 1-2 (or more) of these bonus skills:

• Ability to handle the shifting contexts and nuances coalition building entails

• Experience with public speaking and facilitation

• Experience working with diverse coalitions and centering the perspectives of impacted, frontline communities 

• Experience with writing policy briefs and background reports that inform policy and strategy

Attributes, Experience & Qualifications: 

• Strong racial equity analysis, skills, and practice: You consistently integrate a deep understanding of key racial equity concepts into work projects and interactions by addressing structural implications and disproportionate impacts of policies, activities, and decisions on race, class, and other group identities within the context of job responsibilities and projects.

• Self-initiative and advanced project management skills: You are self-directed and thrive in dynamic and ambiguous environments. You can delegate effectively, manage multiple priorities, organize a large volume of work, and keep it flowing through the pipeline. You are tenacious and proactive with the ability to get things done.

• Excellent relationship-building skills: You are able to build positive, enduring relationships with people from a wide variety of backgrounds and organizations and leverage those relationships in service of organizational goals.

• Ability to communicate and collaborate virtually: You are efficient and comfortable with Google Suite, responsive via email, and willing to participate in virtual meetings as needed; and you have the ability to navigate spaces with multiple strong voices and opinions to move the group forward and land decisions with clarity.

• Mission-aligned with a commitment to a new, bold vision for immigrants and immigration policies, built from the ground up by impacted communities.

• Experience facilitating in-person, phone, and video meetings.

• Ability to work independently as well as within a team.

• Ability to simultaneously handle multiple tasks, work efficiently and quickly, and meet deadlines, while remaining composed under pressure.

• Willingness and capacity to travel.(*No travel expected during pandemic)

• Commitment to work collaboratively and respectfully toward building consensus and resolving obstacles and/or conflicts.

• Entrepreneurial, creative, and able to anticipate problems before they arise. 

How to Apply

In lieu of a cover letter, please respond to these short-answer questions:

1. Why are you excited about working with MTJ?

2. What experience do you have with researching, synthesizing and citing complex information?

3. What experience do you have with writing policy briefs and background reports that inform immigration policy and strategy? 

4. Is there anything else you would like to share with us? (optional)

Please send your responses and your resume to jobs@movingtowardjustice.org with your FIRST and LAST NAME - MTJ Research Manager in the subject line. *Please note: Submissions received without the required submission format will not be reviewed.

Equal Opportunity

MTJ will be fiscally sponsored by a National public charity that is committed to building strong social justice movements. MTJ is firmly committed to complying with all federal, state, and local equal opportunity (“EEO”) laws. MTJ strictly prohibits discrimination against any employee or applicant for employment because of the individual’s race, color, sex, religion, national origin, age, sexual orientation, height or weight, disability, gender identity or expression, medical condition, including acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) or AIDS-related conditions, marital status, partnership status, genetic predisposition or carrier status, military status, arrest record and any other characteristic protected by law. Accommodations will be made so that qualified disabled applicants may participate in the application process. Please advise in writing of special needs at the time of application. While performing the responsibilities of the job, accommodations will be made to enable people with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the job.