staff openings

Position Title: Intake Coordinator

Reports to: Director of Operations

Terms of at-will employment: One year from agreed upon start date, with the possibility of renewal subject to funding availability

Hours per week: 1.0 full-time equivalent or 37.5 hours per workweek

Salary range: $50,000-$60,000 depending on experience, plus competitive benefits

FLSA status: Non-exempt

Workplace location: Hybrid-remote with availability for in-person work in Burlington, VT; periodic regional travel required

Position Summary

Vermont Asylum Assistance Project (VAAP) seeks a multilingual, highly organized problem solver to fill a newly created role: Intake Coordinator. This position reports to the Director of Operations and is central to a historic shift toward coordinated statewide intake for immigration legal services in Vermont.

The Intake Coordinator helps ensure that people seeking immigration legal help in Vermont are received through a fair, consistent process. The Intake Coordinator gathers and organizes essential information from community members, communicates with partner organizations, supports scheduling and follow-up, and maintains accurate records in VAAP’s systems. The Intake Coordinator does not provide legal advice, but their work helps VAAP and partner legal providers review requests, identify urgent deadlines, and connect people to the most appropriate legal resource when possible. The Intake Coordinator will also help VAAP track trends in requests, capacity, and outcomes and contribute to a shared, peer-reviewed evidence base about unmet legal needs facing noncitizen Vermonters. 

This early-to-mid career role is ideal for a resourceful and values-aligned person who exercises strong judgment, communicates clearly, manages shifting priorities, and works well both independently and as part of a team. The position also requires foundational paralegal functions with room to grow, and requires professionalism, discretion, and steady follow-through. Professionally fluent Spanish or French is required, and lived experience with immigration systems is strongly preferred.

Click here to download a printable position description.

Position Responsibilities

• Implement VAAP’s coordinated statewide process for new immigration legal help requests so each request is handled kindly, timely, and accurately.

• Conduct structured intake work under attorney or accredited representative supervision, including gathering key information and documents in accessible ways and preparing clear summaries for attorney review.

• Coordinate referrals and follow-up across VAAP program leads and partner organizations, including arranging interpretation and other language access supports.

• Keep clear, timely, and compliant records in VAAP systems, and seek training and supervision as systems evolve to ensure compliance with legal and ethical requirements.

• Support basic intake reporting and quality checks by tracking metrics, keeping resource and referral information current, and reporting trends or gaps in unmet need.

• Communicate with requestors, staff, and partners in a culturally humble, language-accessible, and welcoming manner.

• Suggest improvements to templates, workflows, and public-facing guidance so the process stays clear and consistent.

• As assigned, provide flexible administrative and paralegal support to VAAP staff and program teams to strengthen intake operations and related systems work.

Position Qualifications

• Three (3) to five (5) years’ professional experience in legal services, social services, community organizing, or similar work that shows you are ready to handle a high volume of time-sensitive communication with care and follow-through.

• Basic understanding of the U.S. immigration system and its functioning, or a demonstrated ability to learn quickly in a fast-changing field.

• Experience working with people from many backgrounds in a person-centered, trauma-informed, and culturally responsive way.

• Clear and respectful communication skills to ensure accurate and accessible written and verbal communication with people who may be learning English and navigating crisis.

• Demonstrable sustainability practices and an active plan for maintaining boundaries and well-being in a high-empathy role.

• Comfort learning new technology and using everyday remote-first organizational tools like shared drives and databases—in particular, Microsoft 365 and Salesforce.

• Strong judgment, reliability, and discretion when handling sensitive information.

• Ability to work both independently and with a team in a remote-first environment, with regular supervision and collaboration.

• Alignment with VAAP’s values of collective accountability, community care, and restorative practices.

• Professionally fluent Spanish or French is required; other language skills are a plus.

• Lived experience with immigration systems or deep community ties are strongly valued.

Compensation & Benefits

Compensation includes an annual salary of $50,000–$60,000 depending on experience, plus a flexible, remote-first work environment (you must live in Vermont or be willing to relocate). Benefits include paid bar exam leave and generous paid time off (including 15 holidays, with 2 floating), a SIMPLE IRA with a 3% employer match, health and dental coverage, and a VAAP-provided laptop and Verizon OneTalk phone line. VAAP also offers a flexible professional development budget and may sponsor enrollment in the Vermont Law Office Study Program, if applicable.

Application Instructions

This position is open until it is filled. For priority consideration, please apply by Monday, February 16, 2026. We expect to hold first-round interviews later that week and hope to make an offer as soon as possible. To apply, please email your resume or CV, a cover letter, and contact information for three (3) professional references to info@vaapvt.org.

Each summer, VAAP seeks to host one to two highly motivated upper class law or equivalent graduate students to join us for a ten week summer internship program focused on asylum seeker legal orientation, community education and capacity building, and limited scope humanitarian legal representation. In addition, VAAP considers hosting legal or equivalent externs during the fall or spring academic semesters. Full-time interns work about 35 hours per week and part-time interns work about 18 hours per week. Positions are hybrid-remote with some in-person work required, and include access to coworking space in Burlington's Old North End for value-added team meetings, supervision, legal services, and community events. 

Duties and Responsibilities 

1. Complete orientation and training assignments in a timely manner and engage meaningfully in individualized and team-based mechanisms for supervision and support.

2. Interview potential clients to assess for asylum and other humanitarian status eligibility, assist with placing viable cases with language accessible volunteer representation, and make referrals as appropriate.

3. Counsel and co-counsel at pro-se assistance clinics and on selected limited- or full-representation humanitarian status cases including by interviewing and counseling clients; developing case theory and legal briefing; preparing and submitting filings and supporting evidence; and accompanying clients to their immigration proceedings.

4. Maintain client and program files, records, and other data as required in the case management system, including maintaining accurate and contemporaneous timekeeping for all work activities.

5. Communicate with clients, volunteers, partner providers, social service officials, and other stakeholders in a professional and accessible manner and in accordance with applicable professional and program rules.

6. Produce detailed case and project transfer memoranda upon completing the summer program. 

7. Assist VAAP staff to develop and share resources that volunteer advocates and community members need to ensure their professional, trauma-informed, and competent VAAP client assistance.

8. Assist VAAP staff to develop and deliver access to justice programming including Know Your Rights legal orientation for current and prospective clients; Continuing Legal Education for current and prospective volunteers; the VAAP Resource Library; and other events and advocacy as they arise.

9. Other duties as assigned. 

 Qualifications 

1. Upper class student in a J.D. or equivalent degree program, having completed at least three semesters of law school and at least one other J.D. program clinic, internship, or externship program or equivalent.

2. Willing and able to provide for your own funding or to assist VAAP in pursuing funding to support your internship work, or ability to receive academic credit.

3. Experience and/or commitment to working directly with people from diverse racial, ethnic, linguistic, and socioeconomic backgrounds in ways that are trauma informed.

4. Excellent oral and written communication skills, including the ability to produce professional legal documents and outreach materials.

5. Commitment to working in a collaborative, virtual, team-based setting.

6. Ability and willingness to work autonomously and independently as required by VAAP’s busy work load and hybrid remote work environment.

7. High level of initiative and ability to project plan, make decisions, solve problems, and to pivot plans quickly and creatively, as needed. 

8. Demonstrable organizational skills in managing a dynamic and complex workload.

9. Previous immigration advocacy experience preferred.

10. Driver’s license and access to a vehicle preferred.

11. Professional proficiency in Spanish, French or other non-English language required.

12. People with lived experience or impacted identities prioritized.

Application instructions

To apply, please email your resume or CV, cover letter, a brief writing sample, and three (3) professional references to info@vaapvt.org.

Year-round, VAAP seeks highly motivated high school or undergraduate students to join us for customizable internship experiences focused on administrative assistance, case management and support, communications, and event coordination. Positions are hybrid-remote with access to coworking space in Burlington's Old North End and designated in-office days for value-added team meetings, supervision, and events. Preference is given to individuals who can commit to working with us for the entire academic year and/or at least 18 hours per week over our 10 week summer program. 

Duties and Responsibilities 

1. Complete orientation and training assignments in a timely manner and engage meaningfully in individualized and team-based mechanisms for supervision and support.

2. Provide case support to VAAP advocates providing clients with legal assistance including, but not limited to, attorney-client meeting coordination, interpretation assistance and language access coordination, transportation coordination, assistance with gathering documents and preparing paperwork, and more.

3. Maintain client and program files, records, and other data as required in the case management system, including maintaining accurate and contemporaneous timekeeping for all work activities.

4. Communicate with clients, volunteers, partner providers, social service officials, and other stakeholders in a professional and language accessible manner and in accordance with applicable professional and program rules.

5. Assist VAAP staff to develop and share resources that volunteer advocates need to ensure their professional, trauma-informed, and competent representation of VAAP clients.

6. Assist VAAP staff to coordinate access to justice programming including Know Your Rights legal orientation for current and prospective clients; Continuing Legal Education for current and prospective volunteers; and other events as they arise.

7. Assist VAAP staff to develop project proposals, marketing materials, case reports, and other communications needed to advance our advocacy goals, recruit volunteers, and resource the organization.

8. Other duties as assigned. 

 Qualifications 

1. Currently enrolled in a high school, bachelor’s, master’s or equivalent diploma or degree program.

2. Willing and able to provide for your own funding or to assist VAAP in pursuing funding to support your internship work, or ability to receive academic credit.

3. Commitment to working directly with and fostering a safe environment for people from diverse racial, ethnic, linguistic, and socioeconomic backgrounds.

4. Interest in collaborative, team-based work that is hybrid-online.

5. Willingness to engage proactively in accessing supervision.

6. Willingness to adapt to flexible working hours, including some nights or weekends, as community-facing events require.

7. Professionally proficient Spanish, French or other non-English language skills required.

8. Current, valid driver’s license and access to a vehicle you are able to willing to use to perform case support duties which may include client transportation preferred.

9. People with lived experience or impacted identities prioritized.

Application instructions

To apply, please email your resume or CV, cover letter, a brief writing sample, and three (3) professional references to info@vaapvt.org.