ABOUT US:

“It always seems impossible until it's done.” - Nelson Mandela

We believe that even the biggest problems can be broken down into small, achievable steps. Poverty and access to justice are part of the same problem. And to solve this, we just need to discover what the steps are.

At Open Door Legal, we're pioneering the country's first system of universal access to civil legal representation to dramatically reduce poverty and prove that the law really can belong to all of us. 

To achieve this ambitious goal, we've created an award-winning and best-in-class legal aid organization full of passionate, dynamic, gritty, quixotic, and team-oriented people. 

We believe that injustice is the heart of poverty and we're looking for someone to join us in having a systemic impact on how we, as a society, ensure justice for all. 

OVERVIEW OF POSITION:

We're hiring a Frontline Partner to communicate and translate with potential clients whose primary language is Spanish. In addition, you will serve as a back-up coverage for front desk reception, where you will manage the reception and information flow at any of our three offices. You will be the first person to represent our mission of universal access to legal services and our values of passion, grit, teamwork, caring, and dynamic to anyone who walks through our doors. You are a self-starting individual capable of managing multiple tasks and responsibilities, as well as comfortable with proactively and independently solving problems with a professional and positive attitude. At our offices, we frequently receive individuals who have or are currently experiencing trauma, who present in a state of heightened emotional distress, and who may have mental health conditions. Thus, success in this position requires excellent interpersonal skills and adhering to strict health guidelines (especially as many of our clients are highly vulnerable to COVID-19). You must also have the ability to provide focused customer service, empathize, set boundaries, and de-escalate conflict. The frontline requires comfortability with technology, great typing, and organizational skills. You will be supervised by the Frontline Attorney, but will also work very closely with our attorneys, paralegals, volunteers, social workers, and other Spanish speaking staff.

Overall, this position is intended to be a challenging yet extremely rewarding experience for someone looking to make a difference in clients' lives through an innovative, results-oriented, and fast-growing organization. 

The position will rotate between our three locations in the Excelsior, Bayview, and Western Addition districts of San Francisco. There is minimal local travel required. 

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Manage the Spanish language information flow coming into the office (phone calls, mail, emails, voicemails, text messages, faxes, etc) to ensure everything is properly recorded and that the right staff member receives the information.
• Work with the Frontline Attorney to appropriately triage the legal and social issues that potential clients present with. This is going to require learning the basics of several areas of law, including housing law, family law, consumer law, immigration law, employment law, and elder law. 
• Proactively complete all the tasks for potential clients who speak Spanish. For example, scheduling intakes, gathering documents, assisting in filling out the screening form, translating the completed screening form, and giving referrals. 
• Conduct Spanish to English and English to Spanish interpretation during legal intakes and on case follow up calls. 
• Complete Spanish to English and English to Spanish translation tasks, including translating outreach flyers, settlements, estate plans, letters to clients, and court forms. 
• Serve as the frontline partner(FLP) in English, during the main FLPs lunch break, PTO days, and whenever necessary at our offices in Excelsior, Bayview, and Western Addition. This is estimated to be ⅓ of the job.  
• Provide trauma-informed, disability accommodating, and caring customer service.  
• Complete administrative tasks that will likely include scanning, copying, shredding, and file organizing. 
• Use our Salesforce case management system to quickly add detailed notes of all your interactions with clients and potential clients.
• Provide social service referrals when potential clients and current clients have holistic needs. Specialize in the programs available to Spanish-speaking clients. 
• Help coordinate Spanish-speaking volunteers. 
• Help with our outreach to potential clients and social service providers. Specialize in creating relationships with community groups who focus on serving those who are monolingual Spanish-speaking. 
• Support monolingual Spanish-speaking clients collaborating with their attorneys in the areas of law as needed. 
• Help ensure that we meet our high standard of accessibility for monolingual Spanish-speaking community members.

REQUIREMENTS:

• Daily work schedule of 8:30-5:00.
• Travel to our offices in the Excelsior, Bayview, and Western Addition.
• Fluent or native Spanish speaker
• Highly functional computer and typing skills. Typing speed of 60 wpm.
• Must have some experience working in an office environment.
• Must have experience Translating and Interpreting in Spanish and be fluent in English. 
• Must genuinely enjoy working with members of the community, including those experiencing trauma or who have mental health conditions. 
• The ability to create a welcoming and enthusiastic atmosphere. 
• Must be self-directed, able to work independently, and able to solve difficult problems.
• Willing to learn basic legal concepts.
• Flexibility and ability to design new policies and systems for increased effectiveness and capacity in our new office space. 
• Authorized to work in the U.S. without sponsorship.

BONUS POINTS:

• Lives currently or has lived before in the Excelsior, Bayview, or Western Addition neighborhoods of SF.
• Completion of an associate's or bachelor's degree in social work or similar field.
• Experience Interpreting/ Translating in a legal context. 
• Certified Spanish Legal Interpreter/Translator.
• Experience working with low-income and vulnerable populations.
• Experience working with individuals with mental illness or substance use disorders.
• Experience using Salesforce.

THIS IS A NON-EXEMPT POSITION, STARTING AT $27.64/HOUR (AROUND $57,500 ANNUALLY)

PERKS:

• Medical/Dental/Vision 
• Generous paid time off per year 
• Paid Parental Leave 
• Retirement 
• We believe everyone is always learning.  We write individual learning plans for each staff member and provide many internal and external mentorships, coaching, and learning opportunities (conferences, workshops, etc.).
• We are a fun and hard-working office with best-in-class technology solutions (including Salesforce) for anyone who's passionate about making a meaningful and measurable difference.

APPLICATIONS RECEIVED BEFORE JUNE 13, 2020 WILL BE GIVEN PRIORITY