About the Organization
At the American Civil Liberties Union of South Carolina (ACLU-SC), we envision a just South Carolina where We the People means all of us. To bring this vision to life, we advocate, litigate, educate, and mobilize to defend and advance the civil rights and civil liberties of all South Carolinians. Whether we’re defending free speech, enhancing voting rights, reforming the criminal legal system, advocating for immigrant rights, or protecting transgender kids—our employees engage in meaningful work.
The ACLU-SC is an affiliate of the ACLU, a federated organization. When people refer to the ACLU, that generally includes the national office as well as a nationwide network of autonomous and independent ACLU Affiliates, of which the ACLU of South Carolina is one.
The ACLU-SC is headquartered in Columbia and has a distributed team with staff working in communities across South Carolina. The Immigrant Rights Advocacy Strategist can be based anywhere in South Carolina. All team members spend significant time traveling throughout South Carolina.
The ACLU-SC is a highly rewarding place to work for those interested in protecting our fundamental civil rights and civil liberties. To learn more about the work of the ACLU-SC and the ACLU, please visit www.aclusc.org and www.aclu.org.
About the Position
The Immigrant Rights Advocacy Strategist is a member of the advocacy team, focusing on civil rights for immigrants and their families. The Immigrant Rights Advocacy Strategist coordinates coalitions, conducts community outreach and education, organizes activists, and builds support across the state for policies and practices that protect immigrants’ rights. While the Immigrant Rights Advocacy Strategist is expected to focus on immigration, the role may also work on other civil rights issues.
The Immigrant Rights Advocacy Strategist role is heavily focused on community organizing, outreach, and education. Applicants must be bilingual in English and Spanish. Extensive travel throughout South Carolina to meet with community partners, give Know Your Rights training, and connect with activists is expected. Applicants must be licensed drivers with access to a reliable vehicle; mileage reimbursement is provided.
Responsibilities
Strategy & Planning
- Develop strategic campaign plans to protect immigrants’ rights.
- Translate campaigns into work plans, strategies, and tactics, balancing outreach, list building, coalition engagement, public events, mobilization, and legislative advocacy.
- Coordinate internally to ensure effective ACLU-SC response to mass deportation efforts.
- Understand the intersection of race and immigration status and commit to driving for racial justice in our work.
- Track expenses and be a good steward of the organization’s budget.
Coalition Building and Communications
- Map the landscape of organizations and individuals supporting immigrant families.
- Build trusted relationships with immigrant-serving organizations.
- Establish a coalition or network of organizations responding to immigration enforcement and regularly convene to ensure alignment and resource sharing.
- Distribute legal analysis of policies, court decisions, and other actions impacting immigrant rights to organizations serving immigrants.
Community Organizing, Outreach, and Education
- Engage with educators, healthcare professionals, churches, non-profit organizations, and other entities that serve immigrants, providing training and resources to ensure the rights of immigrants are not infringed.
- Ensure immigrants are educated about their rights, in coordination with partner organizations and community leaders.
- Organize public events (town hall meetings, trainings, panel discussions, etc.) to mobilize impacted communities, ACLU members, and the public around immigrant rights.
Advocacy and Communications
- Identify, analyze, and track immigration-related policy at the Statehouse, in administrative offices, and in local policymaking venues.
- Analyze and present rigorous research and data around model policies, programs, and implementation strategies (legislation, ordinances, directives, practices).
- Mobilize South Carolinians to engage in state and local policymaking as well as state and local elections.
- Prepare, provide guidance on, and/or deliver testimony on pending legislation before legislative committees or regulatory bodies at the state and local/municipal levels.
- Serve as a primary media spokesperson on immigration.
- Identify community leaders and immigrant families to serve as spokespeople and storytellers, working in close partnership with the Communications Director.
Cultural Responsibility
- Bring a complex understanding of racial justice and the urgency of confronting institutional racism and inequity into our approach to the work.
- Commit to equity and inclusion as organizational practice and culture.
- Engage in relationship building with program staff, volunteers, and other stakeholders.
Qualifications and Skills
The Immigrant Rights Advocacy Strategist must demonstrate the following qualifications and skills:
- A commitment to and enthusiasm for civil rights and civil liberties.
- Bilingual in English and Spanish required.
- At least three years of experience in community outreach, community organizing, and/or advocacy.
- Experience working with immigrant communities strongly preferred.
- Understanding of the ways organizing and advocacy work together to pull at various levers of power to achieve policy goals.
- Strong public speaker and meeting facilitator with the ability to communicate effectively to a variety of audiences.
- Ability to build trusted relationships authentically.
- Demonstrated organizational skills and the ability to prioritize and manage multiple projects simultaneously while meeting deadlines.
- Ability to work independently and collaborate with others as part of a team.
- Ability to think proactively, anticipate problems, develop creative and effective solutions, and take initiative.
- Demonstrated commitment to diversity and to valuing differences of race, ethnicity, age, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, religion, ability, national origin, and socio-economic circumstance.
- A drive for racial justice and an understanding of the ways white privilege can harm communities.
- Ability to travel within the state of South Carolina (including being a licensed driver with access to a reliable vehicle) and work irregular hours, including frequent evenings and weekends.
Compensation
The ACLU of South Carolina offers a competitive compensation package. The starting salary for this position is $62,000. In addition to an annual salary, full-time staff receive health, dental, vision, life, and disability insurance as well as access to a 401k plan with employer matching. Time off benefits include 22 days of vacation time and 12 days of sick time.
Application
To apply, please send a resume and cover letter to [email protected]. The resume and cover letter should be in one PDF titled with your name, and the email subject line should read: “Immigrant Rights Advocacy Strategist: Your Name.” Resumes or applications sent via other avenues will not be considered.
Early applications are strongly encouraged. The position will close on March 15, 2025.
The ACLU of South Carolina is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer. We value a diverse workforce and an inclusive culture. We strongly encourage applications from qualified individuals without regard to race, color, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, national origin, marital status, disability, and veteran status.
