Program Manager

Position Overview: The Ashrei Foundation seeks an experienced, visionary, and highly collaborative Program Manager to lead, strengthen, and expand Ashrei's Rapid Response Immigration Justice initiatives supporting immigrant communities throughout Missouri. This full-time (40 hours per week) position is responsible for the strategic direction, implementation, management, and long-term growth of Ashrei's rapid response programming, including the St. Louis Rapid Response Hotline and related community response and education efforts.

The Program Manager will oversee all aspects of the St. Louis Rapid Response Hotline, volunteer engagement, operational systems, coalition coordination, community partnerships, and regional expansion opportunities. They will develop and implement strategies that increase program capacity, improve operational systems, strengthen volunteer leadership, cultivate partnerships, and support advocacy efforts that promote the safety, dignity, and rights of immigrant communities impacted by detention and immigration enforcement.

Beyond managing existing programming, the Program Manager will identify opportunities for innovation, pilot new service models, evaluate program outcomes, and help shape Ashrei's broader immigration justice strategy. The Program Manager will serve as the organization's subject matter expert on immigration justice and represent Ashrei with community partners, funders, statewide coalitions, legal service providers, and public audiences.

The ideal candidate is a strategic thinker and skilled relationship-builder who enjoys designing systems, leading people, solving complex problems, and transforming ideas into sustainable programs. They are comfortable making independent decisions in dynamic situations while collaborating closely with organizational leadership to ensure program excellence, continuous learning, and organizational growth. The initial primary programmatic focus for this position will be leading Ashrei's Immigration Justice initiatives, including the St. Louis Rapid Response Hotline, but the role may expand to support the development and implementation of new or additional programmatic areas as organizational capacity allows.

Responsibilities: The Program Manager is responsible for the leadership, implementation, evaluation, and expansion of Ashrei's Immigration Justice initiatives, including but not limited to: 

• Program Leadership & Strategy

  • Provide overall leadership and strategic direction for Ashrei's Immigration Justice initiatives.

  • Develop and implement annual program goals, priorities, and expansion strategies aligned with Ashrei's mission and strategic vision.

  • Identify opportunities to strengthen community response systems before, during, and after targeted immigration enforcement actions.

  • Evaluate program effectiveness using data, volunteer feedback, and community input and implement continuous quality improvement strategies.

  • Develop systems, policies, and procedures that improve efficiency, sustainability, consistency, and organizational learning.

  • Anticipate emerging community needs, policy changes, and enforcement trends and proactively recommend new organizational responses.

• Program Operations

  • Direct the day-to-day operations of the St. Louis Rapid Response Hotline and related response initiatives.

  • Ensure consistent, high-quality, trauma-informed, and participant-centered service delivery.

  • Oversee hotline scheduling, volunteer coverage, case workflows, referrals, follow-up communications, documentation, and quality assurance.

  • Maintain program budgets, purchasing, financial tracking, and reporting in accordance with organizational standards.

  • Ensure accurate collection, maintenance, analysis, and reporting of program data.

  • Oversee maintenance and continuous improvement of Airtable databases, public dashboards, Google Workspace systems, operational workflows, and reporting tools.

  • Develop contingency plans and operational protocols to strengthen program responsiveness during periods of increased community need.

• Volunteer Leadership & Capacity Building

  • Recruit, supervise, train, mentor, and evaluate hotline volunteers, interns, fellows, and other program volunteers.

  • Design and implement volunteer onboarding, continuing education, quality assurance, recognition, and retention strategies.

  • Foster a positive, collaborative, equity-centered volunteer culture grounded in mutual support and shared leadership.

  • Develop and implement practices that promote volunteer wellness, resilience, and long-term sustainability, including regular debriefing opportunities, reflective practice, peer support, and strategies to mitigate secondary traumatic stress, compassion fatigue, and burnout among hotline operators and other crisis-response volunteers.

• Program Expansion & Partnership Development

  • Develop and implement strategies to expand rapid response capacity throughout Missouri.

  • Build and maintain strong relationships with immigrant-serving organizations, legal service providers, faith communities, advocacy organizations, and other community partners.

  • Develop scalable training models and implementation guides that strengthen regional rapid response capacity.

  • Identify opportunities to leverage partnerships to increase program reach, coordination, and sustainability.

  • Explore innovative approaches that improve community access to rapid response services and resources.

• Community Engagement

  • Serve as Ashrei's primary representative for Immigration Justice programming within the greater St. Louis region and across Missouri.

  • Build trusted relationships with immigrant communities and organizations serving individuals impacted by immigration enforcement.

  • Ensure services remain culturally responsive, trauma-informed, participant-centered, and rooted in community partnership.

  • Represent Ashrei at community meetings, conferences, outreach events, trainings, and public education opportunities.

  • Collect participant stories, community feedback, and outcome data that demonstrate program impact while maintaining confidentiality and participant safety.

• Coalition Leadership & Advocacy

  • Represent Ashrei within the St. Louis Rapid Response Coalition, the Missouri Immigration Policy Coalition, the National Immigration Project, and other local, regional, and statewide collaborative efforts.

  • Coordinate with legal service providers, advocacy organizations, social service agencies, congregations, and community leaders to strengthen rapid response infrastructure.

  • Support advocacy efforts that promote policies protecting immigrant communities and expand access to legal, humanitarian, and community resources.

  • Participate in public education campaigns, collaborative initiatives, research efforts, and systems-change work informed by program data and community experience.

  • Provide technical assistance and consultation to organizations seeking to strengthen community-based rapid response efforts.

• Organizational Leadership

  • Collaborate closely with organizational leadership to establish program priorities and long-term strategy.

  • Contribute to organizational planning, cross-program collaboration, and continuous improvement initiatives.

  • Prepare program reports, grant reports, evaluation materials, dashboards, and other documentation supporting fundraising and organizational sustainability.

  • Assist in identifying funding opportunities and contribute program expertise to grant proposals, reports, and presentations.

  • Regularly assess staffing, volunteer capacity, technology, and operational needs to support sustainable program growth.

  • Support the development of new immigration justice initiatives and complementary programming as organizational priorities evolve.

Qualifications: 

• Bachelor's degree required; Master's degree in Social Work (MSW), Counseling, Psychology, Public Health, Human Services, or a related field strongly preferred.

• Professional experience in social work, behavioral health, counseling, crisis intervention, case management, victim advocacy, or other trauma-informed human services strongly preferred.

• Demonstrated understanding of trauma-informed care, psychological first aid, crisis de-escalation, and the impacts of acute and chronic trauma on individuals, families, and communities.

• Experience supporting staff, volunteers, or interdisciplinary teams working in high-stress or crisis-response environments, including promoting resilience, preventing burnout, and addressing secondary traumatic stress and compassion fatigue.

• Experience working with immigrant communities, community organizing, legal services, crisis response, or related fields preferred.

• Fluency in both English and Spanish (written and spoken).

• Strong organizational, project management, and operational planning skills.

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

• Strong problem-solving abilities, sound judgment, and ability to make thoughtful decisions in fast-paced environments.

• Ability to develop systems, improve processes, and manage multiple priorities simultaneously.

• Commitment to racial equity, economic justice, immigrant justice, and trauma-informed, participant-centered service delivery.

• Cultural humility and demonstrated ability to work effectively with individuals experiencing immigration-related challenges, poverty, housing instability, language barriers, trauma, and other systemic inequities.

• Ability to maintain confidentiality and exercise sound judgment when handling sensitive information.

• Proficiency with Google Workspace, Airtable or similar database management systems, and project management platforms such as Asana.

Salary: $60-70,000 approximate starting range, commensurate with experience

Organizational Background: “Ashrei,” is a Hebrew word from the Book of Psalms that means “forward.” Our work is to move our community forward on the path towards abolishing all systems of economic exclusion and oppression, to a future where all people may live with dignity, justice and freedom. Ashrei exists to empower and activate the St. Louis community and partners throughout the state of Missouri to promote economic justice, to relieve suffering, and interrupt cycles of poverty. 

To Apply: Please submit a resume/curriculum vitae and a cover letter via email to info@ashreifoundation.org. Additional details about the interview process will be shared with qualified candidates.

August 2026